KINGSDOWN SCHOOL - Key Persons
"Barbara was born in Nottingham in 1942. After grammar school she went to university at the age of 17 to read Modern languages at Exeter. After graduation she taught for a year in Germany, before gaining a teaching diploma at the University of London Goldsmiths.
She taught in Brixton at Stockwell Manor School, rising to Head of Sixth Form and briefly Acting Deputy Head. She was then appointed First Deputy Head of Riddlesdown High School, a post she held for 24 years before retiring in 2003. She also worked on several teacher training initiatives.
Barbara is married to Michael Round, former Headteacher of Haling Manor High School. Together they have fostered a number of teenagers, now all grown up with their own families. She continues to have wide interests in education."
At the age of 18 Donald was commissioned in what is now the Royal Logistics Corps. On leaving the army he qualified as a teacher in the secondary sector. After holding posts as Year Head and Head of Department he was, in 1971, appointed Deputy Head of Ashburton High School in Croydon. This post, including a short time as Acting Head, he held until his retirement in 1988.
For many years he represented the staff of Ashburton on the governing body and was also a governor of Woodcote primary school. As a result of interest in examining policies in relation to secondary schools, he represented Croydon for a number of years on a Certificate of Secondary Education examining panel and eventually became chairman of that panel.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of Governors
- Principal at Riddlesdown High School
Gordon Smith is the Principal at Riddlesdown High School, a local secondary school of 1900 pupils and students. He is Chair of Croydon College and also Chair of the Central and South Croydon 14-19 Partnership.
Gordon's work in a range of London schools means that he has a clear understanding of educational and leadership issues which he contributes to Kingsdown.
Heather gained her B.Ed (Hons.) in Education and Religious Studies in 1980. In the same year, she was appointed to the post of Religious Studies teacher in Ashburton High School, Croydon. She eventually became Head of Religious Studies in the same school and concurrently held the posts of Year Head and Teacher Governor.
In 1990, she was appointed Head of Department in Greenacre Independant School for Girls. During her time there, she became Head of Humanities and later a member of the Schools Management Team. She taught R.S. to Advanced Level (including boys from Ewell Castle School) and was also responsible for creating policies related to bullying and Special Educational Needs.
Whilst at Greenacre, she embarked upon a four year part-time study related to Therapeutic Counselling. In 2003 she was awarded the Advanced Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling.
In that same year, she was obliged to take retirement as a result of cancer.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Director of Focused Fostering Services Ltd
Kevin spent the first 16 years of his working life in the Manufacturing sector working as an apprentice Electrician before becoming a Control Engineer. He gained an HTC in Electrical and Electronic Engineering before completing a BEng (Hons) in the same subject. Kevin undertook an MBA at South Bank University, completing his dissertation in 1995.
In 1994, Kevin changed career path and began running McRae Residential Care Services (MRCS) Ltd, a small family business providing residential care for ‘looked after children'. Having had the benefit of a good education himself , Kevin was determined to provide educational opportunities for the young people in MRCS' care and began the journey in 1999 into what was to become Kingsdown School.
Kevin became a business governor for Croydon College in August 1997, Vice Chair in 2001 and Chair in August 2005.
In addition to his interest in MRCS Ltd and Croydon College, Kevin is also a Director of Focused Fostering Services Ltd.
Job Titles:
- Head of English Dept & Senior Teacher
Between 1990 - 2008 Susan was Head of Work Related Learning within Greenwich Children's Services and from 2008-2012 held a similar post within the Council's Directorate of Regeneration, Enterprise and Skills.
She chaired the pan London Work Related Learning network for many years and was also a member of the DfE's national work experience advisory group for more than a decade.