Our Governors

Andrea (Drea) Minton Beddoes is Chair of the Governors at Moor Park and sits on the Marketing, Finance and Property Committees.  She joined the board as a parent Governor in 2015.  All three of her sons have enjoyed a Moor Park education, going on to Winchester and Radley College after Moor Park. 

Drea has over 30 years experience in corporate communications, reputation and stakeholder management and has held various senior roles within strategy consulting, banking and insurance.  Since leaving McKinsey and Co in 2010 when the family moved back to Shropshire, Drea has developed a portfolio of non executive board roles including a leading technology company, a city law firm and an international children’s charity.  She studied at Oxford and Harvard universities.  She loves living back in Shropshire (where she was born) and enjoys country sports, walking and gardening.

Jonathan Evans is chair of the finance committee and is also a former Moor Park parent. Jonathan graduated in economics before joining the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank in 1989. He pursued his career in global financial markets with HSBC until 2016, when he returned home to North Herefordshire to take over the management of family farming and property interests.

He was appointed Mappa Mundi Trustee at Hereford Cathedral with responsibility for oversight of the Trust’s investments in 2017; and is currently a member of the cathedral’s Finance and Risk Committee in the capacity of investment brief. Since then he has assumed similar investment responsibilities as a trustee of the Foundation of Ludlow College, investment advisor to the Shropshire Community Foundation; and also mentors medically-discharged military veterans through the Supporting Wounded Veterans charity.

Peter Gosling chairs the Health and Safety Committee, which oversees best practice and policy compliance in this essential area. He has a longstanding connection with Moor Park as his two daughters, Martha and Lydia, both attended the school.

Peter is a private client partner in a large regional law firm, where he has specialised in wills, trusts and tax for over thirty years. Many of his clients have business and agricultural interests and he often acts for succeeding generations of families. Peter has extensive experience of acting as a trustee of both private and charitable trusts. He enjoys following sport, gardening and reading.

Richard Kowenicki chairs the Education Committee, which advises on all areas of academic strategy and curriculum planning at Moor Park.

He is Deputy Head (Academic) at Shrewsbury School, where in addition to taking responsibility for the academic life of the School, he teaches Chemistry and Physics. Prior to arriving at Shrewsbury in 2021, he was at Westminster School in London, where he was a boarding housemaster and before that Head of Chemistry. Although not as fast as he used to be, Richard is a keen runner and when time allows, he enjoys exploring the Shropshire hills with his wife and three children.

Tom Newman has been on the Governing body of Moor Park for four years with a responsibility for boarding within the school.  Having been a Housemaster at Malvern College for ten years and having worked in the pastoral team as the Deputy DSL, Tom brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the role.

In 2019 he became the Senior Admissions Advisor at Malvern College working closely with prep school Headteachers to ensure the smooth transition from prep school to senior school.  He has transformed the 13+ scholarship programme at Malvern and is a champion of the Pre-Senior Baccalaureate (PSB), part of the Learning Skills Trust.

Tom has a degree in Chemistry from Exeter University and a PGCE from the University of Cambridge.  He has worked at three other boarding schools in the UK and has a passion for holistic education which empowers children.  He is married to Jennie who is also a teacher and has three children currently at Malvern College.  He has a passion for all sport, and enjoys running and walking his dogs on the Malvern Hills.

Fr. Simon McGurk is a Roman Catholic priest and a Benedictine monk of Belmont Abbey, Herefordshire.  Educated by the Benedictines, he went on, after priestly studies, to become a Housemaster to 65 boys for 14 years, after which he was appointed Headmaster of the same school for 5 years.

Father Simon left education to run religious retreats at Belmont Abbey, then two brief periods as a Parish Priest, before being sent to do mission work in Peru for 5 years, and a further 5 years as Superior of a monastery in Washington D.C.  The last 11 years he has spent as Parish Priest of Weobley and Kington in Herefordshire.  He has been a Governor at Moor Park for 6 years and thinks it is great place to be educated.

Gill Sommers started her career as a police officer and has a wealth of experience in investigation and case law. She has spent the last 23 years in education and training and has held senior management positions in several colleges in Hampshire. Her last role as Director of Students and Recruitment at an Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ College involved taking the senior lead for safeguarding and student support across a number of campuses, ensuring that all staff and volunteers were not only fully trained in safeguarding but understood how embed safe practice and recognise the signs that a student may be in need of support.  

Since 2018 Gill has worked as an independent safeguarding consultant, supporting a wide range of schools, colleges, and charities both in the state and independent schools’ sectors. Gill’s focus is to ensure that schools are not only fully compliant with legislation and their responsibilities but to develop a safeguarding culture that is embraced by all.  She has held a number of governor positions including Chair of Governors at a primary school in Hampshire and as such fully understands the responsibilities placed on governors to support and challenge staff, particularly on safeguarding matters.

Gill has a Master’s Degree in Leadership and Management, a Degree in Post-Compulsory Education and is qualified to Level 5 in Safeguarding.  She now lives in Herefordshire, and in her spare time enjoys walking and working on her allotment.  

Robbie Underhill is on the property committee, which advises on the maintenance and development of the school’s property. He is currently the Chair of the Moor Park Parents’ Association and has organised various fundraising events for the school. He has three children at Moor Park; Benjamin, Maude and Augusta. 

Robbie was born and raised in South Shropshire. He worked in London for 12 years as a Chartered Surveyor at Allsop LLP Property Consultants before returning to the countryside in 2012. He now runs his family’s property company and enjoys golf, cricket and gardening. 

Mike Verdin is chairman of the marketing committee, which advises on promoting Moor Park's profile and ensuring a broad awareness of the achievements of the school community are.

He is a former parent at Moor Park, where both of his sons, Alexander and William, went. He is a journalist and financial analyst, and has worked at the BBC, Financial Times and The Times, before setting up Agrimoney, which was bought by the Farmers Guardian group. He has won European awards for feature writing and business journalism, as well as for Agrimoney, which was named best Business/Finance site at the Online Media Awards.

He is a junior partner on the family farm, and enjoys walking and the Welsh coast.

Julie Wall is the Early Years Governor, who works closely with the Head of Early Years and the early years team.

Julie is a work-based assessor and internal quality assurer and works for a local college, supporting students from level 2-5 in Early Years and Supporting Teaching and Learning awards.  Julie has over 35 years experience in the Early Years sector. She received an award from Shropshire Early Years in 2005 for an action research project that supported the use of sign language with hearing children in early years. 

Previously to her career in early years, Julie worked as a registered nurse.

Julie enjoys gardening and spending time with her grandchildren and family.

James Davenport became a Governor in 2016. He is currently co-chair of the Finance and Property Committee with a particular responsibility on the Property side. His 4 children have all attended the school and he remains a current parent.

James grew up in Herefordshire. After graduating from Durham University with a degree in Business Economics he spent 18 years working in the Finance Industry in both London and New York.  He moved back to Herefordshire in 2012 and is now involved in a range of rural businesses across farming, forestry, property, distribution and leisure.

Hettie was born and raised in Shropshire.  She was a student of Moor Park, going on to Tudor Hall and subsequently studied Spanish and Italian at Leeds University.  Hettie worked in London for 8 years for Sotheby’s and Designers Guild before returning to Shropshire full time to take over the running of her family house and Estate. She runs historical tours of the house and very much enjoys gardening and trips back to Italy.