HIKSVS Advisory Council
Lady Elizabeth Vallence, Chairman of Governors
The Lady Vallance, JP, PhD, DCL(Hon) is Chairman of Governors at Sutton Valence School. An academic by background, she taught at London University and was Chairman of the Institute of Education. She has sat on the boards of Aviva plc, Norwich Union plc and HMV Group and now chairs the National Autism Project.
Gillian Swaine BSC MED
Gillian Swaine grew up in the Welsh mining valleys and was educated at the Universities of Wales and London. She is a senior educational professional with 35 years' experience of teaching and school management in prestigious, independent, senior schools. A passionate mathematician, she has an exceptional record and is an experienced mentor with an international reputation for guiding pupils to premier university entrance. Not only is she an experienced school governor at both prep and senior level and a trained ISI inspector, Gillian is also highly skilled in whole school curriculum development, timetabling and staff development and appraisal. She is Vice-Chairman of Governors at Sutton Valence School.
Andrew Hutchinson
After graduating from Cambridge University with First Class Honours in Engineering Andrew joined the London office of Peat Marwick (now KPMG) and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1975. On promotion to Partner he moved to KPMG's Maidstone office before joining Sutton Valence School as Bursar in 1995. He held this post for 16 years, a period during which the School grew significantly and invested heavily in new and improved facilities. Following his retirement, he joined the Board of Governors in 2013 and is currently a member of the Finance and Buildings Committee.
Bruce Grindlay
Bruce Grindlay is a British organist, conductor, teacher and the current Headmaster at Sutton Valence School.
Mr Grindlay finished his schooling in Canada and studied at the Royal Canadian College of Organists as well as the Royal Conservatory of Music and the University of British Columbia. In 1988, Mr Grindlay took up an organ scholarship at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and studied with Peter Hurford.
As of July 2009, took on the role as Headmaster of Sutton Valence School where he has seen the School go from strength to strength. Following regular A Level success, the School is celebrating being in the top 2% for adding academic value, this outstanding achievement is the true measure of the success of the School; not every pupil can achieve A* grades, but all can improve their chances and add value to their academic profile.