Governance

Mrs Jillian Turner is employed as Head Teacher of St Thomas More Catholic school, taking up post in September 2022.  She joined the school in 2014 as Assistant Head Teacher, being promoted to Deputy Head Teacher in 2017. Prior to that she worked as a senior leader in North Tyneside and as a teacher in Sunderland. 

Mrs Turner was appointed to her role of Head Teacher by the Bishop Wilkinson Trust and the Diocese of Newcastle and Hexham. She has previously worked as a Governor in a Catholic primary school, but stepped down from this role in 2018 due to work commitments. 

Fr Jonathan Rose is a Foundation Governor at St Thomas More Catholic School and also at St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas’ Primary School at Stella. After graduating from Durham, Fr Rose was ordained in 1989. He has been Priest in Charge at Stella since July 2013 and was formerly a Foundation Governor of St John’s, Bishop Auckland and St Aidan’s, Sunderland.

He spends his free time with family in France or exploring the best dive sites!

Mr Christopher Saunders joined as a Foundation Governor at St Thomas More Catholic School in January 2019. He has one child in Year 10, and one in Year 7 and another in a feeder primary school. Mr Saunders has been the Head of Science at a school in Durham and now, alongside teaching, is a Local Authority Science Consultant and works for STEM learning and the Institute of Physics. He has previously taught in North Yorkshire and London, and as such he has a wide range of experience in the education sector.  

He spends his free time running and watching his children play sports.

Mrs Iles joined as Foundation Governor at St Thomas More Catholic School in January 2020. She is also a Foundation Governor in another local primary school. She has two girls who attend St Thomas More Catholic School, and Mrs Iles is a previous STM pupil herself. Her employment experience includes project management and teaching in the adult learning sector, as well as previously running a small business. 

Mrs Iles currently coaches netball at club level and in local primary schools. She is also club secretary at a local netball club, a role which requires management of policy, safeguarding and sitting on various committees.  

Mrs Iles also delivers Sacred Heart’s Holy Communion Sacramental Preparation programme, which she has delivered for the past 4 years.

In her spare time she likes to run, play netball and support her children in their chosen sports.

Mrs Soan joined as a Foundation Governor at St Thomas More Catholic School in March 2021.  She has one child in Year 9 and another in Year 5 in a feeder primary school. Mrs Soan is a former pupil of St Thomas More Catholic School. Having been a parent governor at a primary school and a teacher governor at the school where she works, Mrs Soan has a lot of skills which she can utilise to contribute to St Thomas More Catholic Schools’ Local Governing Committee.

Mrs Soan works part time as a primary school teacher in a local primary school, currently teaching Year 1, however Mrs Soan has taught across the primary age range. 

In her free time she likes to spend time running, and supporting and watching her children in their chosen sports and activities.

Mrs Thompson joined as a Foundation Governor in May 2021. She is a mother of 3. Her two sons both attend St Thomas More Catholic School, one in Year 9 and one in Year 11. Her daughter is in Year 5, at a local feeder primary school.

Mrs Thompson is a former pupil of St Thomas More Catholic School. Whilst studying for her PGCE in Secondary Education, she carried out one of her teaching placements at the school, before going on to qualify as a teacher of Business Studies. Although not teaching anymore, she maintains an interest in education, carrying out the role of Parent Governor at her daughter’s school, where she is the link Governor for Early Years. Mrs Thompson’s background and skills set will help her to become a valuable member of the Local Governing Committee. 

In her spare time, Mrs Thompson loves watching football and is a big Newcastle United fan. She enjoys exercising and plays in a social netball league. She also enjoys watching her children play for their respective football and cricket teams.

Mr Young was elected as a Staff Governor in July 2016, and again in November 2020. Mr Young is a Teacher of Modern Foreign Languages at the school and has carried out additional training to become a Teacher of Mathematics. In September 2021, Mr Young became the Head of St John Fisher House and is looking forward to increasing his contribution to the pastoral life of the school.

Mr Young has a passion for ensuring outstanding academic progress for pupils, as well as continuing the school’s long-standing excellent provision of spiritual and moral care. Mr Young has extensive experience in the hospitality industry and ran a family hotel business for 12 years. He believes there is a great opportunity for him to use these business skills to contribute to the governance of the school. Mr Young’s key skills are problem-solving, strategic planning and people management. 

Mr Young’s free-time activities have included a stint as a RNLI volunteer crewman, as well as mountain-biking and travel to France and Germany. Since starting at St Thomas More Catholic School, he has been on four educational visits to Germany, several ski trips and a Year 7 trip to Normandy.

Mrs Carver was elected as a Parent Governor in November 2018 and has one child in Year 10 and a child who has just joined Year 7. Previously an employee of Gateshead Council and now the NHS, Mrs Carver’s background is in public sector procurement and commissioning and so she brings both commercial and commercial-legal experience to her role as governor, as well as project management. She currently works as a Senior Commissioning Project Manager for Health & Justice within the NHS, working on healthcare commissioning within secure and detained settings across the country; as well as non-custodial settings such as Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs). 

Mrs Carver’s academic credentials are in Crime Science and Forensics and she undertakes a broad spectrum of voluntary work within the community, including recently being appointed to the Strategic Housing Board for Gateshead Council. Her free time activities include reading, photography and gardening.