Allan Schofield (Chair of the Corporation)
Allan has been a governor of Bedford College since July 2014 and is currently the Chair of the Corporation appointed from 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2023
Before retiring in 2018 he ran a small consultancy – The Higher Education Consultancy Group – working on assignments for more than 80 universities and colleges, as well as on projects for main stakeholder bodies in UK higher education and overseas for several international bodies.
Major projects Allan has worked on include leading numerous governor development and support activities in post-16 education; undertaking substantial policy review work for HEFCE; and in 2009 being commissioned by the Government and the Association of Colleges to lead a review of the governance of the whole of the FE sector in England, which lead to the production of the FE Code of Governance.
He lives locally, and interests include travel, classical music, and wine. He also Chairs the North Bedfordshire Arts Society.
Sheila Selwood MBE (Vice-Chair of the Corporation)
Sheila moved into education over 30 years ago, initially as a primary school Finance Secretary and a secondary school Business Manager, also clerking both respective Governing Bodies. In 2004 she joined West Herts College as Director of Governance, which had just received poor inspection and audit outcomes. Over the next 7 years, the college and its governance went from satisfactory to a sustained outstanding.
During this time, she also worked as a national and regional associate, delivering governance workshops, inductions, one to one support and qualification programmes. This work continued in her roles as an independent governance advisor and regional associate for ACER and AOSEC.
Sheila has also been Vice-Chair of the National Clerks Network, Chair of the ACER Clerks Regional Network, and a member of the AoC Governor Council. In 2015 she was awarded an MBE for services to Further Education.
Sheila joined the board of Bedford College in August 2015 and is currently the Vice Chair of the Corporation appointed for a 2-year term from 1 August 2021.
Her free time activities include swimming, walking, rock music and travelling whenever she can.
Ian Pryce CBE (Chief Executive & Principal)
Ian has been Principal & Chief Executive of Bedford College since 1998, having joined the College in 1996 as Finance Director. He was previously a regional Finance Director at the Further Education Funding Council and has also worked as a Director or Senior Manager in retail, electricity generation and local government in Liverpool, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Northamptonshire. He is a member of the accountancy body CIPFA, a Councillor of City & Guilds, a member of the Information Authority, and a member of the advisory board to the Skills Funding Agency. He was one of the founder members of the 157 Group and was awarded a CBE in the 2011 Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Richard Dimbleby (External Governor)
Richard joined The Bedford College Group in May 2018 for a 4-year term. He is currently the chair of the Quality Standards and Achievement Committee and a member of the Governance Committee.
Richard has wide experience of teaching and management in Further and Higher Education in the UK and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He has taught English, communications, education and management. He was Principal at Strode College in Somerset and Principal & Chief Executive at The Bournemouth and Poole College.
Richard has also been a part-time college inspector and a consultant for the Association of Colleges and has been a Governor at the Arts University Bournemouth and at Weymouth College.
Outside education, Richard was a Director and President of the Dorset Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a Trustee of several charities. He is also co-author of four books on communication, a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
Raj Randhawa
Raj has been a Bedfordian since arriving from the Punjab district of India in 1966 and has experienced the Bedford education system from primary school, to College and then to the University of Bedfordshire.
Raj’s career as a self-employed electronics engineer has allowed him to work with people from diverse cultures around the world and all walks of life and on major projects for some of the world’s leading space, communications, aerospace and defence companies.
Outside work Raj is heavily involved in community voluntary projects and since 2015 has been the elected General Secretary of Sri Guru Ravidass Sabha & Community Centre in Bedford (a not for profit registered charity). Raj is an active promoter of inclusion and diversity through community cohesion projects. He worked with, and organised, volunteers during the pandemic to support health care workers and vulnerable people.
Raj is committed to charity work and fundraising for different causes, including the construction of a school in the Andes (Peru). He looks forward to working as a Governor of the Bedford College Group to develop the education system for the Group’s communities, serving the next generation.
Luke Ferebee
Luke joined as a Governor of the Bedford College Group in 2021 for a term of 4 years and is a member of the Audit Committee. Prior to the appointment at the Bedford College Group, Luke was an external Governor at Milton Keynes College, and was a member of the Audit and Risk Committee.
An Audit Assistant Manager at KPMG, he has several years of experience delivering assurance services to a variety of private, listed, and public sector corporations in London and the surrounding regions, including colleges and universities. He is a Chartered Accountant, and member of the ICAEW.
Outside of work, Luke enjoys various sports, often regular runs and ski trips to the French alps.
Cliff Wragg (External Governor)
Cliff joined the Corporation of The Bedford College Group in July 2019 for a 4-year term. He is currently a member of the Resources Committee.
Cliff’s career has been spent in the university sector, where he has served as an HR Director, (with a keen interest in staff development) and then as University Secretary and Clerk to the Board. Subsequently, he has worked as a freelance management consultant, working with universities around the globe. He developed and ran a benchmarking programme for university management with Commonwealth universities, as well as carrying out a range of consultancies dealing with HR, change management and governance issues.
Cliff chaired a national Association for University Administrators, and is now an Honorary Life Member and Fellow of the AUA.
Outside of work, Cliff has for many years been an ITF and LTA licenced tennis official, both as an umpire and as a referee (including having umpired at many Wimbledon Championships).
Vinod Tailor MBE DL (External Governor)
Vinod has extensive experience in financial services, corporate and commercial financing with emphasis on business development and fundraising. He has managed and developed key banking relationships in diverse regulated markets in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. Operated at board level, advising on onshore and cross border business strategy.
Vinod has extensive experience in managing key strategic relationships, multi-jurisdictional experience spanning 32 countries over 44 years, blue chip investment/commercial banking experience, proven experience in building new client bases and client retention strategies with institutional, retail and professional client segments, UK and cross border regulatory experience and board and senior stakeholder experience.
Vinod has been The High Sheriff of Bedfordshire, He is Deputy Lieutenant of Bedfordshire. He has been awarded an MBE for his work during COVID. Vinod knows the County well having worked with many voluntary sectors and charities across the Bedfordshire.
Dennis Buckley (External Governor)
Dennis joined the Corporation of the Bedford College Group in August 2020 for a term of 4 years and is a member of the Audit Committee. He is a veteran of the financial markets having worked in banking and finance for over 48 years, mostly in the City of London together with stints in the UAE and Los Angeles and extensive business travel within Europe and Asia.
He is still active in working with, and arranging finance for, companies located in Germany and Spain from his office and home in Central Bedfordshire.
His experience over the years has covered a wide range of commercial and investment banking products, and one of the reasons he was prepared and pleased to become a Governor of the Corporation of the BCG is his desire to assist the younger generation in their quest for a career.
Luisa Vecchio (External Governor)
Luisa completed an undergraduate degree in psychology before deciding to move into education. She qualified as a primary teacher and taught in mainstream primary schools before moving into special education. Luisa is now Deputy Headteacher at The Chiltern School, a large area special school in south Bedfordshire. She leads on the Quality of Education across the school including; monitoring teaching, learning and assessment and curriculum design and delivery. Luisa is also a Specialist Leader in Education, providing consultancy, support and training for local schools and is responsible for the Special School Outreach Service for the south of Central Bedfordshire.
Luisa is passionate about improving outcomes for all children and young people and is committed to ensuring that all students receive a quality education regardless of their life circumstances. She lives in Bedford and wants to give back to the community that welcomed her family generations ago.
Angelique Wright (External Governor)
Angelique is the Founder & Director at Pi Accountants and a Chartered Certified Accountant with over 30 years of experience in practice, having worked with over 300 clients to date, creating unique solutions.
Prior to becoming the Founder & director, Angelique was the managing partner of her business based in Buckinghamshire for 17 years (2001 -2018).
Cathy Barr (External Governor)
Cathy is CEO of The Shared Learning Trust (TSLT), a multi-academy trust currently comprising five schools with collectively over 4,200 pupils aged 2-18 across Luton and Central Bedfordshire. She has been a qualified teacher for 30 years and has been a senior leader in education since 2003. Although her first year of teaching was in Brisbane, Australia, most subsequent posts have been in and around London.
Prior to becoming CEO, Cathy was Principal of The Stockwood Park Academy for 5 years (2011-2016) winning Partners in Excellence (PiXL) and Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) awards for pupil achievement and progress in 2013. In that year, the academy was also named the third most improved school in the country.
Trust CEO since 2016, Cathy has established strong links with local authorities and partners, resulting in excellent opportunities for staff and pupils. The trust is proud to be known for inclusion and diversity; each of the trust’s schools has achieved the Race and Conscious Equality (RACE) Charter Mark.
In 2022, Cathy trained to become an Ofsted inspector.
Cathy is also a trustee of HertsCam; a teacher-led organisation providing non-positional CPD opportunities for staff.
Faheem Mir (External Governor)
Faheem Mir has held senior technology and leadership positions with telecom operators and systems integrators. He is a revenue assurance practitioner and an Enterprise Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
He runs entrepreneurship and leadership workshops for young people and is a trustee of Luton Community Forum. He sits on the Audit and Governance Committees.
Amanda Wagstaff (Staff Governor)
Amanda has a background in Special Educational Needs and is a Team Leader in Additional Learning Support based at the Bedford Campus, she joined the board in 2020.
In her role as a British Psychological Society registered assessor and manager within the Additional Support team she maintains communication across the group to secure professional relationships with learners, staff and stake holders to ensure a consistent contribution to the positive learning experiences of all learners. Amanda promotes the ethos of The Bedford College Group and protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, regarding inclusive learning and access to support for those with learning difficulties and disabilities.
Amanda supports learner retention and achievement by outlining reasonable adjustments to secure independent opportunities for learners to build upon their knowledge, skills and resilience in preparation for their chosen progression route.
In her spare time Amanda likes to spend time with her family and friends and walking her two Miniature Dachshunds.
Joe Gallacher (Staff Governor)
Joe joined the board in November 2022. In his role as Personal tutor and Diversity Ambassador for the Access to Higher Education department Joe has a deep insight into the lives of our adult learners, and the importance of education in granting them autonomy and opportunity. He works closely with a range of support services, and has strong connections across the college, interacting with a wide section of the staff population.
His professional background is in ESOL teaching and Joe has worked in a range of educational institutes in France, Hungary and Peru. As a staff governor Joe is keen to help develop a wider sense of the college as a whole and its role within the community to help make inclusive and positive decisions.
Emily Parnwell (Student Governor)
Emily has been a student at the college since September 2021 and became a student Governor in November 2022. Emily studies Advanced Level 3 Health and Social Care at our Kettering campus.
Emelia Mustoe (Student Governor)
Emelia joined the college in September 2020 to study a level 3 Sport (outdoor Ed0 qualification and is now studying a HNC level 4 n Sports & Outdoor Adventure. Emelia became a student Governor in November 2022.
