Governors

The Governing Body (also known as "The Corporation") is accountable for the financial solvency of Deeside College, its effective management and the quality of the service it provides. It is also accountable for the proper use of the public funds entrusted to it. Members of the Governing Body play a key role in the work of the college and give their time and expertise freely. The term of office for members is 4 years, with the exception of the Student Members who are appointed for a one year term of office.

The Governing Body meets at least four times during each academic year and the governors also attend an annual residential planning event. There are five committees - Audit, Learner Provision & Outcomes, Learner Improvement & Outcomes, Finance & General Purposes and Land Based.

Who are our Governors?

Paul Williams OBE

Chair of the Corporation - Business Member

Paul lives in Chester and is a retired bank manager. In addition to his Chairmanship of Deeside College, Paul has commitment to his local community which extends to Sealand County Primary School, where he was previously a Governor and also includes auditing the accounts for the Circuit of 13 Methodist churches around Chester and his active involvement in the Scout Movement in the Chester area.

For this service to education and the local community Paul was awarded an OBE in January 2011.

Paul Williams has been a member of Deeside College Corporation since incorporation in 1993. He was appointed as Chair in June 2001, having previously been Vice Chair for a number of years. He is Chair of both the Governing Body’s Finance & General Purposes Committee, and the Leadership, Performance and Improvement Committee. He is also a member of the Board’s Land Based Committee, and the Link Governor for Learning Environment and Resource Management within the College.

Steve Thomas

Vice Chair of the Corporation Board - Business Member

Steve is the Government Affairs Executive at Airbus UK, and started his employment with the company in 1982 as a Commercial Apprentice. During his training to become a Chartered Accountant, Steve attended Deeside College and it was from those days he established his affinity with the College and apprenticeships/training in general.

Steve is a Council member of the CBI Wales, and was recently appointed by the Secretary of State for Wales to the Business Advisory Group, which has responsibility for informing Government of the key issues affecting business in Wales.

Steve joined the Governing Body in 1999 and is the Vice-Chair of the Board of Governors. He is also a member of both the Governing Body’s Finance & General Purposes Committee, and the Leadership, Performance & Improvement Committee. Steve has previously served as Chair of the Governing Body’s Audit and Chair of the Merger Steering Group with Northop College. He is a Link Governor for Leadership and Partnership Working within the College.

Stephen Cross

Business Member

Stephen was a police officer for over thirty years specialising in criminal investigation and as a national hostage negotiator. He was seconded for three years to the Hong Kong Government to work for the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Following retirement from the Police Service, Stephen qualified as a solicitor and in a private practice specialised in criminal and family advocacy, trusts, wills, probate and business law with a particular interest in the governance of organisations.

Stephen is presently Company Secretary and Solicitor to the Countess of Chester Hospital Foundation Trust dealing with all statutory, regulatory and legal matters of the hospital. He is a member of the hospitals Audit and Executive Risk Review Committees and leads on the Cost Reduction Strategy team.

Stephen is currently undertaking research work in governance and leadership at Loughborough University and the University of Chester.

Stephen has been a Governor of Deeside College since 2000. He is Chair of the Governing Body’s Audit Committee and a member of its Leadership, Performance & Improvement Committee. He is also the Link Governor to Wellbeing and Care, Support & Guidance within the College.

Councillor Ted Evans

Community Governor

Ted has lived and worked in Flint for most of his life, where he served as a councillor from 1992. From 1968 he became an active Trade Unionist. In a short time he became the Branch Secretary, then a member of the Area Committee, soon to be a member of the Region Committee and a member of the Textile Committee.

Ted has also been a member of the Flint Trades Council, and from there a member of the County Association of Trades Councils during the days of Clwyd. This led to Ted’s first association with the college.

Ted has been a Governor of the College since 1993. He is a member of the Governing Body’s Audit Committee, and a Link Governor on the College’s Health and Safety Committee.

Wendy Gould

Community Member

Wendy is a retired Local Government Officer and qualified to membership of the Institute of Personnel and Development. She has worked to implement the Welsh Assembly Government’s Improvement Agenda in Local Government and qualified to Lead Assessor for the European Foundation Quality Management Standard. Wendy also works as a volunteer for the Flintshire Citizen’s Advice Bureau supporting members of the local community with advice and guidance on issues which affect their daily life.

Wendy has been a member of the Deeside College Governing Body since 2007. She is a member of both the Governing Body’s Audit Committee, and the Learner Provision and Outcomes Committee, and Link Governor within the College to Strategic Planning, Quality & Support for Learners.

Dr Garth Higginbotham

Co-opted Governor

Garth has spent his working life in education. Starting his career as a lecturer in physics in Northern Ireland, he then moved into school-teaching. After briefly working in a private school in England, Garth moved to a large comprehensive school in an ‘Education Priority Area’ in South Wales.

Following a teacher training venture in a polytechnic in England, he became one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors for Science, completing his career inspecting schools and colleges the length and breadth of Wales. Despite working or studying around the United Kingdom, Garth has his heart in Wales. He is an avid Welsh Learner.

Garth is a keen amateur singer and a member of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir.

Following retirement, Garth decided to use his skills to support education in his community by becoming a Governor of Coleg Llysfasi. Garth has been a Governor of Deeside College since the merger with Coleg Llysfasi in August 2010. He is a member of the Governing Body’s Learner, Provision & Outcomes Committee, and the Link Governor for the College’s Directorate for 14–19 Learners.

Councillor Rhys Hughes

Local Government Governor

Rhys is an experienced farmer with first hand understanding of land based industries, and the needs of those who live and work in the countryside. Rhys enjoys and appreciates the importance of safeguarding the rural community and has over the years devoted a large amount of his time supporting the local community.

He has been a County Councillor for Denbighshire County Council, serving the Llangollen area which includes Llantysilio, Llidiart Annie and Rhewl for nearly seven years. He is a member of the Council’s Scrutiny Committee for the Environment. Rhys is also a member of the Llantysilio Parish Council , Ysgol Dinas Bran’s Governors, and the Llangollen youth football management team.

Rhys is a Welsh speaker, and has been a Governor of Deeside College since the merger with Coleg Llysfasi in August 2010. He is also a member of the Governing Body’s Land Based Committee, and the Link Governor on the Campus Council for Llysfasi College.

Dafydd Ifans

Business Governor

Dafydd recently retired from a post as a Senior Civil Servant within the Welsh Assembly Government and as the Chief Executive of the Children and Families Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS CYMRU). A professionally qualified Social Worker, Dafydd initially worked as a Probation Officer, serving in the areas of Deeside and Gwynedd before moving into a senior managerial position within Social Services.

Dafydd has been a member of a number of Welsh Assembly Government and UK Government level Committees relating to children and family matters, as well as the England & Wales Family Justice Council, and of The Wales Committee for the Community Legal Service. He is currently a Board Member of Pennaf Housing Group, the Chair of Ty Glas Housing Society, a Board Member of Clwyd Alyn, a Board Member of Conwy Care and Repair. Dafydd is also a member of the National Executive Committee of SNAP Cymru which is a charity that offers information and support to families of children and young people who have special educational needs.

Dafydd is a Welsh speaker and has been a Governor of Deeside College since the merger with Coleg Llysfasi in August 2010. He is also a member of the Governing Body’s Learner, Provision & Outcomes Committee, and Link Governor for the College’s Employer Engagement & Work Based Learning Delivery Directorate.

David Jones

Principal and Chief Executive

David Jones, Deeside College's Principal and Chief Executive, took up his position in September 2004, having worked at the college since 1999 as Vice Principal and then as Deputy Principal. He has played a leading role in the development, expansion and success of Deeside College over this period, notably in January 2007 and October 2007, when it was awarded unprecedented straight Grade 1s by Estyn, for the quality of both its Work Based Learning and FE provision.

David is a native of the village of Ciliau Aeron in Ceredigion. He is a Welsh speaker, and now lives in the village of Rhosesmor in Flintshire. David has a BSc in Electronics Engineering from the University of Glamorgan, a PGCE from the University of Wales, Cardiff, and an MBA from Warwick Business School. Following on from achieving the status of Chartered Engineer, David was also awarded Fellowship status of the Institute of Engineering and Technology in July 2004.

In the early part of his career, David worked in the electronics manufacturing industry. He began his career in the education sector in 1987, when he was appointed as a Senior Lecturer in Electronics at the University of Wales Institute Cardiff. Since then, he has worked at Coleg Ceredigion and Coleg Powys, prior to joining Deeside College.

David is a member of the Flintshire Local Service Board, the North Wales Economic Forum, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Wales Council, and is a Board member and Senior Vice Chair of Colegau Cymru/Colleges Wales. He was also appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of Clwyd in March 2010.

Councillor Joan Lowe

Local Government Governor

Joan is a former student of Llysfasi College and comes from a farming background. She is a councillor for Wrexham County Borough Council and a former Mayor of Wrexham who actively commits her time and enthusiasm for the benefit of her community. Her experience in public relations and specialist expertise in social care/health, social deprivation and economic issues as well as her farming background provide a diverse and rich source of expertise that she brings to the role of Governor. Joan has also been a Governor of a primary school and successfully managed the merger of two schools. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Nightingale House Hospice.

Joan has been a Governor of Deeside College since the merger with Coleg Llysfasi in August 2010. She is also a member of the Governing Body’s Audit Committee, and a Link Governor on the Wrexham Training Campus Council.