Staff and Governors

Jane Prescott has overall responsibility for the school academically, pastorally and financially. Should you wish to request a meeting with Mrs Prescott, please do so in writing via her Executive Assistant, Mrs Jo Grapes, e: j.grapes@nor.gdst.net

Susan Roberts has overall responsibility for the Prep School and Nursery. She leads the Prep School team in delivering a distinct and exceptional education to our girls aged 3 to 11.

Matt Bradshaw deals with curriculum and assessment matters. He has responsibility for learning and teaching in the classroom, and ensuring the school’s assessment and marking policies are implemented successfully.

Helen Dolding has direct responsibility for the work of the Heads of Year and co-ordinates the Pastoral Team. She is also responsible for the day-to-day organisation of the school.

Hazel Packer is the lead for pastoral and academic life in our Sixth Form.

Mak Singh is responsible for the school budget, administration, ICT, teaching support staff, estates, health and safety, and the domestic side of school; co-ordinating our caretakers, groundsmen, cleaners and kitchen staff.

Amy Beck has ownership for the delivery and development of marketing and communication strategies reflecting the values, character and ambitions of Norwich High School for Girls.

Fiona is an experienced academic leader, innovation strategist and non-executive board member, with a strong track record of delivering impact across academia, industry and the public sector. She is Professor Emerita of Innovation Management at the University of East Anglia (UEA), where she served as Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation) from 2016 to 2023.

Her early career included roles at BMW/Rover Group and Centrica/British Gas, bringing a practical, delivery-focused approach to her later academic work. Fiona’s research has focused on building high-value collaborations and translating academic knowledge into real-world solutions to support economic resilience and sustainable growth.

During her time at UEA, Fiona launched major initiatives including the Doctoral College, CivicUEA, and interdisciplinary research themes ClimateUEA, CreativeUEA and HealthUEA. She also secured over £40 million in strategic funding to support research and innovation, including the Productivity East project. She led UEA’s successful REF2021 submission, achieving the university’s best-ever results.

Fiona was nominated for a Women of the Year Award in 2018 by Barclays for her regional impact, and in 2020 received an AdvanceHE Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence. She is a Fellow of both the Higher Education Academy and the Royal Society of Arts.

Fiona attended Oxford High School GDST before studying at university through to PhD level. She became a Governor at Norwich High School in 2020 and is passionate about inclusive leadership, innovation and inspiring the next generation to shape a better future.

Sue trained as a State Registered Nurse and when she moved back to Norfolk, she began working at Priscilla Bacon Lodge as a Specialist Palliative Care Nurse. 19 years later and with a degree in Nursing from the UEA, she is still working there part-time as well as running a charity, Hospice Ethiopia UK which promotes palliative care in Ethiopia. Sue has a long interest in education, particularly for girls. She was a governor and Chair of Governors at Aldborough Primary School, where she is still a community helper. She was the first person in Norfolk to be awarded a BTEC certificate in School Governance.

Helen is a recent alumna of Norwich High School for Girls. She spent just over five years at the School and ended her time as Deputy Head Girl. Norwich High fostered her interests in art and travel, and Helen went on to read Modern and Medieval Languages at Churchill College in Cambridge. Following a brief period in the commercial arts and interiors world, Helen has since worked in executive search. She helps universities and education-related organisations around the world with a broad range of senior appointments. Helen’s mission is to ensure that Norwich High School for Girl’s exceptional alumnae community remain aware of and engaged in the current work of the School. In her spare time, she continues to paint and read widely. She is based in London but is often drawn back to the Norfolk countryside.

Marissa has been involved in education for four decades and in a range of different settings, including the independent sector, maintained schools, service children school (Army) in Germany, large Academy Trust and a bespoke Montessori setting (New Zealand).

Her roles and responsibilities have been varied, including class teaching across the 2-18 years age range, Headship, Director of Education for a group of co-ed independent schools, Deputy Director of Education GDST, Lead Lecturer for PGCE students, South Powys Lead for PGCE students, mentoring new Heads and being a peer mentor during inspections for ESTYN, (HMI Wales).

Her absolute passion is for girls-only education and her links with the GDST began in 1997, when she took up her role as Head of Junior School at Howell’s School Cardiff, a role she held for 9 years. Marissa was then invited to join the Education team at Trust Office and was soon promoted to Deputy Director of Education.

Marissa has been a freelance consultant for the last few years and has maintained the balance of strategic and practical advice and support. She has returned to GDST twice as interim Assistant Director and also as Acting Head of the Junior School at Northampton High School. She also works at a senior level for an Academy Trust, which has both primary and secondary schools and carries out other individual work supporting schools and leadership teams.

Scott has lived in Norwich since he was three years old and has had links to Norwich High for many years, with both of his sisters attending the school and more recently his three daughters. After university, he trained as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young before joining Smith & Pinching, a family business which his father formed in 1973, offering financial advice and insurance broking services to businesses and individuals. His roles at Smith & Pinching include being Finance Director, Head of Regulatory Compliance, Financial Adviser and Company Secretary.

Outside of work, Scott has been Trustee of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust since 2019 and in addition to serving on the Trustee Board, he has also been a member of the Finance and Risk and the Remuneration Committees. He is also a Trustee of two other local Charities. He enjoys golf and tennis and is a member of the Daily Icebreakers club, swimming four days a week at 6.30am in the Norwich High School pool.

Raphael is Professor of Finance at Norwich Business School (NBS), University of East Anglia (UEA). He is also a member of the Centre for Competition Policy (CCP) at UEA and the Centre for Science and Policy (CsaP) at the University of Cambridge. He holds a Distinguished Professorship in the Lee Shau Kee School of Business and Administration, Hong Kong Metropolitan University. Previously, he was an Associate Professor at Athens University of Economics and Business and a Royal Economic Society Junior Fellow at the Department of Economics, Loughborough University.