How Ark's governance works
Every school in the Ark network is the legal responsibility of the Ark Schools Board. This board focuses on statutory duties and delegates most day-to-day responsibilities to each school’s individual Local Governing Body (LGB).
This means that our Academy's governors are able to concentrate on the things that really matter – educational strategy, school outcomes and aspiration.
The Ark Schools Decision Making Framework outlines where responsibility and accountability sits for the key functional areas within Ark Schools between the ‘tiers’ of governance.
Our Local Governing Body
Our Local Governing Body (LGB) is made up of 6-10 members – usually people with a local connection or interest who are committed to supporting educational opportunity in the area. The board generally includes:
- Academy Principal
- Up to two Parent Governors
- One Teaching Staff Governor
- One Non-teaching Staff Governor
- One Local Authority representative
We aim to create a balanced group that will have the right skills, connections and dynamic for the LGB to work well and support the school in achieving exceptional performance. Attributes we look for include:
- Good insight into the specific challenges at the school and the general challenges of operating top-quality schools
- Excellent community links
- Specific skills as needed by/relevant to the school
- A link to the senior executive team of Ark Schools
All appointments are made by the Director of Governance for Ark Schools. The term of a governor is three years, except for the Principal, who remains a governor for the duration of his or her time in post. Governors may be reappointed for further terms.
The LGB meets four times a year.
Becoming a governor
If you have an interest and commitment to improving education, and would like to make a difference within your community, please register your interest in becoming a governor by completing our online Governor Application Form. If you have any questions about a governor’s role or responsibilities please contact us at governance.team@arkonline.org
A full programme of induction, training and support is provided. You can see more information, including role specifications here.
Contacting the governors
The current Clerk to Governors is Sakina Marzban (sakina.marzban@arkonline.org). Please contact them if you have any governance-related queries, or would like to contact one of the governors.
Our Governors
Joanna Israel
Jo has been a governor at Ark Greenwich Free School since 2015 and Chair since 2019. She is immensely proud of all the hard work that has gone into creating the Ark Greenwich Free School community, where exceptional staff and happy, confident scholars flourish. Outside of Ark Greenwich Free School Jo works for the Department for Education and lives in Greenwich.
Kristen Hassler
Kristen moved to the UK in 2004 from the US where she studied SEN Education (SpLD/BESD) and Fine Art at university. She worked at St Augustine’s CE High School in Westminster for thirteen years as a SENCo/SEN Teacher. Wanting to learn about different aspects of education in the UK, she became a Governor at AGFS and then the SENCo at Eton College, where she currently works. She is passionate about the development of SEND in the UK and ensuring that all students in all areas of education are supported and empowered to progress in all areas of their lives.
Simon Hurst
Simon become involved with Greenwich Free School in 2012 as a single father of twins who were among the first cohorts of students. He used to run the Astronomy Enrichment Programme which gave students the opportunity to do solar observations and view the transit of mercury in 2016. He is also passionate about online safety and has worked hard with the Safeguarding Team at AGFS to setup the school's safeguarding system's which has had a positive effect on the increase of online safety for AGFS students both in and out of school of which he is very proud.
Ben Jasper
Ben works as a solicitor at an international law firm specialising in litigation, investigations and dispute resolution. He obtained a First Class Degree in Modern History and a Masters in Politics from Wadham College, Oxford University where he was Student Union President. He has been a Governor since 2011 and chaired the Finance Pay and Personnel Committee between 2014 and 2018. He grew up in London where he attended a state school and was the first person in his family to go to university. He is committed to ensuring that young people, regardless of their background, have the best possible chance of achieving outstanding results and attending top-flight universities.
Kumar Raju Kosuru
Kumar works as a Capital Market expert for tier 1 banks and has over 15 years of experience in Banking and Technology. He ran large scale transformation programmes in Goldman Sachs, UBS, and Lloyds bank. He moved to the UK in 2017 from India and is passionate about innovation and social entrepreneurship. He is a mentor for the Mayor of London's Business Growth Programme (BGP). He holds an Executive MSC in Social Business and Entrepreneurship from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a bachelor degree in Computer Science. He is committed to developing young people's mindset for impact and social innovation through strong community and technology.
Conor McHugh
Conor has a longstanding commitment to education and ensuring children and young people get every opportunity to reach their full potential. He originally trained as a Primary School Teacher in Ireland and taught for four years in a school with designated disdavantaged status in Dublin. He also holds Masters Degrees in International Relations and Communications. From there, a varied career has followed including positions in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Ireland, the charity Teach First and now in the Department for Education where Conor is Head of Operations and Business Management in Capital Directorate for Free Schools. Conor moved to Greenwich nearly 10 years ago and sees the role of Governor as making an important contribution to the community not just for now but for the future.
Anjuli Old
Anjuli studied law at the University of Essex and joined the Civil Service in 2009. She has held a number of roles in the Home Office and in the Ministry of Justice where she was the Private Secretary to two Lord Chancellors. Anjuli is currently a Team Leader in the Ministry of Justice’s Criminal Justice Strategy & Criminal Court Policy Unit. She has lived in Greenwich since 2014 and is keen to help contribute to the development of young people in her local area.
Nichola Walker
With a child at Ark Greenwich Free School Nichola has worked with teachers and students in the past and volunteered her free time to help families overcome issues. Nichola is an active fundraiser and feels confident that she can fully support the whole school community.
Robert West
Robert West has 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. Robert has two children at the school. The desire to be a governor is to be involved in the children’s upbringing and give the benefit of my experience to help guide this great school.