Governors (ID 1145)

• Duncan Hetherington
  Headteacher
  Duncan Hetherington

• Mary Carrigan
  Chair of Governors
  Mary Carrigan

• Liz Hinchliffe
  Clerk to the Governors
  Liz Hinchliffe

• Lindsay Mihailovic
  Local Authority Governor
  Lindsay Mihailovic

  I am retired now, but for most of my working life I have been involved in education. After completing a mathematics degree at Manchester University, I trained in London to be a primary school teacher. I have taught in schools in London and in Bradford.

  I have worked in higher education training perspective teachers. My most recent post was as head of school at St Edmunds, the lead school in Bradford Birth to 19 Teaching School Alliance.

  My children are both grown up; the eldest lives in Spain and the youngest in Newcastle. I am lucky now to have more free time to go and visit them. At home, I have two rescue dogs and love going walking with them. I enjoy being active, having Todmorden sports centre close by is a big plus and my front crawl is slowly improving! I like to go out to the cinema and to music venues, but I also love having friends round.

  I moved to Blackshaw Head around 5 years ago; prior to that we lived at the opposite end of Calderdale. Having the countryside on our doorstep is what drew us here and it is a great community.

  I enjoyed my work in schools, so when I saw Calderdale council were advertising for school governors I decided to apply. I now know that Castle Hill were looking for a governor with experience of early years education and so we were matched. I have been the local authority governor at Castle Hill for all 15 months now and I'm really enjoying the role. I get to see and be part of the life of the school which is particularly exciting with the new build happening very soon.

• Katie Dennett
  Co-opted Governor
  Katie Dennett

  I am a secondary school Maths teacher based in Halifax and I have been a governor at Castle Hill since 2017. I am also a governor at St Joseph's Academy in Todmorden. I love football (as a spectator!). I enjoy running and anything that involves theatre or music. I am passionate about education; a life long leaner who enjoys new opportunities and supporting the local community.

  As a proud Todmordian, I am keen to ensure the next generation has access to every opportunity to fulfil their potential and that teachers are supported to achieve this goal.

• Steve Bailey
  Co-opted Governor
  Steve Bailey

• Diana Harris
  Co-opted Governor
  Diana Harris

  After twenty years of teaching music and drama and twenty+ years as an academic, supervising masters and doctors in education students I am now happily retired. I have no previous experience of being a governor but experience of governance.

  I decided to become a governor to offer experience in education and also because my grandson is at Castle Hill. I am a professional singer and I am in the process of writing a novel, having always enjoyed writing in my career.

  I have immersed myself in U3A as a firm believer in lifelong education.

• Charlotte Mitchell
  Parent Governor
  Charlotte Mitchell

  I am a science teacher at Ryburn Valley High School. I have previous experience as a parent governor during Covid times.

  I love to be outdoors on our farm, working with the sheep, lambs and dogs. I am also passionate about anatomy and physiology and enjoy sharing these passions with anyone who will listen.

  I am currently a parent governor and help to support the school's science curriculum. I live locally and care about the reputation of the school and the happiness of the children and staff at Castle Hill.

  I decided to become a governor because I care about the staff, children and community surrounding Castle Hill. I have worked in education since 2006 and know the ins an outs of education and feel I can advise on teaching and learning and also support the governing board to make the right strategic choices to enable a smooth transition whilst the school is being rebuilt.