Our Team

Helen Wood is The Balcarras Trust CEO and Headteacher of The High School Leckhampton—Gloucestershire’s newest school. Helen spent over 20 years at Prince Henry’s High School in Evesham where was latterly the Senior Deputy Head. She joined the Balcarras Trust in January 2021 as the first Headteacher of The High School Leckhampton.

The school opened in September 2021 to 120 Year 7 pupils and will grow eventually to be a school of 900. The school is located in a brand new purpose built accommodation at Farm Lane in Leckhampton.

Louise Morgan MAAT began her finance career in 2010 as an Accounts Assistant in the commercial sector, progressing to the role of Accounts Manager by 2014. During this time, she successfully completed her professional qualifications with the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), achieving full qualification status.

From 2014 to 2018, Louise served as Finance Manager at Berkhampstead Independent Prep School in Cheltenham, where she developed a strong understanding of school business management. Inspired by personal family experience with special educational needs, Louise transitioned in 2018 to The Milestone Special School, taking on the role of Finance Officer.

Her expertise and leadership were instrumental in developing financial processes and systems that supported the creation and growth of SAND Academies Trust, where she served as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for six years.

In addition, Louise is Chair of The Forest of Dean Trust which enables strong links with other secondary schools within the County. She joined the Trust in October 2025.

Dominic has spent over twenty years in the profession as a history teacher and since 2011 as a senior school leader.  In 2016 Dominic became Head of Balcarras and under his leadership the school has gone from strength to strength. In 2020 the Sunday Times awarded Balcarras the prestigious “School of the Decade Award” and in 2025 OFSTED rated the school ‘outstanding’ in every category. The school continues to achieve results which place it amongst the highest performing comprehensive schools in the country. Dominic led the team that submitted Balcarras’ bid to sponsor the new secondary school for Cheltenham and from 2018 to 2020 directed the preparations needed to bring the school to life. The High School Leckhampton opened in September 2021. Dominic was also the founder CEO of the Balcarras Trust leading the Trust from its inception in 2020 before stepping down to concentrate on the headship at Balcarras in August 2025. As well as Headteacher Dominic also holds the following roles:
Chair of the Gloucestershire Initial Teacher Education Partnership (GITEP) Board
Director of the Gloucestershire Association Secondary School Leaders Limited (GASSL Ltd)
Academy Representative of the Gloucestershire Schools Forum
Member of the GLOW Maths Hub Strategic Board
Member of the Balcarras Teaching School Hub Strategic Board
Treasurer of the Cheltenham Association of Secondary Headteachers
Member of the Gloucestershire Association of Secondary School Leaders (GASSL)
Member of the Gloucestershire Education Forum

Parin has been a teacher for over twenty years and has spent the majority of his career in middle and senior leadership positions. In September 2025, he was appointed Headteacher of Winchcombe School. His leadership experience spans a wide range of areas including mathematics, safeguarding, behaviour, and SEND, giving him a broad understanding of the factors that contribute to a successful and inclusive school.
Parin is committed to building on the strong foundations already in place at Winchcombe and ensuring that every student is supported to thrive academically and personally. He brings a proven track record of school improvement and a clear vision for raising aspirations, strengthening community partnerships, and providing the very best opportunities for young people.

Maxine Godfrey joined the Balcarras Trust in December 2023 as the Governance Professional. 

Maxine works as a clerk across several primary schools and trusts, and is also the Lead Clerk for another multi‑academy trust. She has wide experience in clerking and governance roles.

She originally worked in book publishing before moving to Asia, where she taught Kindergarten and Year 1. When she returned to the UK, Maxine wanted to stay in education and now uses her business background and school experience to support strong governance.

Maxine is married with two children, and her husband teaches within the Trust.

Kate was a management consultant and project manager before working in administration roles at a number of organisations, including GCC, Cheltenham Ladies' College and Pate's.  She joined the Trust in September 2025.

She is married with two daughters and lives in Cheltenham.

CATHRINE PARSONS

Cathrine joined Balcarras School in March 2016 as a Payroll Finance Clerk and is now the Balcarras Trust Payroll Supervisor. 

Cathrine has previously worked in Financial Services as a Sales and Marketing Administrator/ Project Manager for Australian Mutual Provident  and Payroll Clerk for EFT and ADM Accountancy. 

She moved back to UK in September 2015 after living in Western Australia. She is married with two sons and lives in Cheltenham.

DEB TIERNEY

Deb is an Accounts Payable Supervisor.

She joined the Trust's Finance Team in September 2025, following many years working in school administration and finance. Before returning to the UK, she spent several years living in Australia.

She began her career as a Police Officer before moving into the education sector, where she held roles as both a Teaching Assistant and an Administration Manager. These experiences have provided her with a broad range of skills and a strong understanding of finance, administration, and customer service.

Deb also has a close connection with Balcarras School, as her son, Dan, attended the school until 2020. This personal affiliation gives her a genuine appreciation of the Trust and its values, and she is proud to now be part of its Finance Team.

SUE DAVIS

Sue has worked in the finance office at Balcarras for seventeen years, primarily as Trips co-ordinator and managing SCOPAY, the trusts cashless system. Previous to Balcarras she worked for C&G for 20 years whilst her three children have all attended Balcarras School.

SARAH GOODMAN

Sarah spent over 20 years working in various positions in hotels then worked as a Teaching Assistant in a Secondary School whilst her children were at school.

She also spent 20 years working part-time at Asda alongside working in schools.

Sarah worked in a primary school managing attendance and processing invoices. During this time she studied her AAT qualifications up to level 4 – which was something she had always wanted to do since studying accounting as part of her catering qualifications but never found the time.

She then joined Sand Academies as Finance Officer for 4 years before joining The Balcarras Trust as Finance Officer.

NATALIIA SHALAR