Members

The members of the Academy Trust are the guardians of the governance of the trust; they hold the trust board to account for the effective governance of the trust. 

Ian Cobbold

I was first appointed as a Governor of Westbourne Primary School in 2004 and served as Vice Chair of Trustees and Chair of the Business Committee until July 2020.

My career was at the Bank of England and then at the Financial Services Authority, specialising in the supervision of banks. Since retirement I have been a financial services consultant, a non-executive director and Chairman of an e-money issuer.

In the charity sector, I have been Chairman and Treasurer of the Sutton Branch of the NSPCC and a Trustee of the Hackney Marsh Partnership and a member of the audit committee of Charity Bank.

As Member of the Westbourne Academy Trust, I look forward to working with the Trust Board to maintain high standards in all aspects of school life.

Bernie Higgins

I joined Westbourne Primary School's Governing Body in July 2005 and became Chair of the Governing Body in 2008. I run my own consultancy business working with the emergency services, having previously been Deputy Assistant Commissioner in the London Fire Brigade, a job I retired from in 2012 after 33 years of service. I have considerable experience of working in the public sector, particularly in terms of managing major and critical incidents as well as managing risk at both a strategic and operational level; I also have experience of both project and programme management.

Keith Lugton

Trustees

Trustees are both company directors and charity trustees as academies have the legal status of both company and charitable trust.
 

The main responsibilities of the trustees are to:

• Set the strategic direction of the trust.
• Hold senior school leadership to account.
• Oversee the trust's financial performance.

Our Trustees are:

Mr B. Higgins
Chair of Trustees

Bernie Higgins joined Westbourne Primary School's governing body in July 2005 and became Chair of the governing body in 2008. He now runs his own consultancy business working with the emergency services, having previously been Deputy Assistant Commissioner in the London Fire Brigade, a job he retired from in 2012 after 33 years of service. Bernie has considerable experience of working in the public sector, particularly in terms of managing major and critical incidents as well as managing risk at both a strategic and operational level. He also has experience of both project and programme management.

Bernie also has a strong training and development background and has considerable experience of chairing meetings.

All four of Bernie’s children attended Westbourne (between 1996 and 2015), and all of them thrived in the school’s caring and nurturing environment. Bernie has seen major changes at Westbourne throughout his relationship with the school and is extremely proud of the school’s ability to continually grow and develop with the times.

Bernie is also immensely proud of the school’s success in developing all the children, which he feels is largely down to the whole team approach of all Westbourne staff and governors.

Mr E. Prothero

Trustee (Safeguarding)

Edward Prothero has lived in Sutton since 1985 and been a governor at Westbourne since 2001, firstly as a parent governor with two daughters at the school, and since 2008 as a community governor. He worked for the IT department of the Metropolitan Police for 30 years, specialising in computer network infrastructure. Edward has served on the Finance and Premises Committee and more recently on the Education Committee. He is also the trustee with special responsibility for safeguarding. As well as being a trustee, Edward has supported Year 6 children with French conversation and currently runs a French club in the Autumn and Summer Terms.

Mrs J. Way (Vice Chair)

Trustee

I have been working in primary education for over forty years and took retirement at the end of August 2020. I would like to continue to be involved with a school and feel I can contribute knowledge, enthusiasm and commitment as a trustee. I have been a governor at my previous school for 20 years and have developed a strong understanding of the governance role. In addition to my role as Deputy Head, I have also worked as an Acting Headteacher for a year. During this time (December 2014), Ofsted inspected the school and judged it to be outstanding in all categories. My attention to detail, leadership skills and positive people skills contributed significantly to this outcome. I was the assessment coordinator at my school and have a wide knowledge and understanding of data analysis and assessment processes. I have used my assessment knowledge to successfully identify development areas and drive school improvement. In addition, I have wide experience of monitoring teaching and learning and appraisal of teaching and support staff. I have worked in partnership with St Mary's University to train student teachers and have supported many NQTs in their first year of teaching. Hence, my knowledge of what makes a good teacher is very clear. As the Designated Safeguarding Lead at my previous school, I have wide experience of supporting vulnerable children and creating a safeguarding culture in school. I was also responsible for ensuring children entitled to the Pupil Premium receive the support needed to ensure they make appropriate progress and have enriched cultural experiences. I have also had experience as a SENCo which enabled me to learn more about specific needs as well as SEND processes. I feel that with these skills, I am very well-placed to support a school as a trustee.

Mr L. Peri

Trustee

Lorenzo lives in nearby Hackbridge and joined as a trustee in October 2020. Lorenzo has had a diverse career across the public sector, including working on change management programmes and financial management in the NHS and senior positions across government including at the Cabinet Office and most recently at Her Majesty’s Treasury, where he leads across government on public sector pensions policy. He is committed to supporting the educational needs of local children, regardless of their background, and wants to use the skills he has developed in his working life in support of that aim.

Mr J. Cook

Trustee

Jonathan Cook joined Westbourne Primary School’s Trust Board in October 2020 and lives in nearby New Malden. As a Chartered Geologist, Jon has spent most of his career working in the natural resources industry and currently works in the corporate development team of a FTSE 250 company. Over a number of years, Jon has acted as a mentor for young science and engineering graduates in several companies and at present mentors PhD students at the Natural Environment Research Council Centre for Doctoral Training. Passionate about promoting STEM education at primary and secondary level, he is particularly keen to address the gender disparity in academia and industry. He is extremely excited to join the board and support Westbourne in continuing to be an excellent and flourishing school. 

Executive Principal

Mr D. Miracapillo

Mr Miracapillo is the Executive Principal of Westbourne Academy Trust and Headteacher at Westbourne Primary School. He served as Acting Headteacher for a year, and as Deputy Head for four years, in charge of curriculum, pupil progress and assessment. He has been teaching across the primary sector for over 17 years, with many leadership positions including Phase Leader and Mathematics Leader (Mathematics Specialist Teacher and NCETM PD Lead).

Parent Trustees

Mrs J. Lennon

Trustee

Mrs Justine Lennon joined Westbourne Primary School’s Trust Board in January 2022.  She has lived in the borough of Sutton, on and off, since 1997 and has worked in the pharmaceutical industry from 2007 in the regulatory affairs arena.  Prior to this, she worked in the Haematology department at Guy’s hospital.  Justine has 3 children who are (or have been) educated at Westbourne and in her words, “it was my wish to actively support the school in its fantastic work.  Therefore, it is a pleasure to be a Parent Trustee and be a part of further developing its excellence and aims.”

Mr S. Wang

Trustee

Mr Shui Wang Joined Westbourne Primary School's Trust Board in January 2022. 

I have worked as an international immigration lawyer since 2006, when I founded a law firm with my partner. Since the second half of 2014, I have been involved in business within international trade and international e-commerce till now. I am honoured to be appointed by Trust Board. I hope my professional knowledge can perfectly fit the school's development plan and contribute to the Westbourne Primary School.

Trustees' Register of Business Interests - December 2023

Trustees' Roles and Responsibilities- March 2024