Governing Body
How we are governed
As part of the Eltham College Family of Schools, Blackheath Prep is governed by the Eltham College Board of Governors. The role of the Governing Board is to determine the aims and overall conduct of the school, and to formulate and review the school’s strategic plans. While the day to day running of the school is delegated to the Head, supported by other members of the school’s Senior Leadership Team, ultimate responsibility for strategy, finances and policies lies with the Governing Board.
The governors undertake their role on a voluntary basis and bring a wide variety of expertise to various school management forums. From professional backgrounds in education, health services, finance, property, law and general business, all of our governors are deeply committed to the continuing success and welfare of our school.
Chair of Governors
Peter Doyle
Governor since 2017. Member of the Estates and Safety Committee, and member of the Finance Committee
Until 2018 Peter’s role was as CFO, and subsequently Head of the Family Office at The Grosvenor Estate. Prior to that, Peter had worked for KPMG, including 16 years as a partner in the London office, and latterly as Head of Financial Services. He has also worked in government, as a Finance Director and as a non-executive Board member. He is now non-executive Chair of a financial services business and sits on the Advisory Board of an entrepreneurial property group.
In the not-for-profit world, he has served on several Boards, including Peabody, Medair (an emergency relief charity), and also the Advisory Board of the Judge Institute at Cambridge. Presently, Peter is Treasurer and Vice-Chair of Council at Wycliffe Hall Oxford. He is also a Trustee of the Grosvenor Pension Funds. Following seven years at Eltham, Peter read economics at Queens’ College, Cambridge and has also studied at INSEAD. He is married to Margaret and is a father to a son and daughter, and has 5 grandchildren.
Vice Chair
Sarah King
Appointed September 2024
Sarah King has worked with cathedrals for almost 30 years. She currently works as the Executive Director of the Association of English Cathedrals, a charity which supports the work of the English Anglican cathedrals. Previously she was the chief operating officer at Southwark Cathedral from 1996 to 2005. Prior to moving into the charity sector, Sarah worked for Lloyd’s of London, Thomas Cook, in banking operations for HSBC, and as a management consultant for Deloitte Haskins and Sells, the firm with which she qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1983. Sarah’s voluntary roles include the Finance and Administration Committee of the Church Urban Fund and trustee of BMS World Mission. She was a governor at Spurgeon’s College, the south London Baptist theological college, from 2010 and Chair of Governors from 2012 until 2022, and a trustee and chair of the Friends of Southwark Cathedral from 2006 to 2017.
Blackheath Prep Sub-committee
A sub-committee of the Eltham College Board of Governors has specific oversight of Blackheath Prep, with a particular focus on the educational and pastoral success of the School. The four Governors sitting on the sub-committee are Tim Meunier (Chair), Dr Sarah Turner, Marc Melia and Dan Hudson.
Tim Meunier
Governor since September 2023; Member of the Senior School Committee.
Prior to joining the Eltham College Board of Governors, Tim had been a Governor of Blackheath Prep since 2021. Tim taught at Clifton College before becoming Head of Chemistry and Housemaster at Felsted School, and then Head of Science at the Dragon School, Oxford. Following a return to Clifton, first as Director of Studies and later as Senior Deputy Head, he was Headmaster of Colet Court (St Paul’s Preparatory School) from 2007 to 2016. In the summer of 2020, he retired from his position as Head of Geneva English School, where he had established a new secondary school on the foundations of an existing primary.
Dr Sarah Turner
Governor since 2022. Member of the Blackheath Prep Committee.
Sarah is a senior research fellow at the Knowledge Lab, at UCL’s Institute of Education and is currently leading a three-year research project exploring how young people use generative AI. Her research interests lie in emerging digital technologies and socio-technical cyber security. She has consulted on the use of digital technologies in peacekeeping and mediation for the United Nations, researched the impact of schools in data protection for children for the 5Rights Foundation, and the societal impacts of ransomware for the UK Government. She has a background in financial services, managing technology risk, controls and regulatory compliance functions. Sarah is Chair of the board and volunteer at the Breastfeeding Network, and was previously a governor of a state school in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Sarah has an MA in Literae Humaniores from Oxford University, an LLB and MBA from the Open University, MPA in Digital Technologies and Public Policy from UCL, and a PhD in Computer Science at the University of Kent.
Marc Melia
Governor since September 2023. Member of the Blackheath Prep Committee and member of the Estates & Safety Committee.
Prior to joining the Eltham College Board of Governors, Marc had been a Governor of Blackheath Prep since 2021. Marc is Head of Legal (Europe) in Pantheon Ventures (UK) LLP’s Legal & Compliance Team. Prior to joining Pantheon, he worked within the London office of Paul Hastings (Europe) LLP, in the Corporate (Investment Funds) team.
Dan Hudson
Governor since September 2023. Member of the Blackheath Prep Committee & member of the Finance & General Purposes Committee.
Prior to joining the Eltham College Board of Governors, Dan had been a Governor of Blackheath Prep since 2021. He is a member of the Nominations and Governance Committee. Dan is a City solicitor with 20 years of experience in the law.
Dr Dean Huang
Governor since September 2023. Nominated Safeguarding Governor
Dean is a consultant interventional radiologist and honorary clinical senior lecturer at King’s College London. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists and has been honoured with the Fellowship of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe for his contributions.
Contact the Governors
Peter Doyle
Chair of Governors
Eltham College
Grove Park Road
SE9 4QF
Telephone 020 8857 7360
Or by email to the Clerk to Governing Body at row@eltham-college.org.uk