Governors

Hi
My name is Trevor Alley.
I am SO proud to be Chair of Governors at Reid Street Primary School!

I have been a governor at the school, on and off, for 20 years. I started as a parent governor when my son and daughter were lucky to be children at this amazing school.
Both of them have made excellent academic progress, I believe, because of the (also excellent) start that they had as pupils at Reid Street.

I try to spend as much time as I can assisting with the teaching of Maths, usually with Year 6 learners, and I really enjoy this!

My background has been in Further Education and training. After graduating as a mechanical Engineer (following an excellent apprenticeship), I had over forty years of experience in lecturing and managing in colleges of further education, firstly in Swindon, where I grew up, and later in Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Darlington.

My last full time post was CEO at South West Durham training, where I led the recovery from an Ofsted judgement of requiring improvement to 'Outstanding' in 2 years.

I have served for 15 years as an Additional inspector with Ofsted (in the FE sector).

Outside of work, I have been happily married for over 35 years and have 2 children who make me proud every day!

We have a white (crazy) German Shepherd dog called Skittle (who may have barked at you if you pass our house in Greenbank Road) and we love taking her out for walks.

I am a very keen cyclist and try to get out for a few miles each day and when the weather is good I enjoy riding my Kawasaki motorcycle.

I played rugby to a good standard and now enjoy refereeing (when I’m allowed to!)

I’m Carol Saunders and a long serving, very proud member of the Governing Body at Reid Street Primary.

I have served Reid Street as Chair for many years and was instrumental in taking Reid Street into a Single Academy Primary School Trust. My current role is Vice-Chair of which I am very privileged to hold.

My working life has been in Education and have worked in one of the top secondary schools in the country. My aim as a Governor has always been to try and provide the best start in life and hopefully for the children to aspire into whatever future they wish to venture into.

I am a very keen sports woman having biked: the Coast to Coast, Edinburgh 100km during the night for Womens’ Cancer and currently Route 66 Virtual 2278 miles during lockdown. My biking nickname is 'The Legend' as my rides usually give me this for the person who has ridden a route the most times.

I have a very active life outside Reid Street enjoying strength training and gym work. I am also a community champion litter picker for the local area as well as Darlington.

I am married and have a grown up son who was once a pupil at Reid Street and has successfully achieved in life academically, spiritually and morally, just some of the values that are part of the life at Reid Street which make it a very successful school

Hello, I am Karina Dare and I have been a Governor at Reid Street since 2018 - originally as a parent and more recently as a Member Appointed Governor.

My sons both attended Reid Street before moving on to Hummersknott Academy. They both loved their time at Reid Street. They made the most of all the opportunities including joining in with The Pie Challenge, taking part in running for Children’s Cancer Run and learning to play brass instruments which they both continued.

I grew up in New Zealand and studied History at University. After a variety of jobs including working in local government as an archivist I moved into the health and disability sector and I have worked in healthcare for almost 30 years.

I moved to the UK in 2001 where I met my husband and settled in Darlington. I currently work for NHS Property Services. I work with NHS organisations developing and delivering strategies to build or sell healthcare buildings.

My favourite ways to let off steam are karate and tai chi. When I get the chance, I love to get out on the water especially canoeing and kayaking.

Hi. My name is Lorna Davies.

Firstly I was lucky to be a pupil at this wonderful school and look back at my time here with fond memories!

I am a full time mum to my two wonderful boys, one who is a pupil at Reid Street. Myself and my son are registered as severely site impaired so I have a lot of experience with understanding disabilities and the challenges that come with accessing mainstream education as someone with a sensory impairment.

I was registered blind at birth and have recently experienced additional site loss which has been a challenge but I have also recently been lucky enough to welcome my lovely Guide Dog Yarren into the family home where I live with my husband and children; he is a wonderful addition and a family pet as well as my mobility aid!

I am extremely passionate about pupils with disabilities accessing the same opportunities as their fellow pupils without impairments! My goal as a visually impaired parent to my visually impaired son is to show him he can achieve whatever he wants regardless of his impairment. I strive to be a good blind role model for my son using mobility aids and other adaptations to normalise his impairment and be confident in his disability!

As a family we like to enjoy days out, long walks with the dog and just generally spending quality time together, We are always up to something exciting as a family!
I am also an avid audiobook listener and also have an interest in anything arts and crafts - I always have a bit of embroidery on the go or a craft project to keep me busy!