Rosie Shorter - Chair of the Trust

Rosie retired as Chair of Governors at St John’s Church of England Middle School, a role she held for 9 years and oversaw significant improvements. She was the first female Loss Adjuster in the country in 1980, and has recently retired from the jewellery business after almost 30 years.

More recently, she has been working part-time for West Mercia Police handling 999 calls, a role which is challenging but fascinating. Rosie has twins. Her daughter is Head of Year 7 at Parkside Middle School, Bromsgrove. Rosie has worked for a charity which supports breast cancer patients for over 10 years.

Michael Punt 

Michael grew up in Brentwood, Essex and was educated at Brentwood School. He read Physics at Oxford University with sponsorship from the US chemical company Monsanto. In 1992, he left Oxford for Imperial College London, where he gained an MSc in Semiconductor Science and Technology.  In 1993, Michael began teaching physics at St Dunstan’s College, SE London. He took a PGCE whilst teaching and variously held the positions of Head of Year, Head of Oxbridge and Head of Physics. 

In 2001, he moved to be Head of Sixth Form at the Perse School in Cambridge where, in 2004, he became Academic Deputy Head. In 2007, he moved back to Essex as Headmaster of Chigwell and in 2022 he became Headmaster of Bromsgrove School.  Michael is married to Gill and they have three sons.

Tim Reid 

Tim has been Deputy Director of Education since 2017, previously working as a Diocesan School Improvement Consultant and SIAMS Manager after being the Headteacher of a Church of England Primary School. He has contributed to the development of the Vision for Church of England schools in the Worcestershire Diocese to be places where all children can receive a high-quality education and live life in all its fullness.

He was promoted to the position of Director of Education for the Diocese of Worcester in June 2021 and continues to support both Church of England Schools and non-faith schools across Dudley and Worcestershire.

Fiona Lawson-Hughes 

Fiona is a Solicitor and Partner at Harrison Clark Rickerbys, based in Worcestershire, with 8 other offices around the country. She is Head of the Childcare Department and specialises in the law relating to safeguarding, as well as complicated parental disputes over children. She represents children (either through a Children’s Guardian or separately), parents and extended family members. She has extensive experience of representing children of all ages and at all levels of Court, from Lay Justices to the High Court.

Fiona is the mother of 3 children, one of whom started and completed her education with a statement of educational special needs. Her youngest child is still in full-time education and attends Haybridge High School (as did his older siblings).

Father Tim Williams

Father Tim is an ordained minister and a very experienced Chair of Governors. Father Tim was Chair of Governors at a large comprehensive in South Wales for a number of years.  At present, he is Team Rector of Kidderminster West and Area Dean of Kidderminster & Stourport Deanery.

Rosie Shorter  - Chair – See Members

Sue Schofield

Sue worked in a local high school for 34 years, teaching French and taking on various leadership roles, including Assistant Headteacher responsible for Teaching and Learning and Deputy Headteacher for Progress and Achievement. She has now retired. Sue has lived in Bromsgrove for 35 years and both her children went to St John’s Middle School. 

Kate Lambert

Having worked for large multinational corporations for almost 30 years, Kate joined Witton Middle School as a co-opted Governor in December 2019, after beginning a sabbatical to allow more time for personal projects and voluntary work. Along with her husband, she has recently been approved as a foster carer. Having travelled away from home for much of her career, she is keen to focus on the local community, and with a particular passion for lifelong learning, she is keen to be part of setting the right foundations for every pupil in the Trust to realise his or her full potential. With a career covering manufacturing and engineering to IT, she brings broad business and management skills, including budget management, data analysis, strategy setting, project management, people management and development.

Gareth Wigley

Gareth has lived in the area for 50 years, having been educated through the three-tier system in Bromsgrove. Upon leaving school, he enjoyed a career at NatWest Bank, undertaking many roles in branch banking, training and operations at their Midlands & Wales Regional Office. After 20 years, a complete career change saw Gareth enter the world of railway consultancy, working for a number of consultancies in a railway operations capacity; a lifelong interest. These roles encompassed many areas, including strategic projects, franchising, day-to-day operations, planning and delivery. In March 2022, Gareth took early retirement to concentrate on voluntary roles in the heritage railway (Severn Valley Railway) and education sectors.  

Gareth has been an active member of the Aston Fields Middle School Governing Board for 18 years, being Vice-Chair of the Board and Chair of their Finance and Quality Review Committees. He was invited to join the Trust Board of The Spire Church of England Learning Trust in July 2024, where his wealth of experience at governing board level has been invaluable.

Gareth lives in Bromsgrove and is happily married to Vivienne with two grown-up sons who were both successfully educated through exactly the same three-tier system as himself, a fact he is extremely proud of. 

Chris Smith 

Chris is the Headteacher of South Bromsgrove High, a 13-18 Single Academy Trust of approximately 1350 students in North Worcestershire. He has been Headteacher since 2017 and, prior to this, has had roles as Head of School, Deputy Headteacher, Assistant Headteacher, Director of Learning, Assistant Head of Science and Head of Biology.  Chris strongly believes in the transformative power of education, particularly for those students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds.

As a Director, he hopes to support the students, staff, parents and carers at The Spire Church of England Learning Trust by drawing on his 27 years of experience working in education.  

Away from school, Chris is a big rugby fan and enjoys walking in the mountains, both in the UK and around the world.  

Stephen Cox, CEO 

Stephen attends the Board meetings in an ex officio capacity. He has many years' experience as a highly successful Headteacher, Ofsted Inspector and National Leader of Education, including leading his own school from Ofsted "inadequate" to "outstanding" over a five-year period and running a National Support School for 8 years.

Emily Kolb, Governance Professional

Emily has over 15 years' experience of working in Human Resources and brings an approachable nature and a genuine commitment to supporting others.  She joined St John's Middle School in 2014 as Administrator and Clerk to the Governors, and now serves as Chief Operations Officer for The Spire Church of England Learning Trust. Her children currently attend St John's Middle School.

2024/2025

	Appointed	Resigned	Role	Attended	Possible
Rosemary Shorter			Chair	7	7
Bryan Allbut		31/01/2025	Director	3	3
Kate Lambert			Director	5	7
Father Tim Williams		31/12/2024	Director	0	2
Anthony James			Director	5	7
Sue Schofield			Director	6	7
Gareth Wigley	06/11/2024		Director	5	6
Chris Smith		09/04/2025	Director	1	2
Stephen Cox	28/04/2025		CEO	7	7
Geraint Roberts		27/04/2025	CEO	2	4

Rosie Shorter
None Declared

Gareth Wigley
Vice Chair of Governing Body - Aston Fields Middle School

Kate Lambert
Member of Governing Body - Witton Middle School

Sue Schofield
None Declared

Chris Smith
Headteacher - South Bromsgrove High School

Member of Trust Board - Stourbridge High School

Trustee - Bromsgrove Institute

Trustee - Central Regions School Trust

Stephen Cox
CEO - The Spire Church of England Learning Trust