Our Governors

Kelly Earnshaw

As head teacher at St George's, Kelly is also part of the Local Governing Body. They work together to make strategic decisions and ensure that the children at St George's receive the best education.  

She has been head teacher here since September 2018 and has led the school through the Covid pandemic and, more recently, a successful OfSTED inspection. She has been a teacher for 23 years and is also a qualified SENCo. She sees her job as a real privilege - she works with an amazing team of children, parents, staff, governors and the wider community. No two days are the same and that's part of what makes the job so rewarding. 

On a personal level, she is married and has a little boy who is currently in year 3 at another school within St Christopher's Trust. In her spare time (not that there's much!) she enjoys reading, baking and visiting the beach. As a family they love to travel around the world and have been lucky enough to visit places such as Costa Rica, Morocco, The Seychelles and the Middle East.

Anne Newall

Co-Chair to the Governors

Anne was born in Scotland and spent the first 18 years of her life travelling the world with her parents, due to her father’s work with HM Forces. After leaving school, she worked in London, moving to Plymouth in 1975 with her husband. They have 3 adult daughters, who live in Spain, Plymouth and Cornwall respectively, and two grandchildren aged 7 and 10. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, swimming, cycling and learning Spanish. 

Anne has been a governor at St George’s for several years, having previously been a governor at St Matthew’s. She is the lead governor for Safeguarding, SEND, and all aspects of English – phonics, reading and writing. 

Anne trained as a teacher in Plymouth, and taught at several Plymouth schools before becoming Deputy Headteacher of Salisbury Road Junior School in 1992, and Headteacher at Glen Park Primary from 1998 until 2012. She trained as an Ofsted Inspector in 2006, and was involved in inspections as a team member. Following retirement from Glen Park in 2012, she worked as a lead inspector until 2015. 

Anne’s motivation for being a governor at St George’s is to support the staff in providing the best educational opportunities for the children and to witness their success in all that they do.

Mike O'Sullivan (B.Ed. Hons)

Co-Chair to the Governors

Mike was born and educated in Exeter and trained as a teacher in Worcester. He is married to Zeta and has 2 children (Emma and Andrew) who live in London and Stockholm respectively, and 5 grandchildren ranging from 5 to 16 years. Zeta and Mike attend St Peter’s RC Church in Crownhill. 

Mike began his teaching career in Luton moving on to Bridport, then Cardiff. He moved to Plymouth in 1980 where he was Head Teacher of 3 different primary schools in Plymouth (St. Pauls RC, Hyde Park Junior and Widey Court) before retiring in 2005 to work part time with the LEA until 2010. 

He is now in his ninth year as a school governor, having spent 4 years as a governor when the school had a joint governing body with St Matthew’s. Now, solely a governor at St. George’s for the last four and a half years, he has enjoyed getting to know the school, the children and staff better and to be part of a team working with a newly appointed Headteacher. While he is the named governor for ‘Teaching and Learning’ with particular responsibility for Mathematics, PE and Modern Foreign Languages, he is interested in all aspects of school life and the celebration of the achievements and successes of the whole school community. 

He has always enjoyed travelling, and has a lifelong interest in sport. He played his twilight years of rugby at Plymouth Albion and is still a regular supporter on the terraces. He played league cricket for Roborough and now plays golf at Elfordleigh. He also enjoys gardening, walking, reading and going to the theatre.

Paul Ottewell

Vice-Chair to the Governors

Paul is the Chief Operating Officer of Optimus OD Ltd and a director of Arbinger UK. He helps individuals and teams see the role that mindset plays in driving behaviour. Paul is a former senior Royal Navy officer with a career spanning four decades. With operational experience from nine years in nuclear submarines followed by frigates, destroyers, minehunters and multinational headquarters, Paul has commanded four warships, a US Navy task group in the Middle East and a Royal Navy squadron in the UK.

Late in his career Paul specialised in the study of cognition, decision-making and the role of mindset. He is now a lead facilitator, keynote speaker and executive coach in the Arbinger Institute’s outward mindset framework.

Paul is a graduate of Henley Business School’s executive coaching programme (2023) and a member of the International Coaching Federation and Institute of Directors. He holds a bachelor’s honours degree from the University of Manchester and a master’s degree from King’s College London. Paul joined the local governing board of St. George’s in January 2022 and assumed the role of Vice Chair later that year. His area of strategic oversight is the Early Years Foundation Stage.

A father of two grown-up daughters, sometime marathon runner and eternal student, Paul lives in Plymouth with his wife, Suzie, a headteacher elsewhere in St. Christopher’s Trust.

Leon Sim

As vicar of St. Paul's Church round the corner, he has been co-opted as governor of St. George's. He is excited about the link between the school and the local church, and has loved having St. George's at St. Paul's Church for various Christian festivals, as well as leading collective worship with a team. As governor, he is particularly responsible for the Christian aspect of the school's values and life. 

Kayleigh Vickery

Kayleigh has been a parent governor since May 2021 and she works for the NHS as a Patient Safety Facilitator. Outside of work, she is mum to William and their favourite thing to do is jump on a train to a new city and explore! As a family they all love St George's - the family feeling the school gives is why they picked this one over so many. Be Safe, Be Kind, we feel, are two of the most important things you need to be in life!

Colin Mackenzie-Blackman

Colin was elected as a parent governor in January 2024, with both of his sons attending St George’s. Colin is currently Executive Director of Development at The King’s Foundation. Amongst its diverse range of programmes, The King's Foundation provides educational opportunities for 15,000 people annually from primary to PhD. Colin has spent 20 years in the third sector including working for the NSPCC, the Royal Opera House and Shakespeare's Globe. Colin is currently also a trustee of Inverness-based special needs charity, SNAP.  

Sophie Daykin

Sophie has been a staff governor for St George’s for over 5 years. She trained to be a teacher here in Plymouth and, after teaching in Ivybridge, she joined St George’s over 17 years ago. During that time she has taught all ages from EYFS through to Year 6 and is currently teaching Year 3 and 4. The children at St George’s ‘build on firm foundations’ and she is fortunate to be part of their journey.

As well as being the senior teacher, she also leads maths, history, geography, music, PSHE and RE, (including Christian Distinctiveness and Collective Worship). She is the Subject Champion for RE for St Christopher’s Trust so she is able to share her passion for this subject with others. She finds it a privilege to be a mentor for student teachers and ECTs as they embark on their teaching careers.

When she is not busy at St George’s she enjoys spending time with her two daughters, either baking or exploring the wonderful world we have on our doorstep.