Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Founded in 1512, Wolverhampton Grammar School is an award-winning independent day school, for boys and girls ages 4 to 18.

Wolverhampton Grammar School is governed by a board of Directors, who are supported by a Council and Board of Trustees.

Our Directors come from a broad range of industries, sectors and backgrounds. They are a team of highly committed and experienced individuals whose determination to deliver outstanding educational opportunities to our students is second to none. View our list of current Board of Directors below. 


James Sage (Chairman)

Born and educated locally, James is a solicitor and Head of a Corporate/Commercial Department for a regional commercial law practice. James has over 20 years’ experience in advising companies in respect of corporate and commercial matters and uses this experience as a member of the School’s Finance and General Purposes Committee.

James is also a Director of WVOne Ltd which is a not for profit organisation as well as Vice-Chair of the Alliance 4 the Black Country. James is a qualified junior football coach and helps run a junior football team in which one of his three children participates.

If you wish to contact James:

Chair of the Board of Directors
Mr James Sage
Wolverhampton Grammar School
Compton Road
Wolverhampton
WV3 9RB

Tel: 01902 421326
Email: headspa@wgs-sch.net


Directors

Shaun Aldis

Shaun is Chief Executive of a local housing company with a track record of successfully transforming and managing change. Shaun has previously held a number of Senior management positions and director roles in both construction maintenance and housing services. He also served as Chair of the National Housing Maintenance Forum. 

Shaun holds degrees in both business management and housing and more recently became a member of the IoD after completing its Non-Executive Director courses. Shaun lists some of his key achievements as: 

  • Successfully changing strategy and structure to reflect current economic factors 
  • Improving levels of both staff and customer satisfaction and engagement 
  • Driving business efficiency 
  • Project Management 
  • Achieving 42nd place in the top 100 employers list for Stonewall Workplace Equality Index 
  • Achieving excellent rating against the local Government equalities rating

Shaun is also passionate about organisations taking corporate social responsibility seriously and giving something back to the community.

Nick Berriman
Nick studied at Wolverhampton Grammar School from 1984 – 1991 and then attended The Victoria University of Manchester to read Law. He returned from several years working in an estate agency in Knightsbridge, London, to join his father’s Wolverhampton Estate Agency in 1998. In 2005 he bought the company and is now one of the two principals running Berriman Eaton Estate Agents following a merger in 2006 with Eaton Estates. A local boy through and through he is proud of his links with the city and is a committed Wolverhampton Wanderers fan – through both good times and bad! His daughter, Maisie, is currently in the Senior School at WGS having joined WGJS in Year 3 in and is the fourth generation of her family to go to the school following in the footsteps of Nick, his father and her maternal great grandfather.
Chris Bill

Chris is a partner in Transcend, a Corporate Finance firm.

Born in Wolverhampton, Chris studied Geology at Leicester University. He then qualified as a Chartered Accountant at KPMG.

Chris has worked in a number of sectors as a CFO, specialising in corporate finance, M&A and integration activities for companies such as Unipart Ltd, DTZ plc, Capita plc, Harsco Corporation and was a shareholder in NES Ltd, a local Engineering business. He has sat on the board of the National Skills Academy for Nuclear Manufacturing.

Chris has two sons who both attended the School.

Chris is also Chair of the School’s Finance & General Purposes Committee.

Ewa Bloch
Ewa is the Regional Manager of Innovate UK (UK National Innovation Agency) in the West Midlands. She works with the West Midlands Combined Authority, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), universities and key industry organisations to ensure that regional initiatives are complementary and aligned to national policies and strategies on skills, research and innovation. Ewa sits on the WM Innovation Board, and a number of Competitiveness and Industry Boards at the region’s six LEPs. She also provides expert advice on skills, training and innovation support to he European Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency and European Executive Agency for SMEs. She has a BA in Linguistics and an MBA in Industrial Economics.
Evelyn Forde MBE

An educator for the past 20 years, seven of which as a Headteacher, Evelyn has had the opportunity to work in inner city schools ranging from those that are Outstanding to those in a category. She is currently Headteacher at Copthall School in Mill Hill, North London, a school that has seen rapid and sustained improvement since 2016, placing it in the top 3% in the country for progress. In recognition of her exceptional service to education, Evelyn was awarded an MBE in the 2021 New Year’s Honours List, shortly after being named the 2020 Headteacher of the Year by the Times Educational Supplement.

Evelyn is driven by the belief that all young people should have access to outstanding teaching and grow into becoming responsible young people so that they can take their rightful place in society. She also believes that state and independent schools have an opportunity to work together to learn from each other, share expertise, experiences and ideas so that both staff and students can have a mutual respect for the different educational settings.

Manisha Gowan-Gopal

Manisha is a Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. She was born in South Africa where she did her undergraduate studies. She has been working in Paediatrics in the NHS since 1999 and during her training has worked in various hospitals across the West Midlands including Birmingham Children’s Hospital. She has been a consultant since 2010.

Due to her current role in Paediatric Emergency Medicine, she has first-hand experience of the increase in mental health issues afflicting children and young people in our community. She is planning on working closely with the pastoral department to provide support to students facing such issues. She has Level 3 safeguarding training which she updates annually. She has experience in advising Social Services and the Police regarding safeguarding concerns.

She regularly teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate doctors and is a certified instructor on national life support courses. She has a son and daughter both of whom are currently pupils at the School.

John Harper
John is owner of 247 Professional Health, a care recruitment company based in Wolverhampton. Previous to this John worked extensively in the global retail industry, where he held roles such as Head of European Operations, global space, store design, visual merchandising and capital expenditure for new stores and refits. John also chairs the Wolverhampton Care Partnership and is vice chair of Penn Colts FC, a local football club founded in 1985.He was born and educated in the city, is married to Kate, a NHS professional and is the father to two ex-pupils of the School, Luke & Caitlin, who are now at university in Newcastle & Leicester.
Peter Hawthorne CBE
Peter was a pupil at Wolverhampton Grammar School before attending Cambridge. He has had a successful career in education, beginning as teacher of history at Wolverhampton Grammar School and then promotion to Head of Department, Head of Year and Deputy Head. He has been a Head in a number of state schools and was then chosen to lead 14-19 development for the city of Wolverhampton. As a result of this work, Wolverhampton achieved Beacon Status and Peter was then selected to lead a number of national projects on behalf of the government. He has also worked as an independent consultant and has been a Director since 2012.
Adrian Holles

Adrian is a Chartered Accountant and Managing Director of an Accountancy practice. Born and educated locally, Adrian has over 30 years’ experience in advising companies in respect of financial and commercial matters. He uses this experience as a member of the School’s Finance and General Purposes Committee. 

Adrian has two sons at the School who both started in the Junior School. 

Adrian is a Director of Old Wulfrunians Club Ltd which is a local junior and adult sports club. He is also Non-executive Director of an e-commerce agency.

Andrew Hymer

Andrew read Ancient History and Classical Archaeology at Sheffield University. After a short spell in the South Yorkshire Police, he began his teaching career at Ashville College in Yorkshire. 

A move to the Midlands led to a series of positions, both in the independent and state primary sectors. During this time, Andrew completed a MA in Education before his appointment as Deputy Head at King’s Hawford School, Worcester. Whilst at Hawford, he completed the National Professional Qualification for Headship.

Appointed as the founding Headteacher at Wolverhampton Grammar Junior School, the school grew and flourished under Andrew's leadership before he was appointed as Headmaster of Warwick Junior School. Andrew retired from headship at the end of 2022. He then took only a little persuasion to return to Wolverhampton to act as a Year 4 class teacher for two terms! Andrew continues to work in education, providing both leadership and classroom supply cover. 

Sukhjot Dhami

Sukhjot Dhami, the Principal at Beacon Hill Academy (one of the largest schools in Dudley), stands as a beacon of exceptional leadership in Dudley's educational landscape. His adept management skills have earned him high praise from Ofsted, showcasing his prowess in elevating educational standards. Under his guidance, the school's performance has soared above the national average for the first time in two decades.

His impact extends beyond the school walls; he led the influential BBC documentary Helping Our Teens, highlighting the profound influence of strong leadership. Additionally, Sukhjot's dedication has led his school to receiving the prestigious Person's National Teachers Award.

Graduating with a BA Honours in History and English Literature from the University of Birmingham, he further distinguished himself by attaining a distinction in Leadership and Management. This achievement earned him accreditation as a Chartered Manager by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

If you wish to contact our Board of Directors, please email the Head’s PA, Miss Jess Cooksey and we will forward your message.

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Proud to be one of the oldest schools in the country but forward-looking in our approach.