Ready
For Success
The New Beacon Governing Body
The Governing Body is a group of individuals with a wide range of expertise, but with one single goal: the success and continued future development of the New Beacon.
The main functions of the Governing Body are to oversee and monitor the strategic goals of the school and include but are not limited to:
- Ensuring that all legal and regulatory requirements (including child protection and health and safety) are met
- Planning the school’s long term strategy, in terms of both education and facilities
- Overview of the running of the school including education development, financial planning and employment of human and material resources
- Monitoring standards and quality through the school
- Recruiting the Head teacher
- Ensuring the Head and Senior Management team receive the support needed to carry out the day to day running of the school.
The Governing Body consists of a number of sub-committees, including:
- Finance and General Purposes (including Health and Safety)
- Pastoral & Education
- Governance
- New Governor selection
The Governing Body meets formally at least four times a year, with sub-committees meeting termly.
All Governors are DBS checked. Governors also undertake training and refresher courses during the tenure of their Governorship.
The New Beacon Governors
Tim Attenborough
Chair
Tim has over 30 years of experience in financial analysis and investment banking, holding professional qualifications in investment management and ESG investing. A Skinners’ Company member since 1998, he has supported charities focused on helping disadvantaged young people. He joined The New Beacon’s Governing Body in 2021 and chairs the Finance and General Purposes Committee. A former pupil of Tonbridge School, where he is also a Governor, Tim enjoys cricket, fly fishing, and walking.
Desmond Devitt
Governor
With nearly 40 years in education, Desmond has held leadership roles at Dragon School, Oxford, including Head of History, Housemaster, and Registrar. He is also a Governor at Tonbridge School and brings extensive links with industry, commerce, and educational consultancy. In addition to co-owning a recording studio, he is an author of historical books and serves on the Sussex Martlets Cricket Club committee.
Gina Walker
Governor
Gina was appointed a New Beacon Governor (Safeguarding) in June 2024. She was educated at Sevenoaks School before reading English at the University of Leeds and graduating in 2006.
Alongside her established career in publishing and marketing, Gina is a qualified counsellor and psychotherapist, and runs her own private practice, working with both teenagers and adults.
Gina’s husband and son both attended The New Beacon, giving her a strong appreciation of the school and a real commitment to contributing to its continued success. In addition to being a governor, Gina enjoys running, travelling, hosting and spending time with friends and family.
Andrew Monkhouse
Governor
Andrew was appointed a Governor of The New Beacon in November 2025.
Andrew graduated from The University of Nottingham with a degree in Industrial Economics, and is a Chartered Accountant and a Corporate Treasurer. He has over 35 years of experience in several roles across the
Financial Services Industry, primarily in Investment Banking and Insurance
broking.
Andrew’s son is a former New Beacon boy and an Old Tonbridgian.
Andrew enjoys playing golf, is a keen padel player and enjoys walking and being outdoors.
Dr Nicky Perry
Governor
Dr Nicki Perry
Nicki is a GP, strategic health lead for Kent ICB (Integrated Care Board) and a podcaster. She has been a GP for 26 years and has previously been involved in commissioning, leading healthcare funding decisions and planning across Kent and Medway.
She has run a business, Medi-Redi Training, which has helped more than 200 Sixth Formers apply to study Medicine, and visits many secondary schools each year to give free MedSoc talks. Her podcast, drnickiexplains, a light-hearted explanation of different medical conditions, has had thousands of downloads.
Nicki has worked for Sevenoaks Friends of Demelza, during which time she was involved in significant fundraising, including a climb of Kilimanjaro. She set up a charity, Heart to Hand, to support Calais refugees, and has worked alongside Kent Kindness, which supports unaccompanied teenage refugees.
She plays the violin in the Sevenoaks Symphony Orchestra and enjoys oil painting. She has two sons and two daughters: her sons attended Tonbridge, as did her husband. Nicki is also a Tonbridge School Governor.
Contacting The New Beacon Governors
All correspondence for the attention of the Chairman of the Governors, should be directed through the school. Please mark all correspondence: “For the Attention of The Chairman, Private & Confidential.”
Telephone: 01732 452131
By Email via the Clerk to the Governors: clerk@newbeacon.org.uk
By Post: The New Beacon, Brittains Lane, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 2PB
