Dr John Cottrell
President of the College
As Clifton College is a charity, an elected Council governs it.
The Council delegates the day to day running of the College to a leadership group comprised of three teams: the Senior Management Team (Upper School), chaired by the Head of College; the Senior Leadership Team (Preparatory School) chaired by the Headmaster of the Preparatory School; and the Senior Executive Team, chaired by the Bursar.
Get in touch.
You can write to the Chair of Council at:
32 College Road
Clifton
Bristol.
BS8 3JH
Meet the council.
Mr Nick Tolchard
Chair of Council
Ms Teresa Fisk
Vice-Chair of Council
Mr Stuart Smith
Treasurer
Mr Chris Trembath
Chair of Clifton College Services Limited
Mr Hugh Harper
Trustee of the Clifton College Development Trust
Brigadier Richard Morris
Chair of Outreach Working Group
Mr Richard Cartwright
Mr Matthew Howard-Cairns
Simon Brewer
Chairman of the Clifton College Development Trust
Mr Julian Harbottle
Mr Julian Hemming
Early Years Foundation Stage Lead
Mr Jonathan Glassberg
Mrs Fiona Purcell
Boarding and Welfare Council Member
Mr Mark Eldridge
President of the Old Cliftonian Society, Nominated Safeguarding Lead
Mrs Alison Eynon
Mr James Womersley
Mrs Jenny Hemming
Clerk to Council
Dr John Cottrell
President of the College
John Cottrell is an OC. He holds an MA and PhD from Balliol College, Oxford and is a Chartered Accountant (FCA). From 1965-94 he was engaged in manufacturing businesses, and from 2002-06 was a Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Bristol. Governance positions held include 1983-2000, Trustee Bristol Municipal Charities; 1984-98 Chair of Governors, Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital; 2000-11 Non-executive Director, National Association of Almshouses; 2011-12 High Sheriff, County of City of Bristol; currently County Priory Group, St John Ambulance, Trustee of National Eye Research Council, Chair of Bristol Cathedral Council. John was a member of Council of Clifton College from 1991-2007 and Treasurer of Council from 1994-2003. He was elected President of Clifton College in 2012 (continuing).
Mr Nick Tolchard
Chair of Council
Nick Tolchard is an OC (1970 -1980) with a BSc in Geophysics from Southampton University. Nick has worked in senior roles in the asset management industry since 1984. Joining Invesco Asset Management in 2000 he is currently Head of Europe, Middle East & Africa, Invesco Fixed Income. Nick has been a member of the Old Cliftonian Executive Committee since 2002, Chairman since 2007, and President since November 2013. He is Trustee of the Clifton College Endowment Fund and Founding Trustee of Clifton College Development Trust. Nick was appointed as a Governor to Clifton College in 2011, and to the College Council in 2013. He was Vice Chair from 2016 to 2019 and became Chair of Council in September 2019. His three daughters attend Clifton College.
Ms Teresa Fisk
Vice-Chair of Council
Teresa Fisk has an MA in Theology from Clare College, Cambridge, and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. She has held senior finance and internal audit roles within industry, and is a partner with KPMG’s Internal Audit, Risk and Compliance Services practice. Teresa leads this practice in the South region and works with a variety of clients in the public and private sectors. She has been a member of the Bath Spa University Audit Committee since June 2011 and was appointed a Governor and Convenor of the Audit Committee in November 2012. Teresa was appointed as a Governor of Clifton College in 2012 and was appointed to Council in 2013.
Mr Stuart Smith
Treasurer
Stuart Smith has a BSc and DPhil, and is a Chartered Accountant (FCA) Stuart’s career has worked in professional services with both PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte. He has 25 years’ experience working in Corporate Finance for private equity and corporate clients across a broad range of industrial sectors. During his career he has worked in a number of locations, including the US, Germany, Middle East, Russia, Ukraine, China and most recently Vietnam, as well as the UK. Stuart is now retired and based in Bristol. He was appointed a Governor to Clifton College in 2011, appointed to Council in 2012 and has been the Council Treasurer since 2013 (continuing). Stuart is a parent of 5 OCs.
Mr Chris Trembath
Chair of Clifton College Services Limited
Chris Trembath is an OC, former Head of School and Captain of College Cricket & Rugby. Chris has a BSc in Mineral Exploitation from Cardiff University and is a Chartered Accountant. He was Director of Consultancy at Network Training (Taunton) Ltd (Tribal Group) (1997-2004); Partner at Bentley Jenison (1995-1997); Senior Finance Officer, Further Education Funding Council (1992-1995); Coopers & Lybrand (1984-1992). Chris is the founding Partner, FE Associates, an interim management and consultancy business serving the Further Education and Schools Academy sectors. Chris played cricket for Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. He was appointed as a Governor of Clifton College in 2011 and was appointed to the College Council in 2013. Chris is a parent of three OCs.
Mr Hugh Harper
Trustee of the Clifton College Development Trust
Hugh Harper is an OC. He has a BA in Chemistry from Worcester College Oxford, where he was also a Choral Scholar. He was adviser to Rt Hon. John Patten (1988–1992); Vice President, Citibank, NA (1990–1998); Partner, Financial Services, McKinsey & Co. Inc, (1999–2012), Partner and Managing Director, Towerbrook Capital Partners (2012-2014); Ernst and Young, Strategy and Operations Leader, Europe Middle East (2014-continuing). Hugh is also a farmer and a Freeman of the City of London. He is a Trustee of the Royal Institution of Great Britain (2011–continuing). Hugh was appointed as a Governor of Clifton College in 2009 and appointed to Council in 2011. He is also a Trustee of the Clifton College Development Trust.
Brigadier Richard Morris
Chair of Outreach Working Group
Richard Morris (BA Exeter University) was a professional soldier for over 30 years. Commissioned from RMA Sandhurst into the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards he has had a wide-ranging military career with tours of duty in Germany, England, Northern Ireland, the US and Canada including command of his Regiment and subsequently a Brigade. He is now retired from the Army. Richard was Treasurer (Chief Executive) to the Merchant Venturers, and has been a director/governor of a number of schools and education trusts, with involvement in the creation of Merchants’ Academy, Withywood and Colston Girl’s School Academy. He has also had oversight of care homes and other charitable trusts and investments. In 2011 Richard was appointed a Governor of Clifton College and a member of the College Council.
Mr Richard Cartwright
Richard Cartwright is a partner at Saffery Champness, Chartered Accountants, having previously worked at PWC and KPMG. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and works as tax specialist and advisor to many families, trustees and entrepreneurial business owners. Richard was a member of the Fund Development Committee at Quartet Community Foundation and is a member of the Guild of Guardians at the Mansion House, Bristol. He was appointed as a Governor of Clifton College and as a Council Member in September 2015.
Mr Matthew Howard-Cairns
Matthew Howard-Cairns is an OC. He has a BA in Economics and Politics from the University of Durham and is a Chartered Accountant. He works at Blackstone, one of the world’s leading investment firms, where he is the head of European Asset Management for the firm’s Tactical Opportunities business. Matthew serves on the Boards of Directors of several of Blackstone’s portfolio companies across a variety of asset classes, industries and geographies. Prior to joining Blackstone, he worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He has been a member of the Old Cliftonian Executive Committee since 2015, currently serving as Vice President and previously as Treasurer. In 2019 Matthew was appointed as Governor and Council Member.
Simon Brewer
Chairman of the Clifton College Development Trust
Simon Brewer (OC), graduated from the London School of Economics with a degree in Economic History, and subsequently took the advanced management programme at INSEAD, France.
He started his career at Citibank in 1985, where he trained as a portfolio manager, before joining Morgan Stanley in 1989. Over the 17 years he spent there, he managed their global balanced portfolio, was Chairman of their European Asset Allocation Committee and Chief Investment Officer. For the last 12 years he has been CEO and an owner of Vantage Investment Advisory Ltd. In addition he is a senior advisor to Rothschild, UK. He is a Governor of the school and Chairman of the Clifton College Development Trust. He also served as a Trustee of Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Mr Julian Harbottle
Julian Harbottle is head of the Savills Development and Valuation team in the South West and South Wales and specialises in advising on development projects throughout the region, as well as immediate and strategic land opportunities. He is also the Head of Savills Western Region aiming to coordinate the various service lines offered by the company throughout the west. Julian provides strategic agency and consultancy advice, particulary in the residential and mixed use sectors. He qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in 1991 moving to Savills in 2004 and specialises in the development sector. He was a Governor at another Bristol independent school from 2008 to 2015 and is a Committee member of the Bristol Property Agents Association. He is married with three daughters.
Mr Julian Hemming
Early Years Foundation Stage Lead
Julian Hemming has an MA in Law from Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge and an LLM from UCL. He is an Employment Law partner at Osborne Clarke LLP where he has undertaken a wide range of roles. Currently he is Co-Chair of Osborne Clarke’s International Employment Law practice. In addition, Julian has been Chairman of the Employment Lawyers’ Association; a director of Lifeskills Learning For Living; a governor of Whitehall Primary School; Chairman of the Bristol Real Tennis Club and is currently a Board Member of WE Care & Repair. In 2016 Julian was appointed as Governor and Council Member of Clifton College. He is the parent of an OC.
Mr Jonathan Glassberg
Jonathan Glassberg is an OC. Since leaving school he has had a career in financial markets and is founder and owner of JB Drax Honoré, the world’s largest broker of exchange traded interest rate options. Jonathan was appointed a Governor to Clifton College in 2009 and became a Council member in 2016.
Mrs Fiona Purcell
Boarding and Welfare Council Member
Fiona Purcell is Site Director of The Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol, which offers studios and space to television, film and media companies. She began her career in theatre (including Manchester Royal Exchange and the Royal Shakespeare Company), then joined the BBC’s Drama department in London to work on their high-profile drama productions. Several years later she moved to Bristol to became a freelance Location Manager, spending 14 years working in Bristol, Bath and the West Country. Fiona was instrumental in establishing The Bottle Yard Studios and has managed the 7 acre site since the Bristol City Council initiative opened in 2010. She has built it into a thriving production hub, well-established as a major competitor on the UK studios scene, with a proven track record of accommodating high calibre, big budget titles from the UK and overseas. She sits on the Board for The Production Guild, on the Royal Television Society West committee, and on other strategic boards and panels both within the television industry and in Bristol itself, including the BBC Partnership Talent Group. Fiona was appointed as a Governor and Council member of Clifton College in 2016.
Mr Mark Eldridge
President of the Old Cliftonian Society, Nominated Safeguarding Lead
Mark Eldridge (OC) is an experienced CEO and COO within the public sector. He has extensive board level exposure, and is a very experienced lawyer and judge. Having served as Chief Operating Officer for the Greater London Courts Service, Mark is currently a tribunal judge in both the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal and in the Social Entitlement Tribunal Chamber. He has held a number of consulting positions relating to the justice service, and from 2004 to 2012 was a board member (serving also as Deputy Chair) of the Children and Family Courts Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). Across the same period Mark also served for four years on the Audit and Risk and Remuneration Committees of the first Children’s Commissioner for England. Mark is an OC and President of the Old Cliftonian Society.
Mrs Alison Eynon
Alison Eynon is Associate Vice Principal (Teaching & Learning) at Oasis Academy Brislington in South Bristol. Amongst other responsibilities, she is the lead for coaching, CPD, and teaching standards. She is also National Lead Practitioner for Oasis on raising standards in English, as well as Development Lead for the new free school – Oasis Academy Temple Quarter – which will open in central Bristol. Alison has been a Senior Leader in four very different school contexts, and has led various whole school projects to affect change and improve outcomes. She has experience in employability and careers education, and is part of the Learning City’s ‘Learning for and in Work Challenge Group’. She is a Teach First alumnae (2003), has chaired the Teach First South West Action Network, and now sits on the Board of Trustees for Teach First.
Mr James Womersley
James graduated from Durham University with a BA in Economics and History (as well as playing for the 1st XV) before gaining his PGCE at Oxford Brooks. Having taught at the Dragon School, Oxford, and at Emmanuel School in London, James has been Head Master of Beaudesert Park School, Gloucestershire, since 1997. The School has developed and grown substantially under his leadership. He is a member of the Oxford Group of Prep Schools and has been Chair of IAPS District 10.
Mrs Jenny Hemming
Clerk to Council
Jenny Hemming was appointed as Clerk to Council in September 2016. With an MA in History and Law, she worked in private practice as a solicitor for many years, specialising in contentious and non-contentious construction law, before moving to work in the charity sector, where she now advises a range of charities on governance and legal issues.
