Knighton House is a charitable trust and is overseen by a Board of Governors made up of approximately 10 trustees who serve the School as volunteers with experience from a wide variety of professions, including independent and maintained sector education.
Responsible for the oversight of the performance of the School and the safeguarding and welfare of all children, Governors play an active part in school life visiting, observing lessons and examining performance, setting fees and meeting staff and parents on a regular basis.
The Board is led by The Joint Chairs, Mr Paul Slight and Mr Iain Weatherby, who may be contacted through the School Office.
Paul Slight and Iain Weatherby
Paul Slight
Paul Slight
Joint Chair of Governors and Chair of the Finance & General Purposes Committee
Paul now lives in Dorset with Anna (an Old Knightonian) and three children all of whom were until recently at Knighton House, but have now sadly moved on to senior schools and a prep, in the case of his son.
The family moved down from the hot house west London Day School environment when their eldest was 9 in search of a wider more nurturing curriculum and found it at Knighton. Here not only did they have time to climb trees and explore the outdoors; experience the breadth of curriculum from music, drama, ponies & sport; the benefits and fun and games of flexi-boarding; but they also left aged 13 at the same academic level as they would have achieved in London.
Paul worked in the City before setting up his own specialising media mergers & acquisitions business. He is a board adviser and investor in a number of media related companies in the UK and also a trustee of the Jump Ahead Trust, which helps socially challenged children gain confidence and experience through access to horses.
Anna, an old Knightonian, runs the international operations of a substantial independent US biotech, managing operations in London, Paris and Hamburg. She is also involved with the Old Knightonian committee at Knighton.
Iain Weatherby
Iain Weatherby
Joint Chair of Governors and with specific responsibility for Marketing
Iain is a screenwriter and producer working in drama, comedy and documentaries. He lives in Durweston with Emily his wife, who teaches English at Bryanston. Iain and Emily moved from London in 2007 so that their daughters Frankie and Maddy could attend Knighton — both of them are now using the confidence they gained here to do great things at Bryanston. Iain is a trustee of the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust, a charity that raises awareness of depression in young people.
Sophie Boyle
Sophie Boyle
Governor with specific responsibility for Health & Safety and Compliance
Sophie is an Old Knightonian who wore her dungarees from 1992 to 1998. Her happiest memories are definitely the ponies and tree climbing – she also still has her signed dungarees and a red KH sweatshirt! Sophie works in Compliance at an asset manager, having previously worked as an asset management regulatory specialist for PwC in London and Deloitte in Luxembourg. A native French speaker, Sophie studied English and French law followed by post graduate European legal studies in Belgium. As the health and safety governor, Sophie has attended training on health and safety in schools including the importance of allowing children to be children within a safe and controlled environment. In 2017 Sophie ran the Brighton marathon in support of Cancer Research but now prefers shorter distances. She also practices yoga and pilates.
Olivia Davies
Olivia Davies
Governor with specific responsibility for Boarding
A trained teacher, Olivia has taught and lived in many places around UK and the world and is currently teaching in an independent school in Hertfordshire. As an Army wife and Army daughter she has a good understanding of boarding life. Both her daughters Lucy and Ellie are full boarders at Knighton. When not teaching Olivia enjoys lots of creative hobbies, travelling and spending time with her family.
Julian Grazebrook
Julian Grazebrook
After moving to Dorset from London in 2007, the first decision made by the Grazebrook family was to select Knighton House to take responsibility for their daughter’s education. The confident and successful girl who left after six very happy years at the school was a complete vindication of this decision.
Julian qualified as a Chartered Accountant in London and after working in the City spent 20 years focussing on helping smaller companies expand and grow. Now, having moved to Dorset, he is Chief Financial Officer of an international manufacturing group, based locally, which supplies the automotive market and is a Non-Executive Director of Yeovil District Hospital Foundation Trust.
Peter Hardy
Peter Hardy
Peter is Second Master of Bryanston School, responsible for pastoral care and serving as the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead. He teaches economics and has written a book on the macroeconomics of the 1980s. Peter has served as a Magistrate in Dorset for fifteen years. He loves to travel and has visited Nepal many times, both privately and leading school groups.
Richard Storey-Walker
Richard Storey-Walker
Chair of the Safeguarding & Education Committee
Richard was Headmaster of Portland Place School in London until 2011. Before that he was Head of Chemistry at St Paul’s Girls’ School, Hammersmith. He has been a team inspector for the Independent Schools Inspectorate and chaired the Society of Heads Inspections Committee. He is an A level examiner and mentor of newly appointed Heads. He is a Chartered Chemist and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Richard’s wife Maria is a psychotherapist, specialising in children, and they have two teenage daughters.