Governance

Role

The Association of The British School of Gran Canaria is a not-for-profit trust whose membership is composed of parents of current school students. The Association is responsible for holding the assets and property of the school and to control its finances. As a non-profit making organisation any financial surpluses are invested into the school and its educational provision. The Association membership meets twice a year to approve the annual budget and the audited accounts of the School: AGM - December and EGM - June

The Board of Governors are elected or co-opted representatives of the Association, assigned with the responsibility of overseeing the work of the Head and Senior Management Team, and assisting with decisions related to school development, finances, safety and the general well-being of the pupils and staff. 

The Board meets each month to monitor and review the school accounts, students on roll, and other issues that affect its financial position. Board members also receive information about the school’s educational provision, the curriculum and important events taken place within the school and local community. They revise and approve all school policies and also participate in major decisions involving disciplinary sanctions. They are ultimately responsible for the welfare and safety of the whole school community, including all its pupils and staff. 

The Governors also lead the development of the School’s Development Plan, aimed at long term strategic improvement of the school, and monitor its implementation.

The Board uses specialist committees to lead identified projects or work toward specific school needs, with these committees reporting to the Board for the approval of any actions to be taken. The Board of Governors is responsible for monitoring the implementation of four fundamental school policies with one Governor assigned to each policy: Safeguarding and Child Protection, Health and Safety, Safe Recruitment and Anti-Harassment.

Members

The full Board of Governors of the British School of Gran Canaria is composed of five trustees, four co-opted members, two parent governors, two teacher governors and the Head Teacher, who is an ex-officio member.

Trustee governors are elected to the Board from among long-standing members of the British School Association who have been Association Chair for one or more terms, or members of the Association for three years or more. They are elected for a period of four years, and may stand for re-election.

Co-opted governors are invited to join the Board by its existing elected members. They are individuals whose field of knowledge or professional expertise can make a valuable contribution to the overseeing and long-term development of the school. Their term is four years which can be renewed.

Parent governors are elected to the Board by the members of the Association at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), serving a two year term. Candidates for election must be parents of the Association and proposed and seconded by two other Association members.

Teacher governors are elected by and from the school’s teaching staff for a two year term.

The Head Teacher is an ex-officio member of the Board and remains a member for as long as they are in post.

Ms. Araceli Beatriz Domínguez was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and completed her higher education on the island. She then moved to England, where she lived and studied for three years, before returning to Gran Canaria to work in the overseas department of a food supplies company. In 1986, she set up her own import company, of which she was managing director until 2005. She has been a member of the Association of the British School of Gran Canaria since 1994, and the Chair from 1995 to 2008. She has been a member of the Board of Governors since 1995, and Chair since 2012.

Chairperson

Mrs Araceli Domínguez

Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mr. Robert Hopkins, Jr. was elected a parent governor in 2013 and has since become a Trustee. He is the Treasurer to the Board of Governors and worked as a member of the Building Project sub-committee during the redevelopment of the Tafira site. He and his wife, Patricia Guerra, have two children in the school. After an international career in professional sailing as a coach and navigator, he now works for an American satellite communications company in product management.

Treasurer

Mr Robert Hopkins Jr

 

Ms. Susan Cranfield has been a member of the British School Association since 1997. She works at University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria where she is a lecturer in English Language and Translation. She has held the post of faculty Vice-dean for Quality Assurance and has taken part in national quality assurance and inspection processes. She is the governor representative of the ‘Achieving Potential’ pathway of the BSGC Development Plan. Susan has two sons, one of whom is a former British School pupil now living and working in the UK, and the other currently a pupil at the school.

Secretary

Ms Susan Cranfield

Ms. Debbie Davies was born in the UK and moved to Spain as a teenager. She holds a qualification in Children’s Care, Learning and Development and has experience of working with Nursery aged children. She has been a trustee member of the Board of Governors since 2000 and is the designated governor for child protection, as well as being a member of the Uniform sub-committee. Both her children are former British School pupils. She is currently the official distributor in the Canary Islands for a number of products in the health and fitness sector.

Trustee

Ms Debbie Davies

Mr. Richard Martin was born and educated in Argentina and then lived and worked in the United Kingdom until moving to Spain in 1975. He has been a member of the Board since 1988 during which time he has served as Parent Governor, Honorary Treasurer and, in 2000, elected Honorary Chairman, serving until summer of 2012. He remains a life-member of the British School Association. He has lived on the island since 1977 and runs his own business in desalination and water treatment for the past twenty-five years. Richard has a son and a daughter, both of whom attended the school before studying at universities in England, where they now live and work.

Trustee

Mr Richard Martin

Mr. Alfredo Almeida has been a member of the Board of Governors since February 2013. He is an air traffic controller at the Canary Island Control Centre en-route division. He has also been responsible for the training and professional development of new controllers arriving at the Gran Canaria Tower. He has a degree in English Linguistics and Literature and has worked as a language teacher at different academies in Madrid. He was awarded colours for excellence in sports by Durham University. His daughter and son both study at the school’s Tafira campus.

Parent

Mr Alfredo Almeida

 

Mr. Jorge Gordillo Luján runs his own business in Gran Canaria. He has a degree in Sociology and Political Science from the Universidad Complutense (Madrid) and is the founder and chairperson of the Gran Canaria Business Forum. He was elected to the Board of Governors in 2012 and his three children, two of whom are currently pupils at the school.

Parent

Mr Jorge Gordillo

Ms. Julia Jeppesen Gutiérrez was elected as a Parent Governor in 2012 and is a member of the Uniform sub-committee. Both of her two children are currently students in the secondary sector. She works as a midwife and nurse at the Hospital Universitario Materno-Infantil de Canarias, and is also a lecturer there, teaching first year midwifery at the ‘Labour and Birth Unit’. As part of her teaching role, she mentors two students each year during their work placement at the hospital and tutors their dissertation for examination at the end of their two-year training.

Parent

Ms Julia Jeppesen

Ms. Poonan Punjabi 

Parent

Ms Poonan Punjabi

Ms Hanna Bushnell was born in Colchester, Essex.  She has a Spanish mother and English father and speaks both languages fluently. She studied at The University of Chichester and gained a BA (Hons) Degree in Primary Education and Teaching, specialising in English. After completing her degree, she taught at the Walton-on-the-Naze Junior School for a year, before moving to Gran Canaria. Her teaching experience, combined with her teaching placements at university, have developed a particular interest in children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties.

Teacher

Ms Hannah Bushnell

 

Ms. Carol Eccleston has been teaching at the British school for several years, with many more years’ of varied experience within the UK. Her previous posts include working with nursery children from 6 weeks of age to being a house parent in a boarding school with children and young adults up to 19 years of age. She specialised in Early Years Education at University and then became a manager of a large nursery in the UK before returning to University to complete her PGCE and Masters in Education. She has completed various continuous professional development courses to enhance her own education, ensuring that these are also beneficial to the schools and children she has worked with. These courses have included becoming qualified as a lifeguard and swimming teacher which she has used to teach swimming within our school.

Teacher

Ms Carol Eccleston

Ms. Clotilde Ortiz Villas was born in Cartagena, Murcia. She undertook part of her university training in Psychology in England, where she worked for 5 years as a manager of spa facilities in international hotel chains. She then lived in Uruguay for three years before coming to Gran Canaria where she has been living for the last 14 years. Her son was a pupil in the South School, who is now in Secondary. She is currently the managing director of her own spa consultancy and supplies company which operates throughout the Canary Islands.

Co-opt

Ms Clotilde Ortiz

Ms. Monica Vriethoff, like her three brothers, is a former British School pupil. Monica took her IGCSEs here and went to study an International Baccelaureate in Oxford. She has a degree in European Business Administration from the Universities of Madrid (ICADE) and Middlesex, London. She has worked mostly for multinational companies, leading Sales and Human Resources departments in different countries including Germany and Portugal. She is currently a consultant and coach for companies and social organisations. She has one son studying in the school and is the school’s Health and Safety Governor representative.

Co-opt

Ms Monica Vriethoff

Ms. Raquel Cabrera, former student of the BGSC, has a daughter currently studying at school. She joined the Board of Governors (where her mother also served during the years she and her brother attended the school) in 2017. She completed her International Baccalaureate at BGSC in 1997 before studying medicine at the University of Santiago de Compostela. She specialised in Radiation Oncology in the Hospital Universitario de la Candelaria (Tenerife) in 2009. She now works in the Radiation Oncology Department at the Hospital Dr. Negrin in Gran Canaria where she dedicates her time to the treatment of brain tumours and head and neck cancer.

Co-opt

Ms Raquel Cabrera

Mr. Julian Clark having graduated from University of London and completing his post graduate teaching certification at Exeter University, has been an educator for 35 years, teaching in a range of schools in the UK and other countries. Prior to joining the British School, Julian held the position of Head of Secondary School at St Andrew’s Scots School, a large private bilingual school in Buenos Aires, for 11 years. In January 2012 he moved with his family to Gran Canaria to assume the Headship of BSGC. His son is a pupil at the school whilst his two elder daughters are working and studying in Britain.

Headmaster

Mr Julian Clark

 

Documents

Contact us

Tafira

  • Address

    Crta. Tafira a Marzagán s/n.
    El Sabinal
    35017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

  • Phone

    +(34) 928 351 167

  • Email

    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Maspalomas

  • Address

    C\ Mar de Azor, 3
    El Hornillo
    35100 San Bartolomé de Tirajana

  • Phone

    +(34) 928 142 494

  • Email

    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The British School of Gran Canaria. Private non-profit school following the UK Curriculum. Providing Education for pupils from 3 to 18. Our school is committed to providing a challenging, fulfilling and encompassing educational experience to all our students,