Our Governors

Brought up and educated in Sheffield, Catherine moved to Leeds in 1996 and has lived in the Headingley area since then. She is Managing Director of a Marketing Consultancy in Leeds. As a parent of three children who have attended Richmond House School, Catherine joined the Board of Governors in 2008 to bring a local perspective to the governors and help support with the school’s marketing and ensure healthy pupil numbers. Catherine previously served as Chair from 2013 until 2018 and was reappointed as chair in July 2022.

Born in Uganda, Simon moved to London after University, where he started work for Customs and Excise. Simon has worked in various roles within the Criminal Investigation Department and relocated to Leeds in 2008 where he joined the newly formed HMRC. Simon’s two daughters both attended Richmond House School, where he feels they benefited from the small class sizes and the range of activities offered. Simon became a Governor in 2016 to give something back to the school and to ensure that current and future pupils have access to the same opportunities that his children had.

Originally from Leeds, Paul attended Leeds Grammar School and Nottingham Trent University, he then moved to train as a Graduate Surveyor at Sanderson Weatherall where he spent 12 years. Paul is currently the Director of Fox Lloyd Jones Ltd, a property consultancy business. He is the parent of 2 children currently at Richmond House School and he became a Governor to give something back to the school. He aims to utilise his skillset where needed and is looking forward to seeing projects come to fruition.

Originally from the north east of England, Helen moved to Leeds after qualifying as a solicitor in 1993. She has been employed as an in-house solicitor for a number of financial institutions and is now a skills coach at the University of Law where she work with students towards qualification in the legal profession through apprenticeship programmes. Helen has two sons who have both attended Richmond House School and, whilst a parent at the school, she was an active member of the parents association and became involved in many aspects of school life. During breaks in her legal career, she has undertaken a number of voluntary roles and was a Trustee for an educational charity in addition to being a volunteer legal advisor for Citizens Advice.

Helen was born in Leeds and has lived most of her life in the area other than going to Manchester University where she studied history. Having qualified as a chartered accountant she spent a number of years in the profession and then in senior financial roles in the private sector in retail and IT. She has two boys who both attended Richmond House, they loved the school and still have many friends from their time there. Helen has worked in the charitable sector for the last twenty five years, most recently as Chief Executive of Leeds Mind who support people with mental health difficulties across West Yorkshire. She has significant experience of charity and private sector financial reporting and governance and continues to be a trustee of other local charities in Leeds. Helen wants to see the school continue in its role of ensuring happy children who are in the right environment to achieve their potential and live their best lives.

David Milner is the Director of Marketing and International Relations at Sedbergh School in Cumbria. Having worked in a variety of schools in the UK, David is a great supporter of the UK Independent School sector. Through his wealth of experience in strategy, marketing and admissions, David is looking forward to supporting the governing body and school in maintaining the exceptional standards across RHS.

Gail has lived most of her life in Leeds.  Her family connections with Richmond House School go back almost 70 years, with family members having attended the school in the 1940s, herself in the 1960s and her daughter from 2005-2012. A chartered accountant with business, corporate finance and senior management experience in various sectors, Gail brings business, finance and governance skills to the Governing body. Gail is keen to see the school continue to flourish and to play a part in helping to provide an environment that nurtures young children to make the best of themselves in whatever field they wish  to participate in.

Originally from Cork, Ireland, Eleanor studied Medicine at University College Cork and qualified in 1996. She moved to Leeds in 1998 and worked in hospitals in both Leeds and Bradford before settling into a career in General Practice. She has worked as a General Practitioner in the Wortley area of Leeds for the past 14 years.  Eleanor is the mother of three girls and they all attended Richmond House School.  All three still feel very much part of the ‘Richmond House Family’. As a GP she has experience in safeguarding children, and she would like to support Richmond House School maintaining the safe and happy environment for children to learn.

Ian has lived in Leeds all his life and studied his undergraduate degree in Computing at Leeds and masters in Advanced Computer Science at Manchester.  He has worked in IT all his career for the NHS.  Ian’s two step-children both attended Richmond House and he has a two year old daughter.  Ian supports the governing body in particular with his experience in IT.

Argyro has close ties with Richmond House school having attended as a pupil when Miss Davis, the founder of the school , was the headmistress. She has many fond memories of being at the school and because of this both of her sons also went to Richmond House from an early stage up until year six . They loved the school and have retained even in adulthood, close friendships with some of the friends they first met at Richmond House.
Argyro is a solicitor and works for the Crown Prosecution Service. She is responsible for heading a team of lawyers and paralegals and the work they are responsible for is focused in the Crown Courts across Yorkshire and Humberside. She jumped at the opportunity to join a dedicated and committed governor body and senior leadership team, whose sole purpose is to maintain the exceptional standards of the school.

Gary was born in Otley and studied Modern Languages at Cambridge University before beginning his teaching career in London. He moved back to Yorkshire in 2006 to take up a Head of Department position at Bradford Grammar School and he is currently an Assistant Head at BGS with responsibility for the curriculum and academic life of the school. He is a serving inspector with the Independent Schools Inspectorate and works extensively with a leading exam board on GCSE Modern Languages. He brings with him a great deal of educational knowledge and experience and is keen to help Richmond House continue to flourish both academically and in other ways.