The Circle Trust will always hold governance in the highest esteem. As a Trust, we will always act in the best interests of our children and young people.
Our Members
Members ensure that the vision and values of the Trust are upheld. They are tasked with assessing if the Trustees are performing well by ensuring that the purpose of the Trust is being met, and its charitable objects are being fulfilled.
That said there are some critical decisions that sit with Members and even more so if a Trust is failing. A Member may not be an employee of the Trust.
Click to view: Member Code of Practice l Role of a Member l Circle Trust’s Skills Questionnaire
Geoffrey Beedham (Chair of Members)
Born in Manchester and educated in Cumbria, Geoffrey has been a “local” for all his adult life. Geoffrey is a solicitor, spending the first 10 years of his career in private practice in Reading and Bracknell, initially as a litigator, then migrating into commercial law, before becoming an in house lawyer in BT Legal. After almost 28 years in BT, he left in 2018 to join his wife as a self-employed legal adviser to local industries. He has two sons who were educated locally – the elder following the family tradition to qualify as a solicitor, and the younger as a doctor.
Geoffrey was a governor at the Emmbrook School for almost 10 years, where he ran law sessions for Y12 students, with weekly lessons and visits to the courts in Reading (Magistrates Court and Crown Court) and London (Supreme Court, Royal Courts of Justice and the Old Bailey).
Aileen Feeney
Aileen has held a variety of positions in commercial organisations and the charity sector, most recently as Chief Executive for a UK-wide charity and currently is a non-Executive Director for Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust. She is a trustee for a mental health charity and has volunteered for other charities, actively supporting and mentoring young people to reach their full potential. Aileen has lived in Wokingham for over 25 years and has two grown-up daughters who both attended local schools where she was a governor for six years.
Aileen hopes that her professional background in strategic IT, change management and business development will be useful in her role as a Member of The Circle Trust
Paul Jeffery
Paul has been involved with local schools for over 15 years and served as Chair of Governors and of the Finance Committee at St Crispin’s School. His passion for seeing children getting the best out of their school years is fundamental to all he does. For Paul, The Circle Trust is an exciting extension of everything that schools do well working together. Paul’s professional career as both a Chartered Engineer and a business owner has led him to develop a range of skills that are important to the governance of schools, and it is his intention to continue to contribute wherever his skills are required as a Member of The Circle Trust.
Paul describes his current life role as an Investor in People, as he focuses on helping young people make the most of their lives though activities such as Code Club, Open the Book, and financial awareness sessions.
Robin Scurlock
Born in Southampton, Robin is married and has lived in Wokingham for nearly 30 years. He has two adult sons, both of whom attended local schools. Robin’s career has combined commercial roles in the IT & Telecoms industries with self-employed consultancy and more recently, experience of the Civil Service at the Department for Education. There he works with School Trusts on a range of operational and delivery issues around building projects and procurement.
Robin is a former Governor at Luckley House School in Wokingham, during which time it went co-educational (taking boys) and opened the Whitty Theatre. He is also a former Trustee of Wokingham’s More Arts Charity and volunteers with the Share Foodbank.
In his spare time, Robin plays keyboards and violin. He is a member of the West Forest Sinfonia and performs with local bands from time to time. He also enjoys kayaking on the canals around Berkshire and on the South Coast.
Yun Tay
Before retirement, Yun was a database manager for the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the practice manager for a NHS GP practice. Yun served as a Governor at Nine Mile Ride Primary School before becoming a Trustee for the Circle Trust. She has learnt a lot about education from these roles. She also found it rewarding to have contributed to the improvement of children’s education. Yun has two grown up children who attended state schools and can understand parental perspective. Yun hope that as a Member she will continue to help to improve The Circle Trust’s schools’ education and achieve the Trust’s vision