Members - The Alliance Schools Trust, Milton Keynes

The responsibilities of the Members are:

To exercise their responsibility to appoint Trustees to the Trust Board ensuring that they hold the necessary skills and competence to manage the schools effectively and efficiently.
To remove any Trustee or Member, who is not considered to be acting in the best interests of the Trust.
From time to time to review the Articles of Association and to make changes when deemed necessary, after taking advice from the Trust Board.
To appoint or remove other Members as necessary in line with the provisions of the Articles of Association.
To receive the externally audited annual report and accounts from the Trust Board.

In Memory of Thornton Naylor

We are deeply saddened to share the passing of Thornton Naylor, a cherished colleague, mentor, and friend, who passed away on 12th September.

Born and educated in Liverpool, Thornton dedicated nearly four decades of his life to Denbigh School, joining immediately after qualifying as a teacher and retiring in 2013. Throughout his distinguished career, he held several senior leadership roles, including Head of Year, Head of House, and Assistant Headteacher. In 1989, he earned an MA in Educational Management and Administration from Leicester University, further enriching his contribution to education.

Thornton was a passionate advocate for science education and a tireless supporter of student achievement and personal growth. He played a pivotal role in Initial Teacher Training at Denbigh and extended his expertise to De Montfort University and Oxford Brookes University as a tutor on their Professional Studies courses.

In 2017, Thornton became a founding Member of The Alliance Schools Trust, continuing his commitment to educational excellence and collaboration.

Thornton’s legacy lives on in the countless lives he touched, the colleagues he inspired, and the students he championed. He will be remembered with great respect and affection.

Mr David Lock CBE MRTPI

David Lock founded David Lock Associates (planners and urban designers) in MK in 1988, and is now Strategic Planning Advisor to the company, which has become an Employee Benefit Trust. He remains the founder Chair of DLA Architects Practice which is now an independent business. David was the Government’s Chief Planning Adviser for some years and was, until 2019, a Board Member of Ebbsfleet Development Corporation in North Kent. He was made CBE for services to town and country planning in 2007, and in 2018 received the Lifetime Achievement Award from MK Business and the University of Cranfield. He is President of the City Discovery Centre at Bradwell Abbey. David and his wife Jeanette lived in Loughton for 27 years before moving to restore Calverton Manor near Stony Stratford. Two of their daughters were students at Denbigh School where Jeanette was also a Governor.

Ms Sharon McGuire

After studying for a degree in Economics at Newcastle University and a Masters in Social and Economic Aspects of Science and Technology at Imperial College Sharon worked as a researcher at the Engineering Industry Training Board. Sharon has written several papers on the sectors of the Engineering Industry and was involved in a survey of Women in Engineering. After her second child was born, she took a career break and then went on to work for the DWP. Sharon was involved with the Denbigh Association whilst both her children attended Denbigh and went on to become a parent Governor in 2004. She became a Trustee and founding Member when the school converted to an Academy. When Denbigh became a Multi- Academy Trust she remained as a Governor of Denbigh until July 2019 when she resigned in order to reduce the crossover between Governors and Trustees. Sharon’s skills are in financial management, corporate governance, human resources and procurement.

Mrs Grainne Ferrari

Grainne brings a proven track record of facilitating positive change and a wealth of knowledge regarding union and HR matters. Grainne was a governor at Oxley Park Academy when her children attended primary school, so has valuable experience of Governance at school level. Having gained a 1st class Honours degree in Midwifery from Northampton University, Grainne currently works as a Senior Midwife Sister at The John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and has worked in all areas of the maternity environment. Grainne’s previous career was as an IT consultant within the Legal Industry.

David D’Souza

David D’Souza was born in Aylesbury but raised and lives in Milton Keynes. During his education he completed his BSc(Hons) Computing Degree at the University of Portsmouth and upon graduating worked at BT as an ASP.net developer. Further down the line he became a Digital Designer & Artwork Executive working for Home Retail Group Head Office managing the Argos and Homebase eCommerce.

Azudos the Digital Design Agency was formed in 2016 and David currently runs this carrying out Web Development & Design, Analytics and Photography. Within the Agency he also teaches Graphic Design, Photo Editing and Print Solutions using Adobe Creative Cloud (InDesign, Illustrator, Premier Pro, Photoshop and Lightroom) and also works currently as an EPoS engineer carrying out the IT and installations for Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Papa Johns, Dominos, Pizza Express, Greene King, Wetherspoons and Premier Inn.