The Trustees of Elmlea Schools’ Trust are both trustees of the charity and directors of the company. Under charity law our Trustees have the ultimate responsibility for directing the affairs of the Trust including being the employer and accountable body, ensuring that it is solvent, well run, compliant with statutory and regulatory functions and delivering the charitable outcomes for which it has been set up.

Our Trustees are selected for their skills and each brings a professional expertise to the work of the Board.

Adrienne Gallagher

Appointed Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees
Term of Office 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2025
Adrienne was appointed as a Trustee in April 2021. She is a Programme Manager and works for a large insurance firm, delivering Finance and regulatory change. Adrienne lives in Sneyd Park with her husband and two teenage sons. In her spare time, she enjoys supporting their football and rugby matches as well as being a keen runner and cyclist.

Alice Dawes

Appointed Trustee, Chair of Staffing Committee and Named Staff Wellbeing Trustee
Term of Office 14 July 2022 to 13 July 2026
Alice is an anaesthetist, having worked in the NHS for the last 13 years. She has a son who started at Elmlea in 2021 and twins in preschool. In her limited spare time she enjoys playing netball, baking and knitting.

Alistair Hill

Appointed Trustee
Term of Office 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2025
Alistair has two sons. He is a solicitor who has lived and worked in Bristol for the last 8 years. He is a keen runner.

Chris Collins

Co-opted Trustee
Term of Office 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2027
Chris lives locally with his family, and has two daughters at Elmlea. Having trained as a Maths teacher, Chris has worked in Education for 15 years, having held various roles at schools in Oxfordshire and Bristol. He now works as a Deputy Head of a nearby 3-18 independent school. Chris loves Sport, reading and spending time with his family.

Ellie Day Zylinski

Appointed Trustee
Term of Office 17 July 2023 to 16 July 2027
With 30+ years HR experience, Ellie lives locally with her husband and stepson. Ellie’s hobbies include open water swimming, tennis, paddleboarding and she also volunteers as an Emergency Response Volunteer for RE:ACT, an emergency and crisis response charity.

Emma-Jane Dalley

Appointed Trustee
Term of Office 14 July 2022 to 13 July 2026
Emma-Jane has a son in the Infant School. She is a partner at DAC Beachcroft LLP where she specialises in all aspects of charity law and governance. She has over 15 years of experience advising charities and not for profit organisations, particularly those in the education and health and social care sectors.

Gareth Beynon

Appointed Trustee, Chair of the Joint Local Governing Body and Named Safeguarding Trustee
Term of Office 21 August 2022 to 20 August 2026
Gareth is serving his second term as a Trustee. He lives locally and is married to a teacher and has a daughter. He works in education as the headteacher of Chew Valley Secondary School. He has worked in various schools in Surrey including a spell working with teacher training before relocating to the West Country and spending twelve years in a senior leadership role at Clevedon School. He enjoys running regularly (slowly!) and following a range of sports.

Gemma Read

Co-opted Trustee
Term of Office 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2027
Gemma lives locally and has two young children at Elmlea. She works in education as the Vice Principal of John Cabot Academy. She has worked as an English teacher for 19 years and has spent the last 14 years in various leadership roles in Bristol working in the Cabot Learning Federation from its foundation in 2009. Gemma enjoys the outdoors, including camping and a range of sports, reading and travelling with her family.

Hedley Rowlands

Appointed Trustee
Term of Office 12 December 2022 to 11 December 2026
Hedley is serving his second term of office as a Trustee at Elmlea. He is a chartered accountant with finance, governance and improvement experience in large insurance and telecoms corporates. He has children at different stages at Elmlea. When time permits Hedley enjoys camping, caravanning, classic cars and Formula 1.

Martin Smith

Appointed Trustee and Chair of Audit and Risk Committee
Term of Office 1 September 2019 to 31 December 2023
Martin is a chartered accountant who moved from London in 2017 where he was Treasurer for a leasing company. He now manages his own investment fund. Martin’s son attends the school. Hobbies include racquet sports, scuba diving and cycling.

Matthew Grannan

Co-opted Trustee
Term of Office 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2027
Matt is a father of two, the eldest of whom attends Elmlea. He’s a chartered global management accountant (CGMA) and has worked in senior finance roles in a range of settings over his 20 year career. He has a keen interest in wildlife and sport, particularly football and golf.

Richard Hill

Co-opted Trustee
Term of Office 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2027
Rich currently works as a senior in Technology Risk at Hargreaves Lansdown. Previous to that, he worked at KPMG in the same field, having joined post-University on the graduate scheme. Rich holds a BA in Theology and English Literature from the University of Nottingham, an MA in English Literature from the University of Bristol, and an MA in Acting from Mountview in London. Rich, and his two brothers, attended Elmlea growing up and is keen to contribute to the school he loved. He is a new father to a devilish daughter, Harper, and his 6 year old black lab, Basil. His primary interests are theatre, literature, golf and tennis.

Sarah Everett-Cox

Appointed Trustee and Chair of Operations Committee
Term of Office 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2025
Sarah is a chartered accountant and currently works at the University of Bristol as a Finance Director. She has one child in the school who started in reception in 2019. She has held previous trustee and governor roles in local schools and brings experience of budgeting and strategic planning within the education sector. Her hobbies include reading, (learning) crochet, and jigsaws!

Simon Coulson

Appointed Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees
Term of Office 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2025
Simon co-founded and manages a global renewable energy business with operations in the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Spain, Portugal and Italy. He holds a Masters Degree in Computer Science from Imperial College, London and is an avid rock climbing enthusiast, amateur DIY practitioner and proud parent to two precocious boys.

Steve French

Appointed Trustee
Term of Office 14 July 2022 to 13 July 2026
Steve has a son in the Infant School. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over 20 years experience working in both practice and industry with a range of businesses from entrepreneurial SMEs to large international corporations. He is currently a CFO for a high growth e-commerce business.