Members

Members hold the board of trustees (governors) to account for the effective governance of the trust.  Details of the College's members can be found below.

Dr Deborah Outhwaite 

Deb Outhwaite is an expert in the education system, with interests in leadership and sustainability.  She has taught for 30 years at secondary, FE and HE. She is a Visiting Senior Fellow for Education in the Department of Social Policy at LSE; Director of Studies at the Centre for Higher Education Studies at the University of Liverpool; and the CEO of DTSA (a former teaching school, now a regional education charity) that trains teachers and provides STEM professional development in the East Midlands.

She is current Chair of BELMAS 2023-2026. She is a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching, Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, Fellow of CollectiveEd, Fellow of the Institute of Educational and Social Equity, and a Senior Fellow of the HE Academy.

She sits on the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Teaching Profession.

Jim Tatchell

Last year Jim concluded his 16 years of School Governor experience in Bishop’s Stortford, 8 years at Hockerill Anglo-European College and before that, 8 years at Thorn Grove Primary School.

During his time as Chair of the Resources committee at Hockerill Jim was part of the team that built the Science Block and the Sports Hall, as well as numerous other capital projects.

Both of Jim’s sons went to Hockerill from year 7 to 13 and continue to use the skills and knowledge they were fortunate enough to gain from being part of this community.

Jim has a degree in German, Swedish and Economics and has worked for several companies in finance – with experience in both very large and very small organisations, where he has seen the advantage of language ability at first hand.

Away from Hockerill Jim is CEO of the Anglo/Latvian Wealth Management firm Diagram Capital, and runs his international payments and currency conversion company, Circadian FX. He co-founded the charity Helping Herts which works with 12 other local charities to improve the life chances of children and young adults across Hertfordshire. Jim also co-founded the VolMatch Community CIC, which sources ad-hoc volunteering opportunities in the local area.

John Stenhouse

John Stenhouse is a former Governor of Hockerill Anglo-European College, serving as Chair of Governors for the final four years of his tenure.

His two sons attended Hockerill from Year 7 through to Year 13, and he remains a passionate supporter of the school's distinctive ethos and values. He also brings an informed understanding of the strategic opportunities and challenges facing the school.

John spent his career in the corporate sector, including working internationally, giving him a strong appreciation of the importance of internationalism, cultural diversity and global perspectives.

Now happily retired, John is delighted to continue supporting Hockerill as a Member.

Heather MacRae

Heather MacRae became involved with Hockerill Anglo-European College as a parent. Her children, James and Katie, attended the College and enjoyed the well-rounded education they received. Heather is also known by her married name of Heather Follows.

Until May 2026 Heather was CEO of the Ideas Foundation, a charity she co-founded twenty years ago to nurture creativity and social mobility through partnerships with organisations such as Canon, Burberry, Barclays, Nike and the BBC. Her prior roles included 14-19 Co-ordinator at The Learning Trust, Development Director at the Edge Foundation, and General Manager at Enterprise Careers. Heather developed her consultancy, Venture Thinking, creating programmes such as Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut and Richard in Space for the UK Space Agency. She began her working life as a careers adviser in Hertfordshire. Heather is currently developing Coining Curiosity, an object-based learning initiative built on her late father's collection that uses coins as a way into history, art and science.

Heather holds a degree in English and American Literature, a Master's in Careers Education and an MBA, and is an Honorary Fellow in Public Engagement at Queen Mary University of London. She has received the Sir Arthur Clarke Award for education outreach, a National Careers Award, and the London Challenge Award for curriculum innovation.

Amanda Cutlan-Smyth

(awaiting photo)

Amanda Cutlan-Smyth is a lawyer by profession. Having trained and qualified at a leading City law firm she specialised in Real Estate Finance in the firm’s London office, working for large international clients on high value transactions.

For over the past decade, Amanda has gained significant experience in school governance, having held positions of Chair of Finance, Deputy Chair, and then Chair of the Board at an independent school. During her tenure as Chair, she helped successfully steer the school through the challenges of Covid, withdrawal from the TPS and the appointment of a new Headship.

More recently Amanda has taken up a position on the University of Cambridge’s Research Ethics Committee, as the committee’s only external member. The body sets policy and is the overarching committee for the consideration of ethical issues arising from research at Cambridge.

Amanda has always enjoyed sport and in her youth represented Great Britain in equestrian sport. She now lives with her husband and two university aged children in a village outside Bishop’s Stortford.