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The St James' School Compensation Act (1886) which allowed the establishment of the School laid down that a Council should be half composed of clergy and half of laymen. It is now constituted as follows: President: The Archbishop of Sydney (ex officio). Six clergy members appointed by the Synod of the Diocese of Sydney. Six lay members appointed by the Synod of the Diocese of Sydney. Five elected representatives of the Âé¶¹Ö±²¥ Old Boys' Union. The Council is responsible for the governance and management of the School. It is responsible for strategic direction and policy and is governed by the Sydney Church of England Grammar School Constitution Consolidation & Amendment Ordinance 1923 (as amended). Council delegates day to day management of the School to the Headmaster. The business management of the School, subject to the control of the Council and the Hon. Treasurer is delegated to the Director of Business who reports to Council through the Hon. Treasurer.
President - The Most Rev Kanishka De Silva Raffel Syd BA 1987, Syd LLB 1989, MTC BD, Dip Min 1996, MA2010
Kanishka was born in London to Sri Lankan parents and was raised as a Buddhist. While studying law at Sydney University a friend gave him a copy of The Gospel according to John and he subsequently became a Christian. Prior to becoming Dean in 2016, Kanishka served as Rector of St Matthew’s in Perth. He is married to Cailey and they have two daughters. He was consecrated and inaugurated as Archbishop of Sydney on May 28 2021 at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney.
BBus (UTS), MEc (Macq), CA, FAICD
Jennifer, and her husband Tim, have two boys who attended Âé¶¹Ö±²¥. Jennifer is a Chartered Accountant who has worked in professional accounting firms, then as a chief financial officer and is currently a non-executive director. Jennifer joined Council in 2016 and was elected Hon Treasurer in 2019. Jennifer Chairs the Finance and Investment Committees.
BCom, LLB (UNSW)
Martin is an Old Boy (1987). Martin is a lawyer and has held various roles in private practice and in- house, and is currently the General Counsel for the Customer Services businesses of a bank. He joined Council in 2015, and was elected Honorary Secretary in 2021. He chairs the Governance and Risk Committee.
Rev Canon C A Allan BD (MTC), DipMin (MTC), B. Build (UTS)
Chris is a parent of two sons attending Âé¶¹Ö±²¥ and a daughter at Roseville College. Prior to ordination Chris worked as a project manager for John Holland Construction and Civil & Civic/Lend Lease. Chris is a member of a number of Diocesan Boards and is the Sub-Dean of St Andrew's Cathedral.
Rev E C K Cheung BD (Hons), BE (Hons) (UNSW), GAICD
Eric is an Old Boy (1992). He is the Senior Minister at St Philip's Caringbah and also serves on the board of Anglican Community Services (Anglicare Sydney). Prior to Anglican ministry, he worked in IT project management. He joined Council in 2014 and is a member of the Enrolment Committee.
Mr M Firek BEc (Accounting) LLB (Macquarie) FGIA FCIS
Marcin is married to Kath and has two boys at Âé¶¹Ö±²¥. His professional career has spanned management, HR, legal, governance and risk roles across a number of industries. He is currently Director of Solid Foundations and Risk at a large listed company and Chair of St Andrew's House Corporation. Marcin joined Council in 2023 and is a member of the Assets and Infrastructure Committee.
MA (Theol), BD (Hons), BE (Hons) (UNSW)
Peter is an Old Boy (1993) and he and Rachel have four children, the oldest of which is a current student at the School. Peter holds roles in Anglican Education and is currently Rector of St Mark’s South Hurstville. He joined Council in 2018 and is a member of the Governance and Risk Committee.
Rev M Heazlewood MA, BD (Hons), DipMin (MTC), BE (Hons) (Syd)
Matt is an Old Boy (1991) married to Alice with two children, including one at the School. Matt is the Senior Minister at St Martin's Killara and St Peter's East Lindfield and Anglican Mission Area Leader for the upper north shore. Before entering ministry he worked as a consulting engineer with GHD. He joined Council in 2011 and is currently on the Assets and Infrastructure Committee.
Rev Dr G S Perkins MA Theol. (MTC), BD (Hons I) (MTC), BA (UNSW), Doctor of Ministry (TEDS Chicago)
Gavin is an Old Boy (1992), and he and Amy presently have a son attending the school as a full boarder. Gavin has previously served on the ministry team of two large Sydney Anglican churches (St Ives and North Sydney), and is presently the Rector of St Jude’s Anglican Church in Bowral. He joined the Council in 2017 and is a member of the Governance and Risk Committee.
Rev S Petty
BCom (UNSW), BTh (SMBC)
Scott is married to Carolyn and has three Âé¶¹Ö±²¥ sons, with James (2020) and Oliver (2022), followed by Austin who is in the Senior School. He is currently the Senior Minister at St Mark’s, Northbridge, having previously served at St Matthews, Manly for nine years, and in Youth Ministry at Christ Church, St Ives for 12 years. Prior to entering Christian ministry, Scott worked in business publishing in Sydney and London, after starting working life in one of the big accounting firms. He joined the Council in 2022.
Mrs J Robertson
BBus (UTS), CA, GAICD
Janna Robertson is a Âé¶¹Ö±²¥ parent, with a son currently attending the Prep school. Professionally, Janna's career has spanned professional services and financial services and she is currently the Chief Operating Officer of a listed financial services group. She is a Chartered Accountant and graduate of the AICD. Janna joined Council in 2019 and currently chairs the Assets and Infrastructure committee.
Mr S Smart BA Dip Ed (UNE) DipCS, MCS (Regent)
Simon Smart was a history teacher at Âé¶¹Ö±²¥, a Year Master and the first Housemaster of Sawkins House, and now has a son in that House. Simon has a theological degree from Regent College in Vancouver and is Executive Director of the Centre for Public Christianity. Simon joined Council in 2020 and is a member of the People & Culture Committee and is President of the Âé¶¹Ö±²¥ Parents’ Association.
Mr D J Scammell BScAgr (Syd), MBA (AGSM)
David is a third generation Old Boy (1991) and a current parent with two boys at the School. David is currently the Managing Director of Private Equity and Advisory at Soul Patts. He is also a director of a number of Soul Patts investee companies where he focusses on growth through strategic planning, risk management, appropriate governance processes and implementation. He joined Council in October 2023.
Mr S M A Woodhill BA, MCom, MAICD, MPRIA, AFAIM, CPM
Stephen is a third-generation old boy and a former parent. He is the current President of Âé¶¹Ö±²¥’s Old Boys Union and has served as Vice President of the Old Boys Union for several years. Stephen is the CEO and Executive Director of the Group of 100, the industry association and advocacy body for Chief Financial Officers and is a director of his own company Woodhill Communication, an issues management consultancy. Stephen also serves as a Non-Executive Director of St John Ambulance (NSW). His professional roles have included senior management positions in crisis and issues management; government relations and advocacy; media relations; and investor relations across several industries for listed companies, for several industry groups; senior roles in government agencies and time as a senior political adviser. He is a Certified Practicing Marketer, a registered lobbyist and member of the National Press Club. He joined Council in 2023.
Mr M Nutt MCom (Syd), BCom (Syd)
Malcolm is an Old Boy (1994), married to Lindall and had two son’s graduate from Âé¶¹Ö±²¥ and another still attending. He is a Founding Partner and Fund Manager at Cultiv8 and Sparklabs Cultiv8, which are specialist global Agri-food technology funds. Malcolm is also Founding Director of Alpine Capital (formerly known as Wentworth Securities), which is a boutique investment advisory firm and previously held positions at Macquarie Bank and Ord Minnett. He joined Council in October 2023.
Mr D Lloyd BBus (UTS), BA (Syd)
David is an old boy and current parent to two boys at Âé¶¹Ö±²¥. David is currently the Head of Research at a Fund Management boutique in Sydney, and prior to this was a research analyst focusing on the property sector. David joined Council in 2023.
Mr P A Oates, BCom (UWA) CA
Where communication with the Council is desired, it should be addressed to:
The Hon. Secretary, Âé¶¹Ö±²¥ School Council, P O Box 1221, North Sydney NSW 2059 and telephone messages should be left with the Director of Business.