Governance of the Trust

The University of Liverpool Maths School exists to enable children with a strong interest and high potential in the mathematical sciences to achieve global impact through their work, learning and research in the mathematical sciences.  We educate 16-19 year old students on our roll and also aim to play a role in supporting the education of students in all schools in the Liverpool City Region.

The board of Trustees manages the business of the academy trust and acts as the local governing body for the school. Trustees are both charity trustees and company directors of the academy trust.  The Trustees are appointed to the board by the Members of the Trust.

Our Trust is registered with Companies House as UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL MATHEMATICS SCHOOL Company number 11686521

Our Memorandum and Articles of Association is available for download here

Our Funding Agreement with the DFE was signed on 28 May 2020 and is available for download here

The board of Trustees (our governing body) is responsible for 

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
• Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff; and
• Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent.

The board of Trustees currently has 12 members. Each September, a parent/ carer of the new cohort of Year 12 students will join the board.  The decision about who becomes a school Trustee is made by the Members of the Trust.  The Members of the Trust determine who should be a Trustee.

• Chair: Dr. Kathleen Johnson (Senior Lecturer, Chemistry, University of Liverpool)
• Professor Gavin Brown, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education at the University of Liverpool
• Professor Kurt Langfeld, Head of the School of Mathematics at the University of Leeds (until recently, Kurt was Head of the Mathematics Department at the University of Liverpool)
• Professor Dan Colquitt, Professor of Applied Mathematics & Head of Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Liverpool
• Dr Mohammad Rahman, Deputy Medical Director for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board
• Mr Dei Harries, In-House Counsel, University of Liverpool legal team.
• Mr Anthony Rooney, Sector Director, Interserve
• Mr John Thompson, Head of School, Mill Green School, St Helens
• Mrs Eilish Slater, Civil Servant
• Mr Christopher Nicholson, NHS Senior Operational Manager (Parent Trustee)
• Ms Emilia Shillito, Associate Director, HSBC 
• Mrs Danielle Parle, Parent Trustee (Year 13), Head of Centre, Maxam Training Ltd.
• Mrs Keren Baker, Parent Trustee (Year 12), Designer
• Mr Damian Haigh, Headteacher of the school

The Members of the Trust are:

• Nicola Davies (Corporate Member of the Trust on behalf of the University of Liverpool)
• Julie Ann Gillespie (Corporate Member of the Trust on behalf of HSBC)
• Professor Kurt Langfeld (Head of School of Mathematics; University of Leeds)
• Professor Carsten Welsch (Head of Accelerator Science at the University of Liverpool)

Biographies of all members and trustees are available on our website here.

How to contact the Trustees:

• You can contact the Chair of Trustees by contacting the Board’s Governance Professional (see below) or by emailing for the attention of Dr K. Johnson at reception@liverpoolmathsschool.org or in writing at University of Liverpool Mathematics School, Sir Alastair Pilkington Building, Back Bedford Street, Liverpool, L69 7SH
• You can contact the Clerk to the Board of Trustees with this email address: governance.professional@liverpoolmathsschool.org
• Our governance professional is Beth Hewitt and we use Just A Sec to provide our governance support services

How the Board of Trustees conducts its business:

The board of Trustees signs off the annual accounts and is responsible for adherence to the trust’s funding agreement with the Secretary of State, who is the principal charitable regulator for the sector.

The board has three subcommittees:

The Education Committee is currently constituted as follows:

• John Thompson (Chair)
• Gavin Brown
• Kurt Langfeld
• Mohammad Rahman
• Kathy Johnson
• Danielle Parle
• Damian Haigh
• Keren Baker

The Finance, Audit and Risk Committee is currently constituted as follows:

• Christopher Nicholson (Chair)
• Anthony Rooney
• Dei Harries 
• Kathy Johnson
• Eilish Slater
• Emilia Shillito

Damian Haigh and Lynda Stott attend FAR meetings in an advisory capacity as Accounting Officer and Chief Financial Officer but are not voting members of the committee.

The Staffing and Appraisal Committee is currently constituted as follows:

• Dei Harries (Chair)
• John Thompson
• Anthony Rooney
• Damian Haigh
• Kathy Johnson

The Governance Committee is currently constituted as follows:

• Kathy Johnson (Chair of Trustees, and Chair of Governance Committee)
• Dei Harries (Chair of Staffing and Appraisal Committee)
• John Thompson (Chair of Education Committee)
• Christopher Nicholson (Chair of FAR Committee)
• Damian Haigh (Headteacher)

The dates of Full Board and Sub-Committee meetings of the Trustees are available here: Dates Of Trustee Meetings 2024-27

The Register of Interests for our Trustees is available here: Register of Interests Feb 2024

Our Scheme of Delegation is available here: Scheme of delegation

Our Filing History on Companies House is available here including our Annual Report and Financial Statements: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11686521/filing-history

School governance is a voluntary role in public life.  Find out more about what is involved here: https://www.governorsforschools.org.uk/

In growing our board of Trustees we seek to increase the diversity of views and skills on the board.   We welcome applications from a wide range of people including younger adults and those who have not attended university.  We would like to increase the representation of women on the board and warmly encourage women with an interest to make contact with us, either through the form below or an email to governance.professional@liverpoolmathsschool.org

To find out more about the trustee role and express an interest, please complete the form below: