Trust & Governance
Prep Schools Trust
Thriving schools, happy children
Cothill is part of the Prep Schools Trust, a family of flourishing schools bound by shared values and united in the pursuit of delivering exceptional academic performance and pastoral care in a beautiful setting. Collectively, they offer a set of distinctive and happy environments within which all pupils are given the opportunity and skills to develop and progress with confidence.
Prep Schools Trust is governed by a Board of Trustees who delegate management responsibility to the Chief Executive who leads the strategic development of the Trust and supports the Heads of each individual school.
Cothill also has a Local Advisory Group (LAG) which supports the Headmaster and the teaching staff through the consideration and testing of ideas for the school’s best management and service to parents and pupils. Our LAG is made up of a Trustee, the Chief Executive of the Trust, the Headmaster and three current and former parents. They meet regularly throughout the year, serving as an important communications channel between the Board of Trustees, the school and the parent community.
Emma McKendrick - Chair of Trustees, Prep Schools Trust
Emma McKendrick started her educational career in 1986 teaching German at Royal School Bath. By 1990, she was given the role of Head of Sixth Form and Careers, while also being Sixth Form Housemistress. Subsequently, she became Deputy and then Headmistress of Royal School Bath between 1994-97.
Since 1997, Emma has been Headmistress of Downe House. She is a Trustee of PSB and is also currently a Governor at Elstree School and Wellington College.
For a full list of the Prep Schools Trust Trustees click here.
Tom Beardmore-Gray - Chief Executive, Prep Schools Trust
Mr Tom Beardmore-Gray, MA, FCA, graduated from Oxford University in 1983 with a degree in Modern History. After three years with the Metropolitan Police he joined Price Waterhouse and qualified as a Chartered Accountant. He went on to work for Pepsi Cola International and spent 15 years with De Beers. In 2010 Tom joined The Girls' Day School Trust where he became Chief Financial Officer. In 2018, he took up his current role as Chief Executive of Prep Schools Trust.
Tom was appointed Warden of Bradfield in August 2022. He is also a Director of the Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools (AGBIS).
Tom was previously Vice President of the University of Reading, Chairman of Governors at Lambrook Prep School and a Trustee of the Pre Senior Baccalaureate (PSB) and the Institute of Business Ethics.
For a full list of the Prep Schools Trust staff click here.
Countess of Darnley - Chair of Cothill Local Advisory Group
Peta Darnley is the Chair of Cothill Local Advisory Group & sits on the Trust's Governance & Nominations Committee as well as the Education Committee. Peta's three sons spent eleven incredibly happy years at Cothill.
Lady Amy Lindsey - Member of Cothill Advisory Group & Current Parent -
Cothill Local Area Group
Sam Singh - Member of Cothill Advisory Group & Current Parent
Cothill Local Area Group
