91´óÉñ

My name is Alison Blight. I was attracted to 91´óÉñ primarily because my youngest son successfully completed GCSE and Electrical Installation courses at the City of Oxford College and later at the technology campus at Blackbird Leys. I saw how motivated the staff were; they  really enabled him to build important skills for a worthwhile career as a fully qualified electrician.

I felt I could contribute as a Governor using my career experience from the Audit Commission and the National Audit Office where I worked with large, complex organisations in health and social care.

In 2010 I was responsible to the Care Services Minister in the Department of Health reporting on adult social care across the South East. More recently I worked for social care directors in the region co-ordinating their response to Covid.

I understood from this work that further education colleges such as 91´óÉñ are vital to provide staff who have the right core values for caring work and who have been well trained.

In addition, I have an interest in mental health with 10 years’ experience as a Trustee and Chair of Restore, a mental health rehabilitation charity based in Oxfordshire.

My personal and professional experience is closely aligned to the values and aims of 91´óÉñ. I am delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to the organisation as a Governor.

Hi, my name is Cathie Prest.

I have enjoyed a long and extensive career in further education and became a co-opted governor for 91´óÉñ in April 2022. My passion for further education began when I became a student at my local technical college many years ago, and this has continued into my retirement.

I’ve held a number of Executive roles, including interim Principal, Deputy Principal and Vice Principal Curriculum and Standards in various further education colleges. I serve as a co-opted governor on the board of Buckinghamshire College Group, having previously been an independent member on two corporation boards, East Surrey College and Guildford College. In addition, I was the Vice-Chair of the Standards Committee for Surrey Police Authority.

For ten years, and until my retirement in July 2021, I managed my own management consultancy company and provided bespoke coaching for senior leaders, curriculum and quality reviews, inspection preparation, and interim senior leadership and management. I was an additional Ofsted inspector for nine years before being appointed an FE Adviser for the Further Education Commission in 2017 until July 2021.

My belief is that further education should be of high quality and accessible to all. I hope that I can utilise my knowledge and experience of the further education sector for the benefit of students attending 91´óÉñ’s group of colleges.

Hello, my name is Daniel Willis.

I am the Group Contact Centre Manager at 91´óÉñ. My team look after customer enquiries via both telephone and email, alongside application processing received on our websites and in person.

In terms of my background, I have worked and studied at Reading College and 91´óÉñ since 2013 and have the unique advantage of having seen both sides of the organisation, as a student and as a staff member.

Alongside my day-to-day role, I am also the staff governor and have been in this role since December 2021.

I became a governor as I had a lot to give in terms of my perspective and experience, which I felt would be an asset to our governing body. From a personal perspective, I also wanted to gain further insight and understanding into strategic thinking and planning to help progress my career further.

Currently, I am still finding my feet in the role, but I hope to have real impact in the coming months with the potential of myself becoming a link governor for sustainability.

This will entail ensuring that we are meeting our sustainability key driver: I’ll be working with staff, students, and employers to make sure that everything we do takes into consideration the impact on our local and global environment.

Hello, my name is James Voûte and I’m delighted to be a governor for 91´óÉñ.

I became a governor in October 2021 because I was motivated to make a difference to young people’s education and to help them succeed. I’m a sales and marketing leader in the publishing industry and have a strong professional interest in digital learning.

Since joining 91´óÉñ I’ve been greatly impressed by the passion and engagement of our staff and students, and the very high standard of facilities across our campuses. I’m also a link governor for the 91´óÉñ Education Trust, so I’m particularly focused on the performance of the seven schools in our portfolio.

I joined 91´óÉñ as a governor in December 2020 and am the Link Governor on stakeholder engagement and careers. I also sit on the Search and Governance Committee and the Remuneration Committee.

I am the Chair of the Surrey Research Park (SRP) Board. SRP is the fourth largest research and science park in the UK, with over 130 innovative companies based on over 70 acres. The Park is part of the University of Surrey with crucial links to research, provision of work experience, and jobs. The provision of skills continues to be a top demand of companies in the Park.

I was the chief executive of Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership until the end of July 2022. At EM3, I worked with others to create the environment for businesses to grow and flourish across Hampshire and Surrey, securing over £250m to support innovation, skills, and infrastructure improvements.

I have a passion for joining up people and initiatives and was the lead CE for Catalyst South, an alliance of six LEPs that championed the importance of the business community across the South. I was also the cluster lead for the four growth hubs supporting businesses in Hants, Surrey, Berks, Solent, Sussex, and Brighton.
I have nearly forty years of experience working with businesses and people to support economic growth, first in helping the long-term unemployed get jobs, then in supporting young adults get training and assisting businesses to start up, scale up and grow.

I spearheaded the first skills strategy the South East England Development Agency produced and championed work to get girls in schools interested in IT careers. I'm passionate about achieving greater diversity on boards and in teams. I was honoured to see my work on economic development across the South of England recognised when I received an OBE in 2017.

I live in Oxfordshire, enjoy the local countryside, and unwind in my garden.

Hello, my name is Lesha Chetty.

I currently lead the local government sector, arts, culture and heritage, and sports and leisure sectors for Mace Consulting, across the UK.

I wanted to work with 91´óÉñ as I feel really passionate about education and the role that we as a community have in educating others. I'm actually local to Oxford, and I think there's a real opportunity for us to actually integrate learning, training, and skills more in terms of what we're doing in the community and how we actually drive that message home.

Within the role that I do in the local government sector, my focus is really on social value. Skills and training are such a huge part of the way that we can actually transform places and communities, so for me, I feel really passionately about it.

Hi, I'm Meheryar. I'm currently a manager at Ernst & Young LLP, delivering audit and assurance services to a number of clients, from start-ups to FTSE 350 and global businesses.

My experience is significantly technical, particularly in the reporting and auditing areas, as well as dealing with environments subject to high levels of change and helping teams navigate through evolving landscapes. I've worked with the company since 2014, having started a graduate program with Ernst & Young, following completion of a BSc in Accounting and Finance. I'm also qualified as a Chartered Accountant, receiving my qualification with the ICAEW in 2015.

I believe that being a governor will provide me with a unique opportunity and insight into the education industry, as well as being part of an organisation that contributes greatly to society. The ability to have an impact on the future of students has encouraged me to become involved with 91´óÉñ.

In my private life, my interests include both the automotive and aerospace industry. I'm a regular attendee of car and air shows.

I am a student at 91´óÉñ on the Reading campus. I am currently studying A Levels  in psychology, criminology and English literature and language, and additionally took on the EPQ project. In the future, I hope to expand my knowledge in psychology and criminology and am planning to go to university to begin my future career as a forensic psychologist. Some of my interests include learning foreign languages and learning about different cultures, parts of the law and how complex the human mind truly is.

In Reading college, I am also part of the Student Leadership Team which helped me expand my leadership and communication skills as I learnt to be inclusive. I learnt a lot about student needs and what they think the colleges strength are and what needs to be developed further. Alongside being a Student and part of the Student Leadership Team, I am also a Student Governor for 91´óÉñ and have been since September 2023.

I became a Student Governor as I wanted to represent the student voice and contribute to the board’s understanding of students commendations and concerns. With this role, I wanted to learn what it takes in order for colleges to run smoothly including planning, strategies, finance and organisation skills, and what joins all 91´óÉñ colleges together. I am still new to the role but with every session I gain more knowledge on what it takes to be a governor. In the upcoming months I am keen to work with the staff, students and governors in order to help improve all the 91´óÉñ colleges to enhance the student experience.

Smitha is currently a finance manager at bp, delivering the commercial, financial and performance agenda for a business unit within Castrol. Her experience has almost always been in the business, taking part in key decisions to deliver strategic objectives.

Smitha was a Governor previously with a senior school, before joining Activate in Dec 2023. The opportunity with Activate has broadened her knowledge and experience in the education sector. She has always been passionate about education – in particular women’s education. As someone who is the first female to attend University in her family, she is deeply aware of the positive impact education can have on an individual’s life. And so, the Governor’s role is something she cares about deeply as it has the potential to influence the lives of young people. She hopes that her passion for education, life experiences and business & commercial knowledge will benefit the communities that Activate operates in.