Park View Academy, trading as PARK VIEW SCHOOL, is a charitable company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 7709270). Registered address: Park View School, Church Chare, DH3 3QA

The Academy is governed by the Academy Trust (made up of a Board of Directors) and overseen by the Members. Members are the guardians of the Trustees of the Trust and hold the Trust Board to account for effective governance and sit above the Trust Board.

The responsibilities of the Trust Body are set out in the

You can view our page on the ‘school’s financial benchmarking’ service here.

Email contact with the Board of Trustees, or any individual member of the Board of Trustees, can be made via [email protected]  Alternatively, mail can be sent to the Board of Trustees, Park View School, Church Chare, Chester-le-Street, DH3 3QA, marked ‘Private and Confidential’.

For general enquiries, please contact Mrs Kate Duncan, Company Secretary on [email protected]

Members

Dr William Dennison
Appointed on 18/12/2024
Appointed by the Full Governing Body (July 2011)

Dr Bill Dennison was Chair of Board of Trustees for over twenty years. His two daughters both attended Park View. Bill has been a National Leader of Governance and was a member of the DfE’s Bureaucracy Reference Group before it disbanded. He was Head of the Education Department at Newcastle University, specialising in the provision of education leadership for staff in schools and colleges on a national basis. In 2014, Bill was awarded MBE for services to education. Bill now continues to serve on the board as a community trustee. 

Committee Membership : Finance and Premises / Student Discipline / Personnel / Head’s Performance Review
Special Interest Governor : Quality of Education and Sixth Form

Mr Andrew Flint

Appointed on 18/05/2022

Mr Geoff Lumsdon

Appointed on 23/01/2025

Trustees

Mr Kevin Reynolds – Chair of Trustees
Appointed on 17/05/2022, Term of Office until: 17/05/2026
Appointed by Members of the Trust Board and was appointed as Chair of the Trustee Board in September 2024. 

Kevin has held leadership and management positions in industry and education for 35 years. He has been a senior leader in 4 schools and academies and has a track record for improvement taking one from requires improvement (RI) to outstanding, another from RI to good and a third out of serious weaknesses. He has developed and led leadership courses throughout the North East and has spoken at many local and national conferences on transformational leadership and how to create, build and establish a new school. His particular interests are effective school leadership and curriculum design. He is a passionate believer that every young person regardless of background or ability deserves the best educational experience to increase their life chances. He has served as a Trust Member for another MAT in the region since 2017. In 2021, he retired from his position of Executive Principal at a local multi-academy trust.

Special Interest Governor : Quality of Education and Sixth Form (PP Trustee)

Mr Andrew Finley
Ex-officio Governor
Appointed on 01/09/2019
 
Andy Finley has worked at Park View since January 2002 and has a wealth of experience as a teacher, Middle and Senior Leader at the school. Andy has a BA(Hons) in Business Studies. After graduating, Andy worked in Marketing and Sales for Financial Times Management before studying his PGCE from the University of Manchester in Business and Economics. Andy started his teaching career at Baverstock School in Birmingham before moving to Park View. He has worked as a Business teacher, Assistant Learning Co-ordinator, Subject Leader of ICT and Faculty Leader for Vocational. Senior Management responsibilities have included Teaching and Learning, Head of Sixth Form, Safeguarding and Head of Upper School. Outside of school, Andy is happily married to Dawn and is a proud dad to Molly and Maddie. In his spare time, Andy likes to play football, swim and has a keen interest in technology.

Mr Michael Goulding – Community Trustee
Appointed on 13/02/2023, Term of office end: 13/02/2027
Appointed by Members

I have lived in Chester-le-Street all my life, and attended Park View in the 1960s, when it was Ch-le-St Grammar School. My mother and my 3 brothers also attended the school, and so have my wife and all four of my children. I therefore have a strong bond with the school and an awareness of its heritage and traditions, as well as a vested interest in the quality of its current educational provision. I understand the importance of Park View to the town and its community, and feel privileged to help in any way I can towards securing the best possible future. I am now retired, after spending 40 years working for The Open University – a fantastic organisation, which has inspired and enabled over a million people to literally change their lives through education. My role was primarily in IT and included the training of academic staff in the use of communication technologies. My personal interests are in sport, music, and travel. I’ve recently been learning Italian to try to keep up with my bi-lingual grandkids.

Having lived and worked in Chester-le-Street all my life, I am very proud that our town has provided the backdrop to my whole life. The positive educational experiences I was exposed to as a child, while a pupil of Red Rose Primary School, convinced me that I wanted to be a primary school teacher.

Councillor Craig Martin – Community Trustee
Appointed on 26 November 2020 , Term of Office until: 26 November 2024
Appointed by Members of the Trust Board

I’m the County Councillor for North Lodge in Chester-le-Street and a former student of Park View, I’m serving as a Trustee to ensure our young people get the best possible opportunities going forward in life while encouraging a strong partnership between the school and the community it sits in. I studied Physics at the University of York going on to train as a Physics teacher at Durham University. After 5 years of teaching, I retrained in finance. I’m now working for a further education college, running their payroll, alongside my political work. I also volunteer as a Scout leader in Chester-le-Street.

Committee Membership: Finance & Premises / Audit & Risk
Special Interest Governor : Quality of Education and Sixth Form

Mr Ken Reed – Parent Trustee
Appointed on 01/02/2021, Term of Office until: 01/02/2025
Appointed by Parental Election 

I am very delighted to be a Trustee at Park View school. I am a retired police officer having lived and worked in the Durham area for many years. For my last 10 years of police service I was attached to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) and the Home Office as a lead inspector. I have in-depth experience in corporate governance, strategic management, and in the delivery of performance outcomes, all of which is relevant and transferable to the education sector.
I am currently chair of Trustees at Woodlea Primary School which has had strong links with Park View for many years. I am also a Trustee at Eden Learning Trust, a multi academy trust incorporating 5 schools in County Durham.
As the parent of a child at Park View, I am passionate about helping to improve education and always seek to contribute positively to support the headteacher and his leadership team to achieve the best possible outcomes for our children.
I have a Masters Degree in Business Administration and have a keen interest in cricket and technology.

Committee Membership: Finance and Premises / Audit & Risk

Mr Mark Henry – Community Trustee

Appointed on 01/03/2023, Term of Office until: 01/03/2027

Appointed by Members of the Trust Board

I am privileged to be invited to be a Trustee at Park View School. I have lived in Chester-le-Street for 15 years now, after moving here to raise my young family. My wife (a former pupil) and I always hoped our children would attend ParkView and we are proud that we now have two sons that do, and they are extremely happy here.

I am currently employed as an Engineering Contracts Manager and have worked in the Construction Industry for over 30 years. The majority of my contracts have been within the education and health care sectors, managing the installation of mechanical services within schools, universities, student accommodation and hospitals etc. As a trustee I am looking forward to working with the other trustees, Head Teacher and staff and hope that my experience will enhance the expertise of the governing body, in particular the maintaining of the school estate.

Committee Membership : Finance and Premises / Audit & Risk

Special Interest Governor : Behaviour / Attitude / PD

Mrs Louise Masters – Community Trustee

Appointed on 27/03/2025  Term of Office until: 27/03/2029

Appointed by Members of the Trust Board

Dr William Dennison – Community Trustee
Re-appointed on 22/11/2024, Term of office end: 22/11/2028
Appointed by the Full Governing Body (July 2011)

Dr Bill Dennison was Chair of Board of Trustees for over twenty years. His two daughters both attended Park View. Bill has been a National Leader of Governance and was a member of the DfE’s Bureaucracy Reference Group before it disbanded. He was Head of the Education Department at Newcastle University, specialising in the provision of education leadership for staff in schools and colleges on a national basis. In 2014, Bill was awarded MBE for services to education. Bill now continues to serve on the board as a community trustee. 

Committee Membership : Finance and Premises / Student Discipline / Personnel / Head’s Performance Review
Special Interest Governor : Quality of Education and Sixth Form

Governors’ Meetings

Attendance at Full Trustee Meetings 2023 – 2024

Attendance at Finance and Premises 2023 – 2024

Register of Governor Interests

Dr W F Dennison: Director of Arcadia Learning Ltd (Education Consultancy) (date of appointment 01 April 2002) / Trustee of PVCC (facility for community use) (date of appointment 01 September 2015).

Mr C Martin: Vice Chair for North Lodge County Council (date of appointment 2021), Volunteer with 2nd Chester-le-Street Scout Group (date of appointment 2006), Local Party Chair for Liberal Democrats (since 2007), Member of Alliance of Liberal Democrat Councillors (since 2017), Member of Unison (since 2018), Vice Chair of HR Committee at Durham and Darlington Fire Authority (since 2023), Mr Martin’s partner is also a Senior Practitioner at Clever Clogs Day Nursery (since 2011).

Mr P Adamson: Headteacher at Woodlea Primary School

Mr M Malik: Headteacher at Harlow Green Community Primary School

Mrs Claire Francis: No pecuniary interest

Mr Kenneth Reed: Director of Ken Reed Consultancy LTD (appointed April 2009), Chair of Governors at Woodlea Primary School (date of appointment November 2015), Trustee of Eden Learning Trust (date of appointment September 2020).

Mr M Goulding: No pecuniary interest

Mr Kevin Reynolds: Member at ALP (since 2017), Chair at Gilligate Trust (date of appointment 2022)

Mr M Henry: Mechanical Contracts Manager for Kennedy Services Ltd

Mrs Louise Master: Partner at Ward Hadaway Law Firm

Members:

Dr W F Dennison: Director of Arcadia Learning Ltd (Education Consultancy) (date of appointment 01 April 2002) / Trustee of PVCC (facility for community use) (date of appointment 01 September 2015).

Mr A Flint: No pecuniary interest

Mr G Lumsdon: Governor for Woodlea Primary School, Head Teacher for ELT