The Oratory School Governors make up our governing body. Our Governors volunteer their time and professional skills to ensure that the schools operate efficiently. They are responsible for the strategy and future development of the schools.

To contact the Governors please email governors@oratory.co.uk

VICE PRESIDENT

M H R Hasslacher

† Nicholas Purnell KC , MA (Cantab)

CHAIR OF GOVERNORS 

* MRS P LO BA, PGCE

Lead Governor for Safeguarding & Boarding Standards.

Pascale Lo has three sons who were all educated at The Oratory School. On leaving Durham University, she practised family law as a solicitor for about 10 years. After obtaining her PGCE, she taught at the Ursuline Preparatory School in Wimbledon for many years and then moved to become Head of the Preparatory Department at St Catherine's School in Twickenham. Her education experience was obtained from working for 20 years in Independent Catholic Preparatory schools. She is now retired and lives in Wimbledon with her husband and her two dogs.

VICE-CHAIRMAN

† P M SIEYES ESQ

Peter Sieyes attended both The Oratory Preparatory School and The Oratory School in the 1970s. His two sons are also old Oratorians. After leaving Edinburgh University he started his career in the Advertising industry in Paris (WPP Group), then moved to London where he joined Diageo (world’s leading premium spirits group) as their Global head of Digital Marketing. He then moved to a senior leadership role in IT services and Consulting at Infosys. He is now semi-retired and actively engaged in charity work with the Order of Malta. He lives in London with his French wife Valerie.

MEMBERS

*† K CARBERRY-LONG 

Kate Carberry-Long (nee McIntyre) trained at St Mary’s Hospital and has worked both for the NHS as a Practice Nurse at Clapham Manor Street and privately  at the Lister Hospital, Chelsea. More recently she was the Lead Nurse at Westminster School, London for 11 years, with involvement in pastoral and safeguarding care. Kate is delighted that girls are now formally joining the school, having been one of the handful that attended in the 1980s. Kate has recently moved back locally and has three grown up children.
 

M J DENT ESQ MA

Having studied Medieval History at the University of York (and attended York Oratory), Matthew worked in politics with experience both in constituency offices and running an MP’s Westminster office. He now works for the Independent Schools Council, the representative body for UK independent schools, as Public Affairs and Policy Officer. In this role, he focuses on political threats to independent schools, as well as government regulations and policies affecting schools.
 

* F P GARGENT ESQ MA (CANTAB), MSC (LONDON), FCA 

Link Governor for Finance.

Frank Gargent trained as a chartered accountant in London before pursuing an international finance career with Shell. He returned to the UK with an eye to becoming a bursar at an Oxford college, an aspiration that he was able to realise when subsequently appointed Bursar and Fellow of St Hilda’s College. He retired from this role in 2020. He has previously served as a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Winchester & Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust, and retains a connection with Oxford University as Treasurer of Oxford University Rugby Football Club. He lives in Oxford with his wife Alice, where they attend the Oxford Oratory.
 

*† J R B HOBBS ESQ BA 

Link Governor for Marketing, Admissions and External Relations.

Jonathan Hobbs is Managing Director of Hobbs of Henley Ltd, the fifth generation of the 149 year old Boating Business, and recent founder of Henley’s first Gin – “Mr Hobbs”. He is Chairman of a number of Boating Industry associations and a Director of The Henley Music and Arts Festival. He was a Governor at Shiplake College for 12 years before joining the OS Board in 2018. Jonathan is an old Oratorian of 80s vintage and lives in Stoke Row with Suzy and his three daughters.
 

P J D HOBLEY ESQ BSC (HONS), MRICS

Philip Hobley has worked in the property industry for the past twenty-five years, after reading Estate Management at the University of Northumbria. He is a qualified Chartered Surveyor and Member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. Philip is a Proprietary Partner at Knight Frank, working as Co-Chair of the London Business, specialising in office development and leasing in Central London. Philip lives locally and is married with four children.

* P MCDONALD ESQ

Peter McDonald is a former parent, having educated two children at The Oratory School. Peter recently set up his own HR Advisory business here in the UK. He has had over 25 years' International corporate HR experience having worked for the likes of Unilever (South Africa), Tetra Pak, GAVI Alliance (Switzerland) and Panalpina (Dubai and Switzerland).

J RAWLINGS LLB LLM ESQ

Jonathan studied law at the University of Birmingham and later joined the international city law firm, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. He spent the whole of his legal career with Freshfields, becoming a partner in the firm in May 2001 and recently retiring in December 2021. Following retirement, Jonathan has become actively involved in voluntary work with the Companions/Order of Malta. He is also working on a voluntary basis with an organisation to provide litigation training for aspiring lawyers from a social mobility background. 
 

VERY REV D B SEWARD MA (OXON) CONG. ORAT.

Link Governor for Catholic Life.

Fr Daniel Seward is a priest of the York Oratory. Fr Daniel was educated at Trinity College, Oxford, Blackfriars, Oxford, and the Pontifical University of St Thomas, Rome, and was ordained priest in 2001. He has been a school chaplain and was Parish Priest of St Aloysius’, Oxford from 2008-19 and Provost of the Oxford Oratory from 2011-19. He was one of the first Fathers of the York Oratory at its foundation in 2019 and is currently the Parish Priest.

* A SHIELDS LL.B. (HONS), PGDIP 

Angela moved to Berkshire in 1994. She qualified as a Solicitor in 2000 and has worked in London and the South East, specialising in commercial employment law.  After 20 years in private practice, Angela was appointed as a Judge of the First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber) in 2020. Since 2021, she also sits as a Judge in the Employment Tribunal and is Secretary for the Association of Women Judges.  In 2022, Angela was appointed as a Deputy Regional Tribunal Judge in the First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber). She lives in Oxfordshire and is married with two children.

M C SHINKWIN MA, NPQH

Margaret, mother of three with two grandchildren at the Oratory Preparatory School and a former Headmistress of an Independent Preparatory and Senior Independent School, has spent her entire career in Catholic education. She has been a Governor at four schools and worked for several years with the General Secretary of the Catholic Independent Schools’ Conference. She is an Education Consultant, an Inspector and a member of EducareM, an organisation which supports all Catholic Heads.

* J R W WILDER ESQ MBA

John Wilder was educated at Cheam Prep School and Millfield School and has an MBA from the Open University. John worked for the family firm of agricultural engineers for twenty years, the last ten as managing director until its sale. He now works as bursar of Moulsford Preparatory School. John has a wide experience of the educational sector having served as a Governor of Wallingford school, Rycotewood College and Berkshire College of Agriculture, where he was Chair for ten years. John lives in Wallingford with his wife Rachel and they have three sons.
 

BURSAR AND CLERK TO THE GOVERNORS

MRS F YATES MA (Oxon), FCA

CHAPLAIN TO THE ORATORY SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION 

FR DAVID ROCKS OP

 

* The Finance Committee

† Old Oratorians

Contact Address for the Chairman of Governors

Mrs M-P Lo 
c/o The Clerk to the Governors
The Oratory School
Woodcote
Oxfordshire 
RG8 0PJ

E-mail: governors@oratory.co.uk