Grangehurst Primary School

Ruth Williamson 

I have been a governor at Grangehurst School since autumn 2004. Over that time I have been involved in many activities with the school including attending events, assemblies, special days to celebrate national events as well as visiting classrooms and meeting with pupils, staff and parents. Over the past 17 years I have been delighted with the progress the school has made and the happy supportive atmosphere which pervades the school.

From 2004 until the end of 2019 I was Headteacher at Foxford Community School and ensured during that time we maintained strong links with Grangehurst. I am now retired but continue to live in Coventry and play an active role in the City.

James Okore Ombudo

I am honoured to be able to serve Grangehurst Primary School as a Governor and am passionate about making a positive difference to children’s education. The good, well-rounded education I received when I was in school has had a significant positive impact on my life – that is why I chose to be a Governor; so that I can help other children in a similar way.

I am blessed with two children, a daughter who finished Year 6 at Grangehurst in 2020 and a son who is still at Grangehurst. I am an Engineer by qualification and profession and work for National Grid managing teams of highly skilled engineers who look after Britain’s electricity transmission system.

My hobbies are swimming, exercising, travelling and baking, the latter with mixed success!

As a young boy, I enjoyed reading Hardy Boys Mysteries and books by Robert Louis Stevenson such as Kidnapped and Treasure Island.

Whilst in primary school, I represented my school in a national televised children’s quiz show. Our school lost in the final, however all my friends and neighbours saw me on TV over several weeks which made me very famous!

Chris Connoll

I’m proud to serve as Vice-Chair of Governors at Grangehurst, where I have been a governor since 2015.  In my younger years, I attended Grangehurst as a pupil, which is one of the reasons I returned as a Governor. I am passionate about ensuring our young people achieve their maximum potential.

I work for the Holy Cross MAC as the ICT, Communication & Compliance Manager, where I primarily oversee ICT strategy and Compliance for our organisation of 600 employees and 4129 pupils aged between nursey and post-16.

My role is to ensure that pupils can achieve their very best using the technology we have or the technology of the future. These roles have given me immense experience in the behind-the-scenes workings of schools and trusts.

I’m currently the Chair of the Resource Management Committee.

Darren Clews

I think you all know me but may not realise that as well as being the headteacher of Grangehurst I’m also one of the governors. All headteachers can be a governor of their own school if they want. I’ve been a governor of Grangehurst since September 2012 when I started at the school. I very much enjoy the role and working with the other members of the governing body. As well as being a governor for Grangehurst I’m also a governor for Foxford School and Coventry Hospital Education Service.

At Grangehurst the governors meet regularly to talk about what is taking place at the school and make plans for the future. It’s an important role that lots of people don’t realise exists.

My job as both headteacher and governor means I have to do a lot of reading which means I don’t get much chance to read for pleasure at home when out of school. As a child I loved all of Roald Dahl’s books I think my favourites have to be ‘Danny Champion of the World’ and ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’. I also loved and still love reading children’s poetry. The Headteacher of the Junior School I attended as a child was a published poet and we had lots of his poems and those from other famous poets read to us during assemblies and from that point my love of children’s poetry started.

Cat Grantham

I have been a co-opted Governor at Grangehurst Primary School since 2014. I was delighted to be elected as a Governor at Grangehurst as I am passionate about helping young people achieve their potential through education and ensuring youngsters have the best opportunities to succeed whilst growing into responsible and caring individuals. 

My day job is a School Business Manager at Aldermoor Farm Primary School and I enjoy the experience that both roles give me to enable me to contribute toward the school community.   

I have two children that attend Grangehurst in Year 4 and Year 6. 

In my spare time I volunteer as a chaperone for a local dance school and as a welfare officer for a grassroots football. 

Richard Bohdanowitsch

I am now in my fifth year as a Governor at Grangehurst. The reason I joined the governing board, was because I wanted to contribute to my local community.

I have two children; Grace is now in Year 8, having previously attended Grangehurst, and Oliver is currently in Year 5. Seeing my own children grow through the school has shown me the many wonderful opportunities available at Grangehurst, both in and out of the classroom.

A governing body is important as different people, from different backgrounds bring new ideas and perspectives in supporting the school’s leadership. This in turn ensures that all children are given every opportunity to thrive, have a good quality of education and that they are given as many memorable experiences as possible whilst attending Grangehurst.

My background is that I work in Education, which I have been in for twenty years now, and my current role is as Vice Principal at a secondary school in Solihull. Throughout my career, I have had had many different experiences of working and interacting with children and I feel that this experience helps support and challenge the school leadership at all levels.

Growing up my favourite children’s author was C.S Lewis and The Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe was my favourite book.

Lisa Shelton

Lisa is an experienced retail buying manager and has worked in the industry managing budgets of £250m+ for 10 years. She delivered multi million pound negotiations across 4 continents in her career and has spent much of her time in Hong Kong. (Where Mario is from - so her son Sebby tells her!)

She holds a BA and MA in history and politics and has and has a keen interest in local politics. She has particular expertise in leadership and management and hopes to bring this skillset to the governing body.

Jonathan Poole

Hello, my name is Jonathan Poole and I have been a parent governor at school since January 2020 a few months after my son started school. I became a governor because young children should get a varied education that means they are ready for Secondary School and their wider life outside school. Hopefully, I can help the school do this along with the other governors. 

I am an IT Manager for a special needs trust and work with computers and technology, but I am also interested in the outdoors and what Forest School and outdoor learning can do to help you all learn from reading to maths and other skills like problem solving, confidence and understanding the wider world in a fun way.  

When I was growing up, I found reading a real challenge but enjoyed the ‘Biff, Chip and Kipper’ books by Roderick Hunt while I was at primary school. When I got a little older, I was really interested in magic and the Harry Potter books by JK Rowling grabbed my attention and the magical world they lived in. 

Virgina Gill

I’m Virginia Gill, a Co-opted Governor at Grangehurst Primary School. I am a Mummy to two boys who both go to Grangehurst Primary School, they are in Reception and Year 2. I am a Governor at the School, as I aim to work with the Head Teacher, senior leadership team and other governors at the School, to improve the outcomes for all children.

My interests and hobbies include spending time with my family and friends. My background is Human Resource Management within Schools, Local Authority and management of two Childrens Centres, which I hope to use to help the school anyway I can.

My favourite book as a child was The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, as I was fascinated by the caterpillar who ate their way through lots of food from Monday to Sunday, until they couldn’t eat anymore and then built themselves a cocoon to live in until they changed into a beautiful and colourful butterfly. I now read this book my two children.

Dan Rombach

I’m Dan Rombach, a parent governor at Grangehurst Primary School. I have 2 girls, 1 in reception at Grangehurst and a 3-year-old currently in nursery. I have worked in further education for 10 years, specifically in maths and English. I became a governor at the school as I am passionate about education and creating opportunities for young people.

I have been fortunate enough to travel and experience different cultures and lifestyles throughout Australia, Asia and Europe. I have also worked in young offenders’ institutions and hope my experiences may bring something to the governor’s board and the ongoing success of the school.

While growing up I used to love reading Enid Blyton “choose your own adventure” books with my siblings. After every few chapters you were faced with a decision that would decide the next part of the story. I found them not only very exciting but would also love negotiating with my brothers which option we should pick!

Tom Hill

I have lived in Coventry all my life. I was educated at local primary and secondary schools. I graduated with BA (Hons) Primary Education with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in 2019. During this time I completed two placements at Grangehurst. These placements were a very positive, rewarding and supportive experiences. Upon qualifying, I joined Grangehurst as a Class Teacher. This was for me a very proud moment. I am currently in my third year in this role. I am also the Religious Education (RE) Subject Lead.

Throughout my time at Grangehurst I have felt and continue to feel a tremendous sense of pride in both my teaching role and participation in the wider school community. In September 2021, I became the Staff Governor. This is a role I am very much enjoying and am honoured to undertake.

My hobbies include being a huge rugby fan. I have been involved in the sport from the age of 5. I have been a qualified referee for a 10 years and am a member of the Warwickshire Society of Referees. In this role I frequently referee matches in the Midlands and further afield.  Alongside this, my other hobby is scouting. Through being involved in the scouting movement I have been privileged to take part and lead events in the UK and world wide.

Rizma Moti

Hi, I’m a co-op governor, I’m delighted to be on the governing board.  My son goes to this school so I’m a parent at the school too.

My background is in teaching, I’m a Curriculum Lead at Coventry College, I manage the ESOL youth department.  I’ve been teaching English at colleges and universities for over 18 years now.  I’m from London but I’ve enjoyed my travels, I’ve lived and taught in various countries in the Middle East and Africa.

Three things I love are family, food and education.