Governors

Our Governors

Abbey CE Academy is governed by an Academy Scrutiny Committee.

Our governors are:

Deborah Godfrey

Principal

Deborah Godfrey
Sol Johnson

DRET Appointed Governor (Chair)

Sol Johnson

Sol Johnson has been involved in education for around 30 years. He leads two very well-regarded village schools and is a Visiting Fellow for the NPQH programme. Prior to his career in education, Sol had a variety of jobs including H M Forces, catering and pub management. When not working Sol enjoys family time, socialising, gaming and cinema.
Edward (Ted) Nicholl

DRET Appointed Governor (Vice Chair)

Edward (Ted) Nicholl

Ted joined the Abbey's ASC in June 2024. Ted is a qualified Chartered Secretary and has a Masters in Financial Management and was honoured to be the Mayor of Daventry.

Outside of his professional life, Ted enjoys classic cars and is a supporter of Arsenal Football Club.
Ignacio Bas Soria

DRET Appointed Governor

Ignacio Bas Soria

Ignacio was appointed a DRET Appointed Governor on 9 June 2022. He believes education is one of the most relevant aspects of a society and a way to solve many of the problems that affect people today. Countries need good and sound educational system to prepare next generations for the future challenges, and he would like to personally contribute to that goal. Ignacio, being born and raised in Spain, can bring his experiences of multicultural aspects to the ASC. With more than 30 years of experience in the financial industry he has a major exposure to finance and budgeting, controls, process improvement, change management and governance. Ignacio enjoys reading history books, watching documentaries, and cooking for friends and family.
Alexander Blithe

DRET Appointed Governor

Alexander Blithe

Keen to make a difference in his local community, Alexander joined the ASC in February 2025.

Alexander works as an IT Technician for the Warriner Multi Academy Trust, and holds some other administrative volunteer roles within grassroots cricket. Working in education has been rewarding for Alexander and he looked to extend this with his governor role.

Outside of education, Alexander is interested in cricket, regularly officiating grassroots and semi-professional matches. Alexander also has a passion for the outdoors, enjoying walks and garden maintenance. As a keen car enthusiast, in his downtime Alexander can sometimes be found under a bonnet!
Angela Watts

DRET Appointed Governor

Angela Watts

Angela is the Headteacher at The Arbours Primary Academy, and was appointed the Trust Senior Link on the Abbey CE ASC on 27 June 2019. When the role of Trust Senior Link was phased out in April 2025, Angela, converted to a DRET Appointed Governor.

As a Headteacher, she is fully aware of the need to have a governing body who provide challenge and scrutiny to the Senior Leadership Team. She is pleased to be able to offer this to Abbey CE Academy as part of their ASC. As an experienced Headteacher, she brings the first-hand knowledge of school leadership and developing school improvement. All things education! She is an avid reader and enjoys Zumba. Angela also enjoys travelling abroad and spending time on holiday with her family.
Julianna Hall

Staff Governor

Julianna Hall

Julianna joined the ASC on 17 November 2021 and has been teaching at the academy since 2019. She leads on Maths and Science, and has been teaching years 4 to 6. Julianna has been a staff governor in her previous settings, and has also been a member of SLT and a Headteacher. This experience has equipped her to support the ASC. Julianna's interests include reading, visiting the theatre and cinema. Travel is another passion of hers. She enjoys spending time investigating other cultures and the history of the places she visits.
Emma Cadle

Staff Governor

Emma Cadle
Nicola Shaw

Foundation Governor

Nicola Shaw

Nicola joined the ASC in October 2023 as she is interested in education and is keen to promote awareness of spirituality and social and environmental responsibility in young people. Nicola has a degree in physics and across her career has spent time as a research scientist in photonics, as an A Level Maths teacher and is currently a driving instructor.

Outside of work, Nicola enjoys running, gardening and live music.
Vicky Bayley

Clerk

Vicky Bayley

Vicky joined DRET as a clerk in December 2023 and is also a DRET appointed Governor and Vice Chair at Eastfield Academy. Her professional roles have encompassed public service as a midwife, working in a police force control room and as a one-to-one learning support assistant in a primary setting. Vicky enjoys using her leisure time creatively in various crafts, playing her baritone and likes to read.

Current Governors

Name	Governor Type	Appointed By	Term of Office	Term From	Term To	Declarations of Interest and other Governance Roles as at 18 December 2024	Governor Assigned Responsibilities	Attendance 23/24	Attendance 24/25
Ignacio Bas	Appointed governor	Appointed by foundation/Trust	First	09 Jun 2022	8 Jun 2026	Trustee of Campion School & Language College Owner/Director of Stuart Spencer Professional Services Ltd. Director of Centre of Hispanic Studies Ltd. Governance role with Argotec Ingenieria		5 of a possible 5	2 of a possible 3
Alexander Blithe	Appointed governor	Appointed by foundation/Trust	First	25 Feb 2025	24 Feb 2029	Employee of Warriner Multi Academy Trust		Not applicable, not in post	1 of a possible 1
Emma Cadle	Staff governor	Elected by school staff	First	05 Dec 2022	4 Dec 2026	Nothing to declare		3 of a possible 5	3 of a possible 3
Deborah Godfrey	Principal	Ex-officio by virtue of office as headteacher/ principal	Not applicable	07 Jun 2022	Ex Officio	Nothing to declare		5 of a possible 5	3 of a possible 3
Julianna Hall	Staff governor	Elected by school staff	First	17 Nov 2021	16 Nov 2025	Nothing to declare		5 of a possible 5	3 of a possible 3
Sol Johnson	Appointed governor	Appointed by foundation/Trust	First	03 May 2023	2 May 2027	Nothing to declare	Safeguarding Link Governor Attendance Link Governor	5 of a possible 5	3 of a possible 3
Edward Nicholl	Appointed governor	Appointed by foundation/Trust	First	25 June 2024	24 June 2028	Governor at Mulberry Academy Shoreditch Councillor/Mayor of Daventry Town Council Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators (Chartered Governance Institute)		0 of a possible 1	3 of a possible 3
Nicola Shaw	Foundation governor	Appointed by foundation/Trust	First	17 Oct 2023	16 Oct 2027	Nothing to declare		4 of a possible 4	3 of a possible 3
Angela Watts	Appointed Governor (previously Trust Senior Link)	Appointed by foundation/Trust	First	7 Apr 2025	6 Apr 2029	Nothing to declare	SLT Mentor	4 of a possible 5	3 of a possible 3

Former Governors

Below is a list of Governors that have served in the past 12 months.

Name	Governor Type	Appointed By	Terms Served	First Appointed	Leaving Date	Declarations of Interest and other Governance Roles	Attendance 22/23	Attendance 23/24	Attendance 24/25
Miroslaw Malinowski	Parent governor	Elected by parents	1	26 Oct 2020	19 Sept 2024	Wife is an employee of St James Infant School.	4 of a possible 6	3 of a possible 5	Not applicable, not in post.
Jacek Karus	Parent governor	Elected by parents	1	10 Nov 2021	16 Jan 2025	Nothing to declare	4 of a possible 6	3 of a possible 5	0 of a possible 2

Contacting Us

The Governance Officer for Abbey CE Academy is Victoria Linthwaite. Victoria can be reached at governance@dret.co.uk.

To contact a governor, please contact the Trust Governance Team by emailing governance@dret.co.uk.

If you are looking to contact a Governor to make a complaint or share a concern, please note that as per our Complaints Policy, governors do not investigate complaints at Stage 1 or Stage 2. This enables them to be impartial should a complaint be escalated to a Stage 3 governor panel. If you wish to make a complaint, please complete this form and your complaint will be investigated accordingly.

Scheme of Delegation

Information about the David Ross Education Trust’s scheme of delegation is available here.

Minutes of the Academy Scrutiny Committee

Should you wish to view a copy of the minutes of the ASC at this academy, please contact the Trust Governance Team (governance@dret.co.uk), who will be able to provide you with an electronic or paper copy of the minutes.

Are you interested in becoming an academy governor?

We are looking for new governors to support our academies. Our governors work closely with their academies to support the Trust’s goal of broadening the horizons of young people through a world-class education, equipping our students with the skills and experiences to become their confident, academic best, no matter what.

If you have an interest in, 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 governor application form. If you have any questions about a governor’s role or responsibilities please contact us at governance@dret.co.uk or review our information pack.

march 2024 governor recruitment booklet.pdf

What is it like being a Governor with DRET?

To understand what it is like to be a governor with us, take a look at our testimonial booklet and videos which contain insights from serving governors.

governor testimonial booklet .pdf