The Board Of Trustees
New Trustees Sought
The Board is seeking candidates for trustees with educational expertise to serve on the Education Sub-Committee. For more details, please see the Interested Candidates page.
Role of the Trustees
The role of the trustees is primarily a strategic one. The trustees decide the purpose and the overall goals of the school and set a framework for their implementation and achievement. Their key responsibilities are to:
- Set suitable aims and objectives
- Set a budget which allows the school to fulfil its purpose
- Appoint the senior leadership team
- Agree policies, targets and priorities
- Monitor and review the performance of the school
Critical Friend
The trustees also act, both individually and as a group, as a critical friend to the senior leadership of the school, providing support and challenge by:
- Giving support and constructive advice
- Being a sounding board and a second opinion for ideas
- Seeking information with which to improve proposals
- Challenging and asking questions
The trustees, together with the senior leadership team, are committed to transparency to parents, staff, and the wider community, to the extent that it is possible without damaging the school’s future. At least once a year, the Board and the senior leadership team will hold an open meeting for parents and staff to discuss the manner in which the school has been, and is to be, conducted.
At least once a year, the Board and the senior leadership team will carry out separate surveys of parents and of staff to obtain views on the way in which the school is perceived to be operating.
Composition of the Board
The Board consists of a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 16 members. It includes the Head of School and a representative of the British Ambassador. The Board seeks an appropriate balance of parents and other members of the international community with specific skills and experience that will benefit the school. Trustees may serve in office for a normal term of 4 years, with a further extension of 2 years on re-election by the Board.The Board elects from its members a Chair and two Vice Chairs, who may serve in office for a normal term of 4 years, with a further extension of 2 years on re-election by the Board.
Decisions regarding the appointment, extension of term of office and removal of a trustee, the Chair or the Vice Chairs are made by a majority of all other trustees. All other decisions are made by a majority vote of trustees, with the Chair having a casting vote in the event of a tie. No trustee has a right of veto. Most decisions are reached by consensus and are unanimous.
The Trustees
David Fitton (Chair) (Representative of the British Ambassador) (P)
Katy Dix (Vice Chair) (P)
David Hatt (Vice Chair)
Marianne Black (P)
Takako Davison (P)
Brendan Delahunty
Duco Delgorge (P)
James Dodds
Colin Greene (P)
James Hollow (P)
Mary Saphin
Yemi Tepe (P)
David Williams (Head of School)
(P) Parent
Brief biographical information about the current trustees is set out at the bottom of the Sub-Committees page.
The Chair of the Board of Trustees is David Fitton. He can be contacted by letter at the address below or by email: dfitton@bst.ac.jp
David Fitton
British Embassy
No 1 Ichiban-cho
Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 102-8381
The Chair, Vice Chairs and other individual trustees can also be contacted through the Secretary to the Board of Trustees
Secretary to the Board of Trustees
Simon Lloyd (Business Director and Bursar) Email: slloyd@bst.ac.jp
Meetings
There are 6 regular meetings of the full Board during the year, two meetings in each term, and normally 2 to 3 additional ad hoc meetings during the year. Sub-committee meetings are held before each regular full Board meeting.