MCS Governing Body

Jeremy Palmer.

Educated at Magdalen College, Oxford (MA Modern Languages). Governor since 2003, elected Chairman of Governors 2007. Jeremy has over 25 years' experience in the financial services industry, holding senior management positions in private and investment banking in both Asia and Europe. He worked for Salomon Brothers, JP Morgan and Barings, before finishing this phase of his career as CEO of UBS Investment Bank Europe, Middle East and Africa.

He founded his own advisory partnership in 2008, and is now chairman of a creative services business, director of an Oxford University spin-out company, and advisor/director of various businesses and charities. Jeremy lives in Oxford and is married to Angela, an artist. They have two sons (educated at MCS) and a daughter.

Sir Jonathan Baker.

Educated at St Albans School and St John's College, Cambridge (Law). Governor since 2005 and Vice-Chairman since 2007. He was called to the Bar in 1978 and was in practice for 30 years, specialising in family law; became a Queen's Counsel in 2001. He has recently been appointed a High Court Judge, assigned to the Family Division. He is married with a son (James, educated at MCS) and a daughter.

Catharine Benson.

Educated at Atlantic College, St.Andrews and Cambridge Universities (BSc(Hons),MBBChir.) Catharine Benson is a GP Principal in central Oxford with a special interest in Child & Adolescent Health; she is her practice's lead for Commissioning and Child Protection. Previously Forensic Medical Examiner for Oxford City for 12 years(1993-2005), and member of the local Area Child Protection Committee until Child Safeguarding Boards established. Also a Communications Skills Tutor and Patient-Doctor Course Tutor for Oxford University, Clinical Supervisor in Primary Care and Clinical Assistant in Genito-Urinary Medicine at the Churchill Hospital. Longstanding member of Oxfordshire Local Medical Committee and College Doctor for Magdalen College.

Matthew Bullock

Matthew was born and raised in Oxford where he was a pupil at Magdalen College School from 1962-1967. He then graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in history in 1970. He spent 4 years as an economist at the CBI before joining Barclays. Over the next 37 years he had a broad career as a commercial lender in the UK, France and US. He was appointed Director of Risk Management for the Banking Division of Barclays. In 1994 he became a Managing Director of the Investment Banking Division, BZW and later Barclays Capital where he led the Group's banking relationships with its largest UK corporate clients. He left the Barclays Group in 1998 and was then Chief Executive of Norwich and Peterborough Building Society from 1999 to 2011. He is Chairman of a biotechnology company, a language school charity and a Non-Executive Director of Cambridge University Hospitals Trust.

Penelope Cameron Watt.

Educated at Oxford University (MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics). CELTA diploma. Worked for 15 years in stockbroking and investment management, finishing as Investment Director of Indosuez Asia Investment Services in Hong Kong (a subsidiary of Banque Indosuez). Retrained as a teacher of Business English and now runs own business, Oxford School of Business English Ltd, which specialises in training executives.

 Tim Edwards

Tim Edwards is Chief Executive Officer of Cellzome Inc, a US-owned drug discovery company using chemoproteomics technology to transform the sciences of epigenetics and signal transduction into novel drug candidates in inflammatory diseases and oncology, and a member of the Supervisory Board of ProtAffin AG, an Austrian biotechnology company developing a novel class of biopharmaceuticals based on glycan-binding decoy proteins. Tim is Chairman of the BioIndustry Association, the trade association for innovative enterprises in the UK's bioscience sector; a member of Dept. of Health ‘Ministerial Industry Strategy Group’ [Life Sciences], chaired by Andrew Lansley and David Willets; a member of the Dept for Business Innovation & Skills ‘Senior Industry Group’ [Life Sciences], chaired by David Willets and Lord Howe; Chairman of The Mulberry Bush Organisation, a charity founded in 1948 providing therapeutic and residential care for children aged 5-12 with severe emotional and behavioural difficulties; and a Fellow of the RSA, a charity founded in 1754 which drives ideas, innovation and social change. Tim was educated in Oxford at the Dragon School and St Edwards School, and is qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Tim lives in Oxfordshire and is married with 3 sons.

Cynthia Hall.

Cynthia Hall was educated at North London Collegiate and St Anne's College Oxford where she took an MA in English and English Literature. She started her teaching career at Peterborough High School (then Westwood House) and Lady Eleanor Holles before joining the English Department at St Paul's Girls' School in London. She left St Paul's as Head of English to run a consultancy from home for a short period before joining St Helen and St Katharine as Head. She took up her appointment as Head of Wycombe Abbey School in September 2008. Cynthia is a former President of the Girls' Schools Association and sits on the Independent and State School Partnerships Forum which reports to the Schools Minister. Locally, she is a Trustee of the Cressex Co-operative Learning Trust. A Fellow of the RSA, her interests are ballet, opera, and walking in the countryside (especially Dorset). She is married with two children aged 21 and 24.

Tim Knowles.

Educated at Oxford University (MA in Modern History). Bursar of Lincoln College, Oxford, since 2000. Currently Vice-Chairman of the inter-collegiate Estates Bursars' Committee, and serves on a number of inter-collegiate and University committees. Experience of financial management, accounting, investments, the management of building projects and operational management in a higher educational establishment. Before coming to Oxford in 2000, he spent 17 years as an investment manager in the City, working for Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Robert Fleming, managing international equity and bond portfolios for governments, pension funds, and investment trusts. He is a parent of 2 boys at MCS.

Judy Longworth.

Judy Longworth graduated in French from Southampton University before working as a Research Assistant at Great Ormond St Hospital and then as Head of the Professional Training Dept. at Gabbitas Thring. She worked as a headhunter for Tyzack Accord in London before joining Balliol Development Office in 1993. She became Development Director at Balliol in 1997. In 2000, she became Foundation Director at Radley College with a brief to set up a development function from scratch. In 2004, she joined University College, Oxford as Development Director. She raised £27m for Univ and ensured that between 2005 and 2010 Univ had the highest participation rate in the UK (number of people giving annually.) At 34%, it was 10% higher than the next contender. She re-joined Balliol as Development Director and Fellow on 1 November 2010.

Sarah McKimm.

Sarah read law at Corpus Christi College, Oxford (MA) and qualified as a solicitor in 1989.  After training and working in City law firms for 9 years as a commercial litigator dealing with high profile banking and insurance cases, she took a break to study a Masters degree in child law at Kings College , London. Sarah has considerable experience representing parents and children in SEN tribunals, she has worked with young offenders, been Chair of Governors at a local primary school and been a member of her Local Authority's Independent Appeal Panel for exclusions. Sarah is the Principal Solicitor for the Independent Schools Council and represents the interests of the independent schools sector to government and public authorities on legal matters relating to children and education. 

The Revd Dr Michael Piret.

Educated at the State University of New York (BA), University of Oxford (MLitt and MA), and University of Michigan (PhD). Dean of Divinity and an Official Fellow of Magdalen College since 1994. Previously Assistant Curate at St Andrew's Cathedral, Inverness. Before ordination, he taught English as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Michigan, while researching a PhD on Charles Dickens and Religion. He came to the UK as a graduate student at Merton College, Oxford. In 1988 he became Fulford Junior Research Fellow at St Anne's College, where he finished a thesis on George Herbert and Rhetoric. He was sponsored as an ordinand by the Diocese of Oxford, and, after training at Edinburgh Theological College, was ordained deacon (1992) and priest (1993) in Inverness Cathedral.

Neil Record.

Educated at Balliol College, Oxford, Essex University, and University College, London. Old Waynflete. Economist in the Economic Intelligence Department of the Bank of England from 1983. Later founded Record plc, a currency risk and asset manager, now quoted on the London Stock Exchange. Publications include Currency Overlay (Wiley, 2003), Sir Humphrey's Legacy (IEA, 2006), and Public Sector Pensions: The UK's Second National Debt (Policy Exchange, 2009). Trustee of the Institute of Economic Affairs and Visiting Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford.

Dr Nigel Richardson.

Holds a history degree from Cambridge, a PGCE from Bristol, and a doctorate in the History of Public Health from UCL. Head of Perse School, Cambridge (1994-2008), previously Second Master at Uppingham, Head of the Dragon School, Oxford, and Deputy Head of The King's School, Macclesfield. Appraiser of Heads and teachers, governor of several HMC schools, Editor of the HMC magazine Conference and Common Room (1999-2002). Author of history books for children and training literature for the Industrial Society. Chairman of HMC in 2007.

Professor J.A.C. Smith.

Professor of Plant Sciences at the University of Oxford and a Tutorial Fellow of Magdalen College. He took his first degree in Natural Sciences in Cambridge, followed by a PhD in Glasgow, a period of postdoctoral research in Germany, and a university lectureship in Edinburgh. He took up his current post in Oxford in 1990. He has held a number of administrative posts in Oxford in the last 15 years, including those of Senior Dean, Senior Tutor and Admissions Tutor at the College, as well as Chair of the University's Teaching Committee in Biological Sciences and Chair of Examiners.

The Revd Canon Keith Wilkinson.

Educated at University of Hull (BA), English/Theology; Emmanuel College, Cambridge; Westcott House. FRSA (1980). Conduct and Senior Chaplain, Eton College (since 2008). Previously Headmaster, King's School, Canterbury (1996-2007); Headmaster, Berkhamsted School, Hertfordshire (1989-1996); Senior Chaplain and Senior Tutor, Malvern College, Worcestershire (1985-1989); Assistant Master and Chaplain, Eton College (1979-1985); Parish Priest, St Jude, Peterborough (1976-1979); Assistant Regional Director of the Samaritans (1974-1977); Head of Humanities, Kelvin Hall Senior High School, Hull (1972-1974); Head of Religious Studies, Bricknell Technical Grammar School, Hull (1970-1972). Canon of Canterbury (1996-2007), Canon Emeritus (2007-present).

Charles Young was educated at Ampleforth College, Balliol College Oxford (MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics) and the Harvard Business School (MBA). He worked for thirty years in manufacturing industry, initially in engineering, with AE plc and Birmid Qualcast plc, and later in building materials with Blue Circle Industries plc and BPB plc. During that time he was responsible for the management of companies in the UK, Europe and the USA. In December 1999 he was elected Senior Bursar and Fellow of Magdalen College where, amongst other things, he has been responsible for developing the College's investment in the Oxford Science Park.