Governors

Retired Headmaster
Area of support: Education & Governance

Peter Rushforth’s background in education spans 36 years in the Independent sector, at both senior and preparatory level. He has been a Headmaster of two prep schools for 16 years and has experience in day and boarding settings. Peter has been a Governor since March 2012 and has fulfilled a variety of roles within IAPS. 

Peter took up the role Chair of Governors in July 2019. 

Past Parent
Area of support: Safeguarding & Governance 

Susan Tyler worked as a solicitor in Family Law (London & Bucks CC). She was also a Governor at Turnfurlong Infant School, Aylesbury for seven years. A Governor at Swanbourne House since November 2010, Susan is Vice Chair of Governors and a member of the Governance Committee, Education Committee and has responsibility for Safeguarding.

Headmaster of Harrow
Area of support: Education

Educated at Manchester Grammar School, Alastair Land gained a First Class honours degree in Natural Sciences at Trinity College, Cambridge from where he went on to teach Biology at Eton College. After almost a decade at Eton, he moved to become Master in College and Senior Housemaster at Winchester College, then Deputy Headmaster at Harrow, before joining Repton as Headmaster in 2016. Alastair became Headmaster of Harrow School in April 2019. Alastair joined as a Governor in November 2017 and chairs the Education Committee. 

Head of The Abbey Junior School, Reading
Area of support: Education

Nicola Dick-Cleland has been Head of The Abbey Junior School since 2014, having previously taught at a co-ed prep school. Following her degree in Experimental Psychology from The Queen’s College, Oxford, Nicola worked as a senior manager at BT for a number of years before retraining as a psychotherapist. With a particular interest in personal development and organisational change, Nicola is a member of the Education Committee.

Past Parent
Area of support: Finance & Investment

Mark Rushton graduated in 1984 with a degree in Law from Cambridge and is a past parent of the school. With 30 years in the investment industry and 20 years of involvement in schools, Mark’s area of support for the School is in Development and Finance. Mark has been a Governor since February 2001 and is a member of the Finance and General Purposes Committee.

Group Buying Director, Aldi
Area of support: Finance

Sunjeewa Jayawardena is Group Buying Director at Aldi and has an extensive background in commercial operations including specialisms in leadership training, management and negotiation. He graduated from the University of Leeds in 2002 with a Master in Business Administration (MBA) and has lived and worked extensively in international territories. He has two children who attend the school. Mr Jayawardena joined the board in November 2019 and is a member of the Finance & General Purposes Committee.

Area of support: Finance

Doug has worked in finance roles within the independent school sector for over 25 years, having previously been a Management Accountant. He spent 12 years with Prudential Corporation before establishing Affinity Independent Limited in 1999 to provide independent financial advice to schools and staff. He is now a Partner at Succession Independent Schools where he heads their Financial Consultancy services to UK independent schools. Doug has been a parent at Swanbourne for 17 academic years, with two older daughters now through independent schooling but with his youngest daughter, Eva, still a pupil at the school. In his spare time he enjoys motor sport, following the England Rugby Union team, golf, camping and football.

FCA, ACA, PhD, BSc

Area of support: Finance

Meyrick graduated in Agricultural Botany at Reading University before completing a PhD with their department of Agricultural Botany in 1988. He then trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG before moving to MR Salvage Accountants in Bourne End. In his current role as Partner with Wilkins Kennedy Accountants, he provides audit, accounting and tax services to a range of clients. In his spare time, he enjoys the gym, cycling and boating.