Meet Your OR Team

Nigel Taunt (Mullens 1971)

OR President & Chair of OR Committee On leaving Reed’s, I followed a traditional path through university, chartered accountancy and into industry, mostly in London but with a seven-year stint in Yorkshire in the 1990s. In 2001, I joined a very small financial boutique (Impax Asset Management) that grew rapidly and continues to do so, even more so after I started to retire in about 2010! After eight years of trying to leave, I haven’t yet fully extricated myself from the firm and still travel occasionally to the USA or Canada on its behalf.

During the 1970s I played rugby and cricket for the ORs, enjoying rugby tours and captaining the OR cricket team, although my primary sport was squash. Sporting ‘retirement’ could be blamed on injury, marriage or the arrival of our children, Nick and Anna, but, regardless, I played a bit of golf and continue to do so.

Linda and I married in 1980 and have lived in Harpenden since 1999. We both enjoy travelling, hiking, reading, music and wining/dining whilst a recent joy has been the arrival of our first granddaughter. I remain passionate about cricket and many (most!) other sports.

I have been OR President, a Governor of Reed’s School and a member of the Board of Reed’s School Enterprises since 2014. I have enjoyed both the challenges and the camaraderie of this school environment, as well as meeting many ORs and sharing ideas on how we can take the community forward.

I would love to hear from you on nigeltaunt@gmail.com or via the Development Office, to renew old acquaintances or if you have any advice, comments or new ideas for the ORs to consider.

Justyn Herbert (Capel 1983)

Vice President ORs & OR Committee member After leaving Reed’s School in 1983, I studied hotel management at Westminster College. I now work for Small Luxury Hotels of the World as the Human Resources Director for the company worldwide and am also Finance & Commercial Director for sister company, Luxury Hotel Partners, which manages deluxe hotels including the worldrenowned Marbella Club. I started my career at The Savoy Hotel and have worked in many boutique luxury hotels including The Ritz, as well as on several projects in countries across Europe and Africa. I narrowly escaped working for Nigel by only a few months when I worked for The Christie Group where I was made redundant from the same job four times in six months. I am a governor of a primary school in Tooting which is a member of the Reed’s School Primary Forum. I am on the board of a hospitality professional association and was on the steering group for a hospitality charity. I live in south-west London with my wife, whom I met at The Savoy Grill. We spend most of our time now wandering round our empty house wondering what to do with all the space, now that our two children have left home and, when we can’t decide, we head down the road to The Oval to watch Surrey. I can honestly say I have achieved and got everything I imagined when I used to sit in the classroom at Reed’s looking out the window daydreaming.

Roger Mew (Bristowe 1959)

OR Committee member At age five I became a boarder at Andrew Reed’s Royal Wanstead School before, on passing the 11+ exam, transferring with nine others to Cobham in 1953 to join Bristowe. I did not excel at sport generally but represented the School at boxing as well as performing on piano and clarinet. I was Secretary of the Woodwind Orchestra, a member of the Choir, the Jazz Club, the Cycling Club and a Corporal in CCF. I left Reed’s in 1959 and, after travelling and working in Europe, finally settled down in the financial world eventually to become a tax consultant. My passion has always been classic cars and in the 1980s and 1990s competed in a Triumph TR6 in various club-level events, all over Europe including Le Mans and Brands Hatch. I love travel and have visited around 30 countries. As a volunteer I help disabled children ride horses and dabble in painting in water colours and DIY generally. I am married but no children. I enjoy immensely the renewed friendships of ORs and running the online 50s Forum of about 60 ORs and attend as many OR events as possible. I was surprised and flattered when in 2016 the Governors invited me to become a Vice President of Reed’s School in recognition of longstanding support for the School which I gladly accepted. From time to time I have been able to assist Andy Wotton and Meg Fitzgerald with historic material for the School Archive which is a most interesting project. Do contact me on rogerdmew@aol.com

Andy Wotton (Mullens 1975)

OR Committee member After leaving Reed’s in 1975, I joined National Westminster Bank (as it was once known!) and essentially had two careers with the organisation. The first lasted for twelve years, and was what would now be considered ‘traditional branch banking’. The second was in the Training & Development arm of the bank and, for the next eighteen years, I undertook and managed every aspect of adult learning and development, and I enjoyed every

moment of it. I married my wife, Judy, in 1981, and we have two grown up children, three grandsons and another grandchild on the way!

Since retiring, I have spent the last few years researching the School’s history and discovering many interesting people who helped shape its future. The outcome of all this endeavour has been by way of contributions to the Reed’s Heritage website. Now that I am a Vice President of the School, I can foresee many more years of happy research ahead! If you have any recollections about your time at Reed’s or any photos/memorabilia, it would be wonderful to hear from you, so please feel free to contact me at andymwotton@

outlook.com

Jerry Ross (Mullens 2008)

OR Committee member Having joined Reed’s Sixth Form in 2006, I was immediately welcomed into the School community. The opportunities afforded us seemed endless and, with my general ‘fear of missing out’, I took up just about everything possible, including a new-found love for hockey. I left Reed’s two years later with lifelong friends and family. Whilst my sister finished her final year, I went on to Oxford Brookes to continue my studies in English Literature and Geography. Here I continued to play hockey and was heavily involved in the club on a social, sporting and committee level. I left Brookes in 2011 to go travelling. Soon after my return, I joined the public sector as an Intelligence Researcher within law enforcement and found a real niche and love for the business. After five years of development and movement, I left to challenge my skills in a new arena, that of private security. It’s been a year since I started, and the opportunities and challenges seem endless. I joined the OR Committee four years ago to keep engaged with those still at Reed’s and reconnect with those who left in the latter days of the ‘noughties’. Over this time, it’s been wonderful to see more ORs from the noughties re-engaging with Reed’s in a more ‘official’ capacity. It’s also been fabulous to see so many young alumni return to partake in all the events and be joined by two new members on the Committee in representing the views of the more recent leavers. If you have any suggestions on how to progress or any questions you wish to voice, please feel free to contact me at jross_89@live.co.uk

Clive Moon (Blathwayt 1994)

OR Committee member After leaving school, I attended university in Wales studying History and Drama. Post university my first job was in Investment Banking for the US bank, Salomon Brothers. After a few years, I realised my interests lay elsewhere and I began my current career in property. Since 2007 I have worked for Savills, running our Wimbledon office for just under nine years, and now running our Guildford team looking after our business in the Surrey Hills and towards West Sussex. I live in Hampshire with my wife, Charlotte and our three boys Max, Brooke and Orlando so, who knows the Reed’s link may get stronger in the next few years! I have enjoyed working on the OR Committee and helping to grow the profile and assist with the fabulous work the Foundation does to help vulnerable and less-privileged children. Please contact me via Cmoon@savills.com or through the Development Office.

Nick Gray (Blathwayt 1993)

OR Committee member After leaving Reed’s in 1993, I studied Management & Marketing of Textiles at Manchester University (UMIST). The course was harder than it sounded and I scraped a 2.2. I did, however, meet Laura who I have been very happily married to for 16 years. We have two children, Charlie

and Penny, and live in Guildford. After university I got a job working in Fashion PR, which I hated but it did mean that I met lots of interesting people. From there I joined Ben Sherman, the clothing company which, at the time, had a London office of just seven people. I was there for nearly three amazing years where I travelled the world heading up the marketing team as the company went from success to success. After Ben Sherman, I moved to a creative agency called Live & Breathe and have been there for 18 years and am now one of the two owners. There are 85 of us across three offices. It is hard work but creative and a lot of fun.

I played a lot of sport (aggressively) during and after Reed’s and am now suffering the consequences with permanent injuries, banishing me to running, swimming and cycling.

I look forward to helping my 1990 contemporaries to connect back with the ORs in a way that works for them.

Rob Davis (Capel 2010)

OR Committee member After leaving Reed’s in 2010, I went on to travel the world (not planned of course!), before taking on a Sports Management degree at the University of Edinburgh. I was a fairly keen sportsman at School, playing 1st team rugby and cricket, so a degree in sport seemed a fairly natural progression.

Graduating from Edinburgh in the summer of 2015, I landed a role in Partnership Development at Arsenal Football Club; I was lucky enough to visit and do business across Africa and the Middle-East for three years before turning my talents to the world of media. From April 2018, I’ve been at creative agency/ social media publisher, Brave Bison, working as part of their commercial team and leading the charge on new sustainability channel, Mutha.

Having been brought up in Wimbledon and Esher, I’m now a fully-converted north Londoner, living in Islington with my brother, Richard. That being said, my time in north London is being cut short as I take the plunge of moving halfway across the world to Singapore; I am, naturally, very excited about the new challenge. The move doesn’t deter my commitment to the OR Committee cause and I look forward to working with all to forge new and build existing relationships.

Rosie Pidgeon (Blathwayt 2015)

OR Committee member Unlike the majority of my fellow Committee members, I have fewer years to my name as an Old Reedonian than I do as a Reedonian! This feels fairly unbelievable since the pace of life has multiplied since walking into the Sixth Form House in 2013, having travelled a well-trodden path from the nurturing girls’ school, Manor House, to Reed’s.

Immediately, I fell for the ambitious nature of the Reed’s community. Passionate, talented individuals with a pooled sense of humility generate an energy that keeps me connected to the School and explains my enthusiasm to increase my presence as an OR.

As a new Committee member, I hope to particularly engage the more recent members of the OR community and to help develop lasting relationships early on. I am keen to see Reed’s students reap the rewards from all the opportunities I was exposed to, and more!

Leaving Reed’s in 2015 as Mark Hoskins’s first-appointed School Captain, I set off to ski the Three Valleys but returned to education to study Economics at Bath University. Alongside my studies, I have been fortunate to gain professional experience on the Lloyds Banking Group Scholarship Programme and as an Industrial Placement student within IT Transformation at PA Consulting. I remain motivated to progress my relationship with the OR community, so do reach out to me at rclp20@bath.ac.uk

Mark Hoskins

Headmaster, Reed’s School I was educated at Gowerton School and at the University of Nottingham where I read Economics. After working briefly for the Civil Service as an economist, I studied for my PGCE at the University of London and then entered the teaching profession. I have a Master’s degree in Education from the University of London and a Master’s degree in Applied Economics from SOAS, University of London.

I was previously Second Master (Senior Deputy Head) at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, and before that was Head of Middle School and Head of Economics and Business Studies at Whitgift School. I took up my post at Reed’s in September 2014.

My wife, Sharon, and our two children – Oliver (a current Reedonian) and Imogen – are loving being part of the Reed’s community; I enjoy working with governors, staff, parents, pupils and Old Reedonians to continue to build on Reed’s School’s many successes.

Lucy Hurford

Treasurer to OR Committee & Bursar, Reed’s School I was educated at St Teresa’s School, Ruskin University and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge where I read Geography and studied for my PGCE before entering the teaching profession.

I taught at Seaford Head Community College and Chichester High School for Boys before joining Hewlett Packard to train as a management accountant. I then started a career as Bursar at Ripley Court School in 2008 before joining Reed’s as Bursar & Secretary to the Governors in January 2013.

I married Ed in 1998 and we have three children. Both my boys currently attend Reed’s and are thriving from its excellent education and pastoral care.

Kathryn Bartram

Development & Marketing Director, Reed’s School After nearly four years at Reed’s, I still really love what I do and cannot imagine a better workplace: incredible grounds, fantastic colleagues and an amazing group of ORs.

I live just down the road in Oxshott with my husband Jacob and our two children James (11) and Caroline (9). I am thrilled that my son James is starting in The Close this year and am proud that in seven years’ time he will be able to call himself an Old Reedonian. Having come to know so many of our ORs, I can think of no better gift to be able to give him. I graduated from Colby College in Maine, where I earned a double degree in Economics and Mathematics. During this time I also spent one year at the London School of Economics reading Statistics and Mathematics, where I completed the general course programme. After my undergraduate years I worked for the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston as a research assistant in the financial markets sector. I then received a MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I moved to the UK in 2000 as a management consultant with McKinsey & Co, focusing on branding and marketing. I then joined Citigroup as their Head of Product for Credit Cards. In between Citigroup and Reed’s School I founded my own business in the wholesale distribution sector. After nearly 20 years in the corporate world it is wonderful to work in an educational and charitable environment where you can really see the impact of all you do.

Sharmaine Matthews

Assistant Alumni Director, Reed’s School This November (2018), I will be celebrating 10 years at Reed’s (where has that time gone?) and I still feel like a ‘newbie’! My career started in development aid followed by 25 years working in corporate communications, marketing and PR mainly in the media and broadcasting world with the likes of Thames Television,

Sky and Capital Radio. My daily aim is to apply the skills I have developed to the role of Assistant Alumni Director to ensure we continue to build strong relationships between the School and our amazing OR community for the mutual benefit of both parties. In addition, with my third-sector experience, I feel honoured to be able to support the work of the Reed’s Foundation in marketing and fundraising for this wonderful charity.

I have four children, one of whom is an Old Reedonian, having left in 2016, and my youngest son is in Upper Sixth at Reed’s – both have thrived in this wonderful environment and I am delighted to know that theirs and my association with the School will be lifelong.

Please contact me at smatthews@reeds. surrey.sch.uk. I am delighted to hear from all our ORs, help where I can and get the chance to meet more of you over time.