Trustees - Methodist Independent Schools Trust (MIST)
TRUSTEES
Mr Ian McCaig - Chair (Appointed 2024)
Mrs Elaine Cleland - Deputy Chair of MIST (Appointed 2016)
Elaine has wide ranging experience in senior management and leadership both in business and education.
Her focus has always been on the engagement and development of the people, empowering them to perform more effectively to enable an organisation to realise its full executive and commercial potential.
Revd Stephen Burgess (Appointed 2017)
Stephen initially trained as a Chemist and worked in industry before undertaking a PGCE followed by a couple of years teaching in a secondary school. He then trained for ordained Methodist ministry, retiring in 2017 after 37 years in the “active work”. His ministry has included 20 years as a School Chaplain: seven years at Farringtons School, followed by 13 years at The Leys School, where he was also a Housemaster for five years. In 1990, Stephen exchanged for twelve months with the Chaplain of Newington College, Sydney. Four years as Superintendent Minister of the Cambridge circuit was followed by 13 years as Chair of the York & Hull district.
Stephen is married to Barbara, a retired teacher who taught at St Faith’s School for ten years before moving to the Minster School in York. They have two adult sons – both of whom are past pupils of St Faith’s School and The Leys School.
Sailing with young people is a passion, and Stephen skippers offshore yachts for the Rona Sailing Project in a voluntary capacity.
Mr Mark Donougher (Appointed 2024)
Mr Tim Emmett (Appointed 2023)
Tim is an education industry specialist, with a focus on market development. He has worked across all education sectors in the UK and internationally and understands school governance in the independent and maintained sectors. Tim's education industry expertise encompasses finance, marketing and public affairs experience.
Mrs Bernasia Halikowa (Appointed 2023)
Bernasia has over 40 years’ experience leading high-profile assignments involving organisational change management, post-mergers restructuring, business performance improvement, HR strategy and implementation.
Mr Tony Harris (Appointed 2022)
Tony is Chair of governors at Farringtons School, a trustee of Inspiring Lives Education Trust and a former Trustee of Epworth Education Trust.
He is a chartered surveyor specialising in property dispute resolution as arbitrator and as a Chair in the First-tier Tribunal Property Chamber. He is a member of the Methodist Church and has previously acted for various church bodies in a professional capacity as a valuer under the Charities Act.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has an LLM in Advanced Commercial Property Law.
Mr Stephen Holliday (Appointed 2019)
Stephen Holliday was educated at Batley Grammar School and Jesus College, Cambridge where he read history. After working as an Operations Manager for British Rail based in Dundee and Glasgow, he decided to become a teacher. In 2000 he became Headmaster of Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital in Bristol, retiring in 2020.
He served as Treasurer of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC) from 2013-2019 and as a Board member of the Independent Schools’ Council during the same period.
Stephen is currently a Reporting Inspector for the Independent Schools’ Inspectorate. A local preacher, he is also Vice Chair of Trustees at Cliff College, a Methodist Theological College, in Derbyshire. In his spare time he enjoys supporting Leeds United, skiing and ornithology.
Mr John Jefferson (Appointed 2024)
Mrs Henrietta Mbeah-Bankas (Appointed 2022)
Henrietta is the Head of Blended Learning and Digital Literacy Workstream Lead at Health Education England and was previously the Topol Technology Review Project Lead. She is a Darzi Fellow alumnus, a previous NHSE Clinical Nursing Fellow in Research and Evaluation and a visiting lecturer at UCL. She is also an NHS Clinical Entrepreneur.
Henrietta remains a Registered Mental Health Nurse with an overall desire for improving access and equity in all healthcare related matters and education.
This passion is driving her current work at HEE and her entrepreneurial work in the development of an AI-powered culturally sensitive mental health and well-being screening tool.
Lady Fiona Mynors (Appointed 2020)
Fiona was born in London, graduating from UEA in English before gaining a teaching qualification. She taught and led departments in maintained and independent academic secondary schools across England, including in Wolverhampton and Liverpool, before settling in rural Herefordshire to become head of an IAPS school.
She has been Chair or Vice-Chair of large HMC, IAPS and GSA schools, and a maintained special school. She is currently the safeguarding governor of a rural primary school.
Fiona was a Reporting Inspector, trainer, monitor and editor for the Independent Schools Inspectorate for 20 years.
Active in the diocese and her local village church, Fiona is member of the Hereford Diocesan Safeguarding Working Group and independent chair of Hereford Cathedral’s Safeguarding Management Group.
Busy with family, for relaxation she reads, gardens and the labradors make sure that she takes plenty of exercise!
Mr Adam Proctor (Appointed 2024)
Adam is currently the CFO and board member of a fast growing global tech company, Vertical Future.
Prior to that Adam has spent the vast majority of his career initially at Barclays and then Citigroup, both in the UK and Singapore. His last role was as a Managing Director running the Private Banking business at Citi for Singapore, Australia and New Zealand as well as sitting on the Citi Executive Committee for Singapore.
Adam attended Bristol University where he studied Geology. He went to Truro School from 1990 - 1997, which he absolutely loved, as did his brother.
Outside of work Adam loves to spent time in the mountains skiing, mountain biking and hiking. He is an active sportsman with a passion for cycling, running and tennis.
Adam also sits on the Finance Committee of Churchill College Cambridge.
Mr Simon Small (Appointed 2024)
Simon is a retired accountant, having spent most of his career in the banking and insurance industries in senior financial roles, latterly as Finance Director and then CEO of Equitable Life, a pensions mutual. His motto was “to make a decent profit, decently ”.
After ten years of boarding at Culford School, he studied History and Russian at Nottingham University before qualifying as an accountant and then studying at Henley and Harvard Business Schools. An advocate of life long learning, he has always tried to pass on his experience and knowledge, whether through coaching or speaking at Cambridge, Sandhurst and King’s College.
From a family of navy and RAF servicemen, he is married to Allison, who he met whilst they were both at Culford School. Blessed with two adult daughters and (so far!) one grandson he lives in Southend.
A keen reader and sports fan who enjoys the different cultures travel can bring, Simon also likes to support his local community by volunteering at the nearby Coastwatch Institute and by picking up the vast quantities of litter in the neighbourhood.
Revd Mark Wakelin (Appointed 2024)
Mrs Gill Wilson (Appointed 2023)
Gill is a retired headteacher with experience in both state primary schools and independent prep schools. She also worked for the Independent Association of Prep Schools as a team inspector and as a mentor of new Heads. In addition, she represented other headteachers at the GEMS Group of Schools. Gill was a governor at Woodhouse Grove School with special responsibility for EYFS.
Gill is currently serving as a Chair of Governors at a Methodist prep school in Yorkshire where she was the Designated Governor for Safeguarding before becoming the Chair in 2022.