Governance

GOVERNANCE
Forres Sandle Manor Ltd. is administered by a Board of Directors.
The Board holds termly meetings with the Head and other members of SLT by invitation to discuss standing agenda items, including education, safeguarding and health & safety.
Members of the Board of Directors make an active effort to attend a number of formal school events throughout the year as well as more informal occasions where possible. In the event of a major problem or disagreement, parents can write to the Chair of Directors, c/o
Forres Sandle Manor, Fordingbridge, SP6 1NS. There are also various committees that meet regularly to discuss specific focus areas of the School development plan, such as
academics, boarding, welfare and safeguarding.

Catriona Stone

Chair of the Board

Catriona was born in North Shropshire and after graduating in Biochemistry from Royal Holloway College, University of London and achieving her PGCE at Oxford, she began her teaching career in an independent school in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. After moving to the South Coast, she taught at Portsmouth High School and after a break to raise her two children, she taught for a considerable time at a large comprehensive in Dorset, starting as a part-time teacher, becoming a Head of Year, a senior teacher and then leaving as an Assistant Head in charge of mentoring. In 2012, Catriona became Deputy Head of Talbot Heath School in Bournemouth, retiring in the summer of 2023 after a 38-year teaching career.

She has experience in all aspects of school life but particularly safeguarding, boarding, pastoral care and well-being and she has been an excellent teacher of Science, teaching all three sciences from Year 6 to Year 11 as well as A-level Biology.

Catriona is an arctophile, a collector of teddy bears, enjoys watching all sports and particularly enjoys spending time with her family which now includes one grandson with another due later in 2023. Her father was a country vet and so animals have always been an important part of her life. Currently, she has one rescue dog, Rio, and a Pembroke corgi called Ebony.

Catriona’s outlook on life and her aim for all members of a school community led to one of her pupils calling her the Queen of Happiness, a title which the school community felt she thoroughly deserved and has stayed with her ever since.

Christine Dure-Smith

Christine Dure-Smith is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales and is a senior member of the legal team at Merlin Entertainments Group as Senior Contracts Director. She has been employed by Merlin since 1995, having started in finance, eventually taking charge of the financial control in the Capital Projects division (Merlin Magic Making) and more recently moved to a senior role in the legal team. Merlin Entertainments Group is the largest operator of visitor attractions in Europe and the second-largest operator of visitor attractions worldwide (after Disney). As at August 2021, Merlin operated over 130 attractions, 22 hotels and 6 holiday villages across 24 countries and 4 continents.

Christine’s key area of focus in Merlin at present is around the negotiation of significant contracts for Merlin including new leases for smaller attractions, new LEGOLAND Parks, new intellectual Property relationships, permits and licenses for new attractions, and coordinating the legal process for any sale or acquisitions Merlin makes.

Christine is married and a mother of 3 boys, all of whom attended FSM. Christine is the Chair of the Forres Sandle Manor Educational Trust and is keen to support the school with her commercial acumen having seen that happy children really do succeed. She is a member of the Finance Committee of the School.

Duncan Murphy

Duncan works closely with the school leadership to help shape and navigate its future direction. As an “Old Forresian”, Duncan has first-hand experience of FSM’s strong family heritage, and he is fully committed to a well-rounded educational philosophy. After life at Forres, Duncan attended Malvern College before undertaking a degree in English and subsequently a Masters degree in Educational Leadership.

In 2017, Duncan was appointed as the Headmaster of Kingswood House, Epsom, with the primary objective of overseeing a successful cultural and strategic evolution for the school from 13+ to 16+. During this time, he served as Chairman of the Sixteen Group for the Independent Association of Preparatory Schools (IAPS), a pro bono role which saw him elected onto the Education Committee and invited to speak at the Heads’ Conference about the benefits and pitfalls of a potential increase in age range for preparatory schools up to GCSE.

Having gained a valuable insight by leading a stand-alone preparatory school’s journey through to GCSE when it was largely unchartered territory, Duncan has since advised a growing number of fellow heads and governing bodies about the potential for their schools to consider a similar transition. Duncan espouses that the well-publicised threats to the independent sector can best be addressed by adopting creative and enterprising solutions, underpinned by forward-thinking leadership, which will enable the best schools to find a meaningful, relevant identity in a competitive market.

Prior to his current headship, Duncan was the Head of the Preparatory School at Claremont Fan Court for five years and Deputy Head at Milbourne Lodge; he is also an associate at Anthony Millard Consulting, a member of the Society of Heads and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. A more obscure point of interest is Duncan’s membership of the Sherlock Holmes Society, and, as an English specialist, he holds a general passion for Victorian literature. Duncan enjoys all sports, especially cricket, and keeps abreast of current affairs and politics. Based in leafy Surrey, Duncan and his wife have two grown-up children and a younger son who attends Epsom College. In his spare time, Duncan likes nothing more than escaping to the Isle of Wight and walking his two dogs on the beautiful beach at Priory Bay, Seaview.