Mrs Harrison attended the Abbey School from 1960 to 1967, and her daughter followed her in 1987. She read Classics at Southampton University, and then took a post-graduate Diploma in Personnel Management in what was then Manchester Polytechnic. Liz’s working life was mostly in the public sector, as a researcher, lecturer and consultant at the Civil Service College, as head of Personnel in the Cabinet Office, and as a policy adviser in the field of gender equality. In this role she was the UK lead on gender equality for the EU and at the United Nations. She studied for an MBA at London Business School. Liz was a magistrate for thirty years and is a past Chair of the Berkshire Bench. She is an enthusiastic participant in two local choirs, and an equally enthusiastic audience member at a wide variety of arts events, and at most of Reading FC home matches.

Mr Dimmick is a Consultant with Blandy & Blandy LLP solicitors and specialises in Planning law. He advises in relation to strategic planning, environmental, highways law, and has been practising in Reading for over twenty years. He became a governor of the Abbey School recently and previously has been a governor of his sons’ primary school, and a parent governor of his sons’ secondary school, Reading Blue Coat School, where his wife is Head of Biology. His first contact with the Abbey School was when his then future wife Sue (a young Dr Fifield) was in her first teaching post.

Mrs Butler was a Partner in Kingston Smith LLP, a top 20 firm of Chartered Accountants, for 30 years and was Managing Partner for 3 years. During her career, she was a general practice partner working mainly with growing Entrepreneurial and owner-managed businesses but had a particular specialism in advising Professional firms. Throughout her career, she was very involved in HR, recruitment and training and was responsible for many years for the graduate recruitment programme at the firm. Since retiring she has continued to act as a consultant to the firm and has relaunched and heads up the Alumni programme for the firm. She has also set up a start-up company with her nephew Importing backpacks from the USA selling these through retail, wholesale and e-commerce channels.

Mr Emmanuel’s daughter and sister are former pupils of the school; and his mother a former Governor. Educated locally at Crosfields and Shiplake College, he served his apprenticeship in the kitchens of Richard Shepherd’s Langan’s Brasserie, Paul Bocuse’s three Michelin starred restaurant in Lyon, and Roger Verge’s three Michelin starred Moulin de Mougins. His main role is as managing director of the French Horn, Sonning. He enjoys most sports having represented school and county and has ridden as an amateur jockey. Michael has been a Governor at The Abbey since 2008.

Mrs Colebrook has had a career in secondary school education, teaching Chemistry in the independent sector and holding a variety of positions. She was instrumental in developing the new build of 2 science departments including those at The Abbey School. In 1995 she moved to The Abbey as Director of Science and Head of Chemistry and in 2004 she was promoted to Assistant Head of the Senior School. Since retiring she has become treasurer of a local charity, does voluntary work for another and plays golf where she is also treasurer of the Ladies Section.

Her husband is a chartered engineer, as is her younger daughter, and her elder daughter is a biochemist

Mrs West is a lawyer by qualification, training and practising initially at an international law firm in London, then lecturing and editing in law part-time while raising her children. She is a volunteer adviser and supervisor at Citizens Advice and has advised in a male prison and at court. Her husband is a lawyer, her first son works in Switzerland, and her second son is in America studying. Her daughter Annabel was at the Abbey from the age of four and was Head Girl.

Annabel read engineering and boxed at Oxford, and works in New York. Elisabeth’s interests are classical music, sport and gardening.

Mr Singer is a consulting actuary at one of the UK’s leading firms of actuaries and advises some of the largest pensions schemes in the country. He is also his firm’s Senior Actuary. His three daughters attended The Abbey School all of whom have a keen interest in music and teaching. Two of his daughters became school teachers after graduating from university. He is also a previous Chair of the Woodley Festival of Music and Arts and sees the value of developing children’s artistic, and other, experiences beyond the classroom. Colin has diverse interests which include music, travel and fitness, being a regular jogger and, some while ago, enduring a couple of London marathons.

Ms Field attended The Abbey School from 1996-2003 and is a former Head Girl. She read Politics and French at the University of Bath. Following graduation, Robyn joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office where she has worked in a number of policy roles with a particular focus on East Africa and China. Robyn and her family recently returned from five years living and working at the British Embassy in Beijing and the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong. Her interests include learning Mandarin, travelling and astronomy.

Mr Andrew Peach got his first taste for radio at the age of sixteen when he won a competition in 1989. His prize was to travel to Germany and compile reports about life in Bonn and Cologne and take part in a live broadcast from BFBS. From then on, the course of his career was set. He was given his first BBC show on Radio Oxford while studying Modern History at St Edmund Hall and celebrated thirty years on BBC Radio on 10 October 2022 with messages of congratulations from former Prime Minister Theresa May and BBC Director General Tim Davie. Andrew presents programmes such as PM and the Six O‘Clock News on Radio 4, Newshour on the BBC World Service and is Radio 2’s longest-serving newsreader. He has been nominated for 18 Radio Academy Awards, winning a gold ARIA in 2021. The judges described him as “an assured host, balancing great seriousness and warmth and displaying a strong bond with his audience” and said, “he is empathetic and probing and formulates questions that are short, to the point and perfectly timed.” He also chairs conferences for Berkshire’s business community and hosts awards ceremonies and concerts. He enjoys walking in the countryside, playing the piano and musical theatre.

Dr Harriet Kemp attended the Abbey School from 1988-2001 and is a former Head Girl. After completing her medical degree at Oxford University, she trained to become an Anaesthetist in London. Following a PhD in Pain Medicine, she is now a medical academic, working as a Clinical Lecturer funded by the National Institute for Health Research at Imperial College London. She splits her time between clinically treating patients with pain and conducting human observational studies in chronic neuropathic pain. She is also involved in running and teaching the intercalated BSc at Imperial for Anaesthesia and Critical Care. Her mother was a history teacher, and her father a former Governor, at the Abbey. She has two young children and her main interests include yoga and spending time in the Swiss Alps whenever possible.

Jo attended the Abbey from 1976-1988 before studying English Literature at The University of Birmingham. She began her career as a print journalist in London, before working in Delhi, Sydney, Jakarta and East Timor where she covered the 1999 conflict.  She returned to London in 2002 to join the BBC World Service, working as a reporter and producer in Jerusalem, Delhi, Kathmandu, Brussels and Washington DC. Jo has won a number of awards for her journalism. She has a Masters in Hindi and South Asian Studies from SOAS, and in 2016 completed a fellowship at Harvard University. Her first book, Red River Girl, was published in 2019. She now lives in Wiltshire and runs her own production company. In her spare time she enjoys music, swimming and directing an amateur theatre company.