Governors

Alison Wagstaff

Key Roles:

I live in Bodmin and am a parishioner at St Mary’s Church. I am a very new governor having been appointed for the first time in July 2021, so my first experiences of governing body meetings were via Zoom. It is a challenging role, but it is fantastic to be able to experience at first hand the strong sense of community at St Mary’s School, and the way the children are taught and encouraged by example to live out the Gospel values of love of God and neighbour in their own lives. As a Foundation governor I hope to have many opportunities to share in the Catholic ethos of the school.

I am very interested in education having had four children of my own, and now also grandchildren living reasonably close by. After bringing up my family I worked for ten years for the Foundation Board of a large educational charity which ran a number of independent, grammar and comprehensive secondary schools. I also acted as clerk to the Governing Body of a local authority primary school, which gave me a good insight into how much is now expected of school staff and also of the children.

My own educational background is in languages, and I have a degree in German language and literature as well as an abiding interest in classical languages, especially Latin. I also took up quilting a couple of years ago, and my ambition now to make something which is both useful and beautiful.

Alison McDonald

Key Roles: Headteacher, SEND, Teaching and Learning

I have been working in education for nearly 30 years. Prior to my career in education I worked in my family's business, running a successful public house and restaurant in Lostwithiel. Although I am originally from the Midlands my family moved to the west country during the seventies, my father securing a job with Telcalemit in Plymouth designing the first petrol injection engines in the UK. My parents decided to change career paths and decided to become hoteliers. They successful ran two hotels in Looe and Fowey before their move to Lostwithiel.

I am a former pupil of Notre dame Catholic School for girls. I moved from Notre Dame to Falmouth School of Art and then took some time working for my family. I felt that I had more to offer and I applied to the College of St Mark and St John in Plymouth to study a degree in Education. I achieved my degree and took up my first teaching post at Carclaze Infant School in St Austell. It was here that I first took my steps into leadership and management as an assistant head. I then moved to St Mabyn CE Primary School as Head of Teaching and Learning and subsequent Head of School in the Saints Way MAT. Whilst working for the MAT I also supported on School Improvement and SEND across the five schools.

I came to St Mary’s as an acting head teacher covering a maternity leave before being appointed as the permanent head teacher in 2018.

St Mary’s is a special school full of amazing children who always try their best in everything that they do. I am very proud to be ‘St Mary’s’ head teacher and I will do everything in my power to ensure our children make the best possible start at St Mary’s as well as ensuring that they become confident individuals who can contribute to our society in the future.

Hello everyone.

I am delighted to be a Foundation Governor at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School as I have a strong connection with the school and parish going back to 1996 when I first moved to Cornwall. Both my children attended St Mary’s and my family have very fond memories of their time there. Having taught locally in Bodmin for ten years I also feel a close connection to the community.

I attended Notre Dame High School in London and my first teaching job was in a Catholic school where I attained my Catholic teaching certificate.

I qualified as a teacher in 1987 and have been in education for thirty five years, working in schools in London, Cornwall and Buckinghamshire. I have taught across Early Years, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 but my real passion lies in the education of the youngest Early Years children.

For the last six years, before I retired, I worked as an Executive Headteacher across three outstanding schools and a children’s centre. I have a broad experience of being a governor, having served on several governing bodies throughout my career.

For many years I worked as an Early Years School Improvement Advisor and for Ofsted as an Early Years Inspector.

As a governor at St. Mary’s I will strive to support and challenge the work of the Headteacher and staff, to ensure the best possible outcomes for all our children and their families.

I started my career in the Royal Navy as an engineer. I then taught English as a Second Language in Vietnam for nine years. This was the start of my life in education and is where I found my love and passion for teaching. The experience of teaching and living abroad has really helped inspire my desire to ensure every child progresses and thrives.
I have been at St Mary's Catholic Primary School for nine and half years, during which time I have spent six years in Year Six. With my current role as Deputy Head and Staff Governor, I aim to ensure all of our children are reaching their full potential.