The Governing Body

All maintained schools have a governing body which together with the Head teacher, sets the aims and policies of the school. The Head teacher is responsible for the day to day management of the school. Together the governing body and Head teacher must ensure the school provides good quality education and helps to raise standards.

The governing body has three strategic functions:

1. Establishing the strategic direction by setting and ensuring clarity of vision, values, and objectives for the school
2. Ensuring accountability, by monitoring the educational performance of the school/s and progress towards agreed targets
3. Overseeing financial performance

The Governing Body is also:

• accountable for the performance of the school to the parents and the wider community,
• plans the school’s future direction,
• selects the Head teacher,
• makes decisions on the school’s budget and staffing,
• makes sure the National Curriculum is taught,
• decides how the school can encourage students’ spiritual, moral and cultural development,
• makes sure the school provides for all its students, including those with special educational needs.

 Please click on the images below to read our governors personal statements.

• Leigh Pepper
  Chair of Governors
  Leigh Pepper

  Responsible for Leadership and Management (Head teacher performance and School Development Plan)

  Leigh Pepper is Chair of Governors and is responsible for supporting the Head teacher, colleagues and parents/carers to deliver an outstanding education and personal development for the students of The Phoenix Collegiate.

  Professionally Leigh is Chief Product Officer at a global software company; Aptitude Software Plc. Leigh is at the cutting edge of the latest technology trends setting strategy and executing delivery in this large international business.

  Leigh is a recognised industry leader in financial services and technology.

  Previously Leigh worked for 10x Banking where he led the build of numerous brand-new banking propositions including Chase in the UK, Westpac in Australia and Old Mutual in South Africa. Earlier in his career Leigh worked in financial services at Lloyds Banking Group leading the local branch network and latterly the Business Banking Division of Lloyds Banking Group.

  His finance and business background plus vast experience in leading and scaling large multi-disciplinary teams enables him to support the Head teacher in setting the school's vision and strategic direction.

  Passionate about student achievement and progress, Leigh is also keen to ensure students develop long term employability skills and has supported the school by providing summer intern and work experience programmes for Year 11 and Sixth Form students.

  An ambitious and driven individual Leigh seeks to embody the school's vision to Aspire, Believe and Succeed. Having studied at Leeds University, he graduated in Economics and Management in 2003 and joined Lloyds Bank. Over the following 13 years he worked in both the UK and internationally including the USA and Switzerland. With practical experience in senior leadership roles in finance he enjoys providing guidance in these areas to shape school policy and direction. At 10x Banking initially a small fintech start-up he oversaw the scaling of this business from a handful of individuals to a team of over 500.

  At Aptitude Group Plc. Leigh is using his experience to provide strategic consultancy to the Board and Senior Leadership team to enable the launch of their new software product and internal organisational transformation.

  Having been a governor for over 15 years and Chair for the past 10 years Leigh has worked tirelessly to develop the governing body into a team that provides a range of experiences and support to the school. In this time, he has radically reshaped the governing body to make it more responsive to the needs of students, parents/carers, colleagues and other stakeholders.

  On a personal level he lives with his partner Iain, 2 dogs and a cat in Lichfield, Staffordshire. A keen football fan, having now given up playing he enjoys attending matches and is a Manchester United season ticket holder. Enjoying physical pursuits Leigh is a keen skier, plays tennis and regularly runs to keep in shape.

  A firm believer in the potential of Phoenix Leigh says 'I continue to enjoy being part of this unique school community, seeing it grow and develop and provide our students with the best start possible in their lives makes me immensely proud.'

• Don Williams
  V. Chair of Governors
  Don Williams

  Responsible for Behaviour, Safety and Engagement (Positive Learning Behaviour, bullying and reporting, safeguarding, pupil engagement, parental feedback/involvement in school, community profile and Special Educational Needs) and HR (Staffing structure, pay and performance for support staff, HR policies and procedures culture)

  Don Williams is the vice chair on the governing body. He has been a school governor at both primary and secondary level for over 16 years. On The Phoenix Collegiate governing body he has responsibility for two portfolio areas.

  Along with another governor he works with one of the deputy head teachers and the pastoral team on Behaviour and Safety. This is a wide ranging brief which ranges from monitoring attendance, behaviour issues, and parental involvement to ensuring that policies from central government are implemented. He also has responsibility for the SEN department and related areas within the school.

  The other portfolio Don covers is HR, on this portfolio he works with the school Operations Director to make sure that the school complies with all the legal obligations that it has, also to make sure that the school has the correct staffing in both the teaching and support areas and make sure all staff are supported.

  Away from school Don works in the rail industry for one of the local train companies as a Senior Conductor. He has been married for just over 26 years and has one son who attended Menzies.

• Mike Smith
  Head Teacher
  Mike Smith

  Mike was appointed as the Head teacher of Phoenix in January 2018. He considers himself privileged to be working at such an amazing school and is passionate about his vision to establish Phoenix as an outstanding school.

  Phoenix - "an amazing place to work; an inspirational place to study; a life changing opportunity."

  Academic success is important to us at Phoenix because we recognise that for our students, an outstanding education can be life changing.

  At Phoenix students are challenged to achieve the very best they can, and within a caring, supportive and vibrant environment, they thrive.

  We have a strong foundation of good quality teaching, evidenced through our strong  examination results. But Phoenix is not only about delivering great qualifications; it's about building the character and self-esteem of our young people, opening young minds, nurturing ambition and inspiring a generation to achieve beyond their wildest imagination!

  We believe that there is no ceiling on what each and every one of our students can achieve. In a world where society is often fragmented and polarised, our school remains a community where honesty and integrity matter, humour and hard work are equally important values, and where the process of education is as important as the grade. We are a school proud of our achievements and excited by what the future holds.

• Lee Aspbury
  Local Authority Governor
  Lee Aspbury

  Lee is currently employed as the Digital Transformation and Innovation Manager at SIPS Education Ltd. As a leading education services provider in the Midlands SIPS is dedicated to providing high class services to hundreds of schools across the region.

  Lee's 20-year career in the IT industry has enabled him to be well versed in a variety of different areas of technology and also highly skilled in project / programme management, business analysis and service management.

  After multiple positions in both public and private sector organisations of varying sizes and complexity, this means that he has vast areas of expertise that can be utilised by the school as it looks to the future.

  As an ex-student of Menzies (the former Phoenix south site), Lee has a vested interest in ensuring that all students at the school are able to realise their potential and he is keen to give back to the school that started his career journey.

  On a personal note, Lee has a wife (Katie) and 2 children (Oscar and Lois). He is a keen Golfer and West Bromwich Albion supporter.

• Sophie Marie Bennett
  Parent Governor
  Sophie Marie Bennett

  Parent governor

  Sophie Marie is a parent of a Year 8 student here at The Phoenix collegiate. She has 3 daughters, with the youngest being 4!

  She is a multi-award-winning business consultant and runs several community organisations, one being child focussed; Youth Of The Community which supports underprivileged, disadvantaged and ethnically diverse children. The aim of this organisation is to provide children with the space needed to continue their studies, when faced with expulsion from mainstream education and are no longer able to engage with their studies, peers or society.

  Sophie is the founder of Black Owned Birmingham, and also works in the Organising Committee at Commonwealth Games Birmingham 2022.

  She has 3 degrees all business focussed. Professional Administration, Business Administration and a Master's Degree in Management and Entrepreneurship. She completed them all with Birmingham City University and she is heading back there late 2022 to start her PGCE. Sophie has also successfully gained a place there to start her PHD in Business Management in 2023.

  To date, the experiences that she has gained through personal and professional practices, such as; being a parent, her education and volunteering, have provided her with transferable skills suited to the role of governor.

  She is particularly keen to ensure that all children are safeguarded and can fulfil their full potential regardless of their background, special educational needs or other diversities.

  Sophie Marie comes from a big family, her immediate family consists of 30, it was instilled in to her from a young age that family is everything and she prides herself on making her family proud. She loves organising days out for them and more importantly quality time. Bike riding and swimming are some of her hobbies, but her favourite during the summer is roller-skating.

  She is an honest, tenacious and trustworthy individual who strives to uphold a positive attitude. She values lived experiences of others and offers kindness and consideration to all. She is a strong communicator and is able to adapt her language to suit all ages and backgrounds, whilst remaining professional at all times.

  She sees being a governor as a great opportunity to help her local community, by ensuring our children have access to a great education and develop to their fullest potential.

  She believes she will be pivotal as governor, assisting the school to analyse the attainment gaps between groups of students and pinpoint who and where the school needs to pay extra attention.

  She is keen to support the school and all of its dedicated staff who work so hard to keep this establishment running smoothly.

• Amy-Leigh Harris
  Co-opted Governor
  Amy-Leigh Harris

  Amy-Leigh was a student at Phoenix Collegiate, when it was formally known as Menzies High School between 2002 and 2009.

  She grew up in West Bromwich and still has strong connections with the local community.

  Amy-Leigh achieved excellent GCSE and A Level results from Menzies. She then went on to study an undergraduate degree in History at the University of Leeds. After achieving a First-Class honours degree, she joined Teach First to complete her PGCE and achieved Qualified Teacher Status from the University of Warwick.

  Since then, Amy-Leigh has had a varied career within education ranging from: Head of Subject to Head of Sixth Form and she is currently a Senior Assistant Headteacher with responsibility for Attainment and Standards at a large secondary school in Wolverhampton where student outcomes are well above national average.

  Amy-Leigh regularly engages with professional development opportunities and as a result is a fellow of the Teaching Leaders institute. She has completed her NPQSL and often facilitates training workshops for Early Career Teachers as part of her ongoing work with Teach First and ConnectEd.

  She is passionate about students’ achievement and progress and believes that all children should have the opportunity to leave their educational journey as well-rounded citizens, ready for their next steps.

  Amy-Leigh also strongly believes that no child's educational success should be limited by their socio-economic backgrounds. By joining the governing body at Phoenix, Amy-Leigh hopes that she can give something back to the school and community she grew up in.

  On a personal note, Amy-Leigh is also a mother to two small but very energetic boys. She spends her spare time with her family and enjoys family days out in and around the West Midlands.

• Gulshan Klair
  Parent Governor
  Gulshan Klair

  Gulshan was born in Sandwell West Bromwich and attended Cronehills Primary and Churchfields High School.

  He is currently employed by Steris Healthcare as a Clinical Advisor.

  Gulshan is a skilled and organised professional with a bachelor’s degree in Media and design. He has worked in the private medical industry for over 20 years holding various management, training/education and consultative roles.

  Gulshan is the youngest of eight siblings, married with two children. His daughter started in Year 7 at Phoenix in September 2022.

  Outside of work commitments and voluntary work, his main duty is ‘family time’, doing activities with the kids and spending quality time with the family circle.

  On a personal note Gulshan has always been a keen sportsman, playing competitive football, tennis, mountain biking and supporting his team; Manchester United FC.

  Other hobbies include art and mixing on his DJ decks.

  Gulshan is keen to support the school, parents and its students and believes his ability to connect and communicate at all levels will transfer well into school governance.

• Kelly-Leigh Kulyk
  Co-opted Governor
  Kelly-Leigh Kulyk

  Kelly joined the governing board in May 2024.

  Kelly serves as a local secondary special school as a Head teacher within the Sandwell area.

  Kelly decided to embark on a career in education at a young age, when she observed the challenges her younger brother had within the mainstream education sector due to a diagnosis of autism and other learning needs.

  She wanted to make a difference, support pupils with SEND and ensure she provided them with the best schooling experience to equip them for the future.

  With this in mind, she wanted to make a difference and share her passion, commitment, enthusiasm, and the importance of this role for young people, with others and feels her knowledge and passion will further support Phoenix.

  On a personal level she loves animals and provides fostering support for a local animal rescue. She lives with her husband, son, dog and her chickens.

• Mike Mitchell
  Co-opted Governor
  Mike Mitchell

  Mike, originally from Leeds, has lived in West Bromwich since 2000 and his son started Year 7 at Phoenix in September 2018.

  He has worked in education for over 25 years, teaching English in Spain, Turkey and Russia before going onto educational support roles in various UK universities. He currently works in the Medical School at the University of Birmingham where he provides curriculum and training support to GPs who teach medical students. He also has a keen interest in widening participation, which helps young people from disadvantaged backgrounds with potential get into and prepare for study at university, and part of his role is in admissions and school liaison.

  He has served as a parent governor at Eaton Valley Primary School since 2012, acting as Vice Chair of the Full Governing Body and Chair of the Curriculum Committee.

  He enjoys family time and losing weight while playing 6 a side football with Manvfatfootball.org (New players always needed!).

• Sarah Prescott
  Parent Governor
  Sarah Prescott

  Sarah's work history has always been around helping children and young people to thrive to do their best and reach their true potential.

  As a single mother of a 11-year-old child, she knows how difficult it can be on your own and how important it is to have the right support mechanism around you.

  Sarah has worked in a local secondary school as an attendance officer and behaviour manager successfully supporting those who are harder to engage with and students with poor attendance in making significant improvements through afterschool workshops and meet ups with parents/carers.

  Sarah is currently working for the City of Wolverhampton Council as a youth unemployment support manager, supporting young people in finding and sustaining education, employment and training.

  She also leads in Champions Kids building at Champions Church in Netherton where they have a purpose-built building that allows them to look after babies from 6 months - 3 years old and support and educate children and young people from 4 - 16 years of age whilst parents enjoy the service.

  She aims to put 100% in whatever she puts her heart to, to ensure that no one is left behind especially when supporting children and young people and welcomes the opportunity to be a governor at The Phoenix Collegiate.

  Sarah's work history has always been around helping children and young people to thrive to do their best and reach their true potential.

  As a single mother of a 11-year-old child, she knows how difficult it can be on your own and how important it is to have the right support mechanism around you.

  Sarah's professional experience has always revolved around assisting people and striving to do her best to assist them in realising their full potential, believing in themselves, and supporting them on their path to success.

  Sarah has worked in a local secondary school as an attendance officer and behaviour manager successfully supporting those who are harder to engage with and students with poor attendance in making significant improvements through after school workshops and meet ups with parents/carers.

  Sarah is currently working for the City of Wolverhampton Council as a Youth Employment Support Manager, supporting young people to overcome the barriers that they may be facing in finding and sustaining in education, employment and training. She is also the vice chair of the Race, Religion. Belief staff equality forum where she is actively working towards equality in the workplace. No one deserves to be treated unfairly because of their skin colour, sexual orientation, religious views, abilities, or disabilities. We're all one-of-a-kind and exquisitely crafted.

  She also leads in Champions Kids building at Champions Church in Netherton where they have a purpose-built building that allows them to look after babies from 6 months - 3 years old and support and educate children from 11 years of age whilst parents enjoy the service.

  On a personal note Sarah is the life and soul of the party with a contagious laugh and a warm spirit. She loves keeping fit and healthy with her son and has a very competitive spirit. She is a netball player in the West Midlands Regional netball league where she plays WD/C. She has also recently become the owner of a new show cocker spaniel named Smudge who she and her son love and adores.

  Sarah has a BA Hons degree in Drama and Performance, she is also a qualified Mentor and has a Level 4 qualification in Information, Advice and Guidance. She is currently completing her Level 5 in Management and Leadership qualification.

  She aims to put 100% in whatever she puts her heart to, to ensure that no one is left behind especially when supporting children and young people and welcomes the opportunity to be a governor at The Phoenix Collegiate.

• Satnam Purewal
  Associate Governor
  Satnam Purewal

  Satnam was proud to be a member of the teaching staff at school and held the position of Head of Social Science until December 2018. He moved on from teaching to manage the family business but was keen to continue making a positive contribution towards the lives of our youngsters and therefore wanted to be a part of helping the school develop further by being a governor.

  He started at Menzies High School as a specialist ICT teacher and was appointed head of KS5 in ICT just after his NQT year. It was during this year that he was asked to teach Psychology to cover an absent member of staff. Satnam was appointed Head of Psychology and in 2009 and was asked to create a Social Sciences department by merging Psychology and Sociology with him as the leader of the department. During his time at Menzies and then Phoenix, his department had excellent results with Ofsted highlighting its success in their inspection in 2015. One of his proudest achievements is that each year a large majority of his year 13 students choose to read Psychology at university.

  Over his last ten years of teaching, Satnam also mentored PGCE students in Psychology helping to nurture outstanding teachers, which adds value to his role as a Governor when supporting the school to develop the next generation of teachers.

  Satnam also managed many different levels of school trips such as Alton Towers (300 students), Sandwell residential centres and Media Studies trips to New York in 2008 and 2009 (30 students).

  Satnam is now the co-owner of the Red Lion Public House in West Bromwich.

  This is a family run business which his father has managed since 1997. It is a successful business which has grown over the years and he has had an active role in the business for the last 10 years.

  His main motivation for wanting to be a Governor was that he still felt strongly passionate about teaching. He never really wanted to leave teaching but his father was not in good health so he had to take over the running of the family business. Satnam feels he has a lot to contribute in education and being a governor gives him the opportunity to do that. Being a local business leader, he also has an interest in making sure the next generation of children are well equipped to deal with the world of work.

  Satnam is a committed individual, who thoroughly enjoys his time in teaching, was respected and valued by students and staff alike.

  On a personal note, Satnam is a keen sportsman. He has run a few marathons including London in 2019, Liverpool (2018) and Birmingham (2017). He loves hiking and spends a lot of his spare time in either the Lake District or the Snowdonia Mountains. During the winter, he is a keen snowboarder and in the summer he enjoys surfing even though he doesn't think he is very good at it. One of his favourite past times is going to the theatre with his wife.

• Paul Rogers
  Co-opted Governor
  Paul Rogers

  Paul was born and raised in West Bromwich where he has lived all his life. He attended Churchfields High School.

  He has always worked in the public sector field where he worked for the NHS for 15 years and now works in a primary school as an office team manager.

  He is married with 3 children with two daughters at Phoenix Collegiate.

  He enjoys spending time with his family and running his children to the various sports clubs that they undertake. These include Gymnastics, Trampolining, Karate, Swimming, Stage school and Tennis. He also enjoys relaxing when he can and watching sports on TV, especially football, Rugby and Cricket.

  Having always lived around the area, he always said that no child of his would ever attend Phoenix.

  He had heard negative stories that were associated with the school and never gave the school a chance. When coming to choose a secondary school for his daughter, she wanted to take a look around Phoenix. They attended an open evening and were greatly surprised and impressed with the school. Everything that he had heard and was told was totally inaccurate.

  Having attended the open evening, Phoenix became his child's first choice and they were both pleased that she was given a place.

  After the open evening, he then looked at how he could make an impact on the local community but also the school and was pleased to become a Governor.

• David Russell
  Staff Governor
  David Russell

  Following a successful career as a Deputy Head teacher in a Sandwell Secondary school, having taken early retirement, Dave wanted to continue to be involved in the education and development of young people.

  He is still passionate about supporting teaching staff to enable them to deliver inspiring learning environments to engage and get the very best from their students.

  Dave feels that with his experience, knowledge and skills in education he is a valuable member of the Governing Body at Phoenix on its journey to continue to raise standards of achievement of all students. In the capacity of being an observer at Governors' meetings during his career, he is well aware of the responsibilities and importance of effective governance for a school.

  Dave has a good understanding of the challenges facing schools in raising levels of achievement, maintaining standards of learning and teaching, and developing a whole school commitment to achieve goals.

  Having been fortunate in working part-time at Phoenix project managing the New Build Programme, Dave has got to know the school, teaching and support staff and students. He feels this has enabled him to more quickly become an effective governor. Specific areas that his experience could support the work of the Phoenix Governing Body are: site and facilities, subject Link Governor, data and target setting, safeguarding and Health & Safety.

  In addition, from working within the school Dave has found it to be a vibrant, positive and exciting place to be and this has led him to want to play an active part through the governing body in the further development and achievements of the school and its students.

  Dave uses his leisure time to pursue a range of activities: travelling and undertaking overland expeditions with his wife in their Land Rover. Having led a Duke of Edinburgh's group for many years he now volunteers as an Assessor for the Midland Region in all levels of the Award as well as mountain walking with friends. A further keen leisure interest is motor vehicles and he enjoys working on and maintaining his classic cars.

• Manveer Sandhu
  Co-opted Governor
  Manveer Sandhu

  Manveer is a Phoenix alumnus. He was born and raised in West Bromwich. Manveer’s passion for science has led him to become a qualified pharmacist. He is pursuing a PhD in pharmaceutical science, focusing on creating new formulations to treat ocular diseases.

  Before undertaking doctoral research, Manveer had experience working in the pharmaceutical industry, community pharmacy, and the hospital setting.

  Manveer has a range of teaching experience in higher education, where he supports undergraduate and postgraduate students. He is motivated to ensure all students, regardless of background, are given an equal opportunity to succeed in life. Manveer has also been involved in outreach programmes to provide secondary school students with skills to increase their likelihood of reaching higher education.

  Manveer is actively engaged with professional development to ensure his research and teaching continue to develop with the university's and its students' needs.

  Manveer is a football fanatic, playing 7-a-side football twice per week.

• Jonny Young
  Partnership Governor
  Jonny Young

  Jonny is originally from Edinburgh, where he studied Construction and Project Management at Edinburgh Napier University, before moving to London in 2015.

  Jonny has worked in the facilities management industry for the last 14 years, working specifically with large corporate banking clients for the last 5 years.

  He has a real passion for leading teams who create world class workplaces and environments that enable colleagues to perform their best and connect with their peers.

  Jonny has been working on a large construction and moves project with an international bank in Canary Wharf for the last two years, where they successfully moved over 3500 traders and investment bank colleagues from a closing to site to an industry leading environment within the banks Global HQ.

  His interests are travelling the world, exploring new places and keeping fit. He is a sports enthusiast with golf and football being his two obsessions.

Vacancies: 1 co-opted governor.
Please find below further details about our Governing Body:

Governors informationGovernors attendance record at Full Governing Body meetings

Structure of the governing body and portfolios