Leadership - George Watson's College

The Principal is responsible to the Governing Council for the overall strategic direction of George Watson’s College, the safe and effective provision of education within agreed financial parameters and the relationships that the school enjoys within the City of Edinburgh and further afield. The Heads of Junior School and Senior School have delegated responsibility for the leadership of their respective schools within the overall George Watson’s College strategy. They and the Principal are members of the Principal's Leadership Team which also comprises the Bursar, Chief Operating Officer and Director of Admissions, Communications & Development.

Principal's Leadership Team

Lisa Kerr

Principal

Lisa is a well-known and highly respected figure in Scottish education, having been Principal of Gordonstoun since 2017 where she has led a programme of capital investment, academic improvement and international development. She will also bring business expertise to the leadership of the School as, before Headship, she enjoyed a distinguished career in commercial media, including leading the radio sector through digital transition, having begun in broadcasting at Radio Forth and Classic FM. This was followed by several years working in strategic consultancy where Lisa worked with infrastructure businesses undergoing transformational change.

Lisa attended the City of Edinburgh Music School, studied music at the University of York, and recently served as a Vice Chair of Scottish Opera. She has been a governor of three schools and served on the boards of several regulatory bodies including at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. A Deputy Lieutenant of Moray, Lisa has recently been appointed as a member of the Board of HMC – the Head’s Conference.

James Mills

Bursar

James Mills joined Watson’s in 2003. He is a Chartered Accountant with a long track record of financial management in financial services and the service sector. His main responsibilities are finance, compliance and health and safety. He is also Clerk to the Governing Council, providing support to the Council and its Committees. In addition, James reports to the Merchant Company Education Board on financial matters and risk.

Su Breadner

Chief Operating Officer

Su Breadner joined Watson’s in 2015 and provides leadership to a diverse group of our school's support staff including human resources and payroll, information technology and data management, facilities management, administration and reception and nursing services. She is also responsible for the generation of income through the Galleon Club, The Pavilion at Myreside and venue hire. Su is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development whose career has encompassed work in a variety of sectors including transport, banking, food manufacturing and further education.

Gordon Boyd

Head of Senior School

Gordon Boyd has been Head of Senior School since 2016. Supported by the Senior School Leadership Team, his role is to lead the talented team of teachers and other educational professionals to ensure that secondary age pupils can make the most of their time at Watson’s and leave as confident and successful citizens. Gordon was previously headteacher of two large comprehensive schools and a senior adviser and chief officer in a local authority. After many years working in England and abroad, his move to Watson's was also his homecoming to Edinburgh.

George Salmond

Head of Junior School
George Salmond joined George Watson’s College as a class teacher in 1995, gaining promotion to a series of leadership roles and being appointed Head of the Junior School in 2016. He and the Junior School Leadership Team focus on the wellbeing of Junior School pupils, the effectiveness of their learning and of the teaching, care services and enrichment activities that give them such a positive start to their educational journey. George is a former Scotland cricket captain who participated in the 1998 Commonwealth Games and the 1999 World Cup. He also had nine seasons as a football referee in the Scottish professional leagues and can still sometimes be heard as a cricket pundit on Scottish media outlets.

Karen Goodman

Director of Admissions, Marketing and Development
Karen Goodman’s key areas of responsibility are fundraising and engaging with former pupils and the wider Watsonian community as well as managing and supporting the Admissions, Marketing and Partnership teams. Karen has over 40 years experience in alumni, development, marketing and international recruitment in the Scottish higher education sector before coming to Watson’s in 2018.

Louise Clarke

Assistant Principal
Louise Clarke is a Watsonian (Class of 1996) and returned to Watson's as Head of Modern Languages in 2019 after serving as Head of Languages, Deputy Head of Sixth Form and Head of Lower School elsewhere in Edinburgh. She was appointed to the Principal's Leadership Team in August 2022 to take forward a number of whole-school projects and to provide additional leadership capacity during the Principal's tenure as Chair of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

The Junior School Leadership Team

George Salmond

Head of Junior School

Alison Adam

Deputy Head, Junior School
Learning and Teaching

Alasdair MacDonell

Deputy Head, Junior School
Primary 4 – Primary 7

Rob Porteous

Deputy Head, Junior School
Learning and Teaching

Kate Wilson

Deputy Head, Junior School
Preschool – Primary 3

The Senior School Leadership Team

Gordon Boyd

Head of Senior School

Lesley Dorward

Deputy Head, Senior School
Pupil Support

Diane Grant

Deputy Head, Senior School
Learning and Teaching

Richard Travers

Deputy Head, Senior School
Pupil Enrichment

Leigh Harran

Assistant Head, Senior School
Wider Achievement

Fiona Taylor

Assistant Head, Senior School
Academic Achievement

Kenny Thomson

Assistant Head, Senior School
Curriculum and Exams

Governing Council

The Governing Council provides strategic oversight and works with the Principal and her leadership team to develop the medium and long term direction of the School. The Chair is appointed by the Merchant Company Education Board and three other Governors are appointed by the Master’s Court of the Royal Company of Merchants of the City of Edinburgh. The Principal is a member of the Governing Council ex officio whilst other Governors are appointed by co-option based upon the skills and experience that they can bring to the Council.

Much of the work of the Governing Council is undertaken by its committees. They can co-opt additional members who are not Governors to assist their work.

Don Young

Chair of Governing Council and ex officio member of all committees

Dr Michael Carslaw

Chair of Education and Safeguarding Committee

Lee Hamill

Chair of Finance and Property Committee

Frank Ross

Chair of External Relations, Development and Enterprises Committee

Irené Archer

Vice Chair of External Relations, Development and Enterprises Committee

Anna Stamp

Vice Chair of Finance and Property Committee

Sue Woodroofe

Vice Chair of Education and Safeguarding Committee

Linda Fleming

Safeguarding Governor and Member of Education and Safeguarding Committee

Bruce Hunter

Member of Finance and Property Committee

Dominic Fry

Member of External Relations, Development and Enterprises Committee

Nicky Pritchett-Brown

Member of External Relations, Development and Enterprises Committee

Ashlie Turner

Member of Education and Safeguarding Committee

Mark Urquhart

Member of Finance and Property Committee

Other Committee Members