Please find below details of how our Governing body is structured, including the names, categories, responsibilities and terms of appointment for each Governor.

Contact can be made with the Chair person, Mrs Sarah Bysouth, via the school office or by email. Please mark any correspondence clearly 'for the attention of the Chair of Governors' and address to Cottesmore Academy, Kendrew Barracks, Cottesmore LE15 7BA. Email communication should be sent to cottesmoreoffice@rltschools.com

Chair - Sarah Bysouth

I joined the Governing Body in September 2014 and led the process for the school to join the Rutland Learning Trust. I have a long standing interest in education and want every child to achieve their full potential in a high quality and continuously improving environment.It is the governor's role to challenge the school to perform to the best of its ability whilst also supporting the school in planning for the future.During my working life, I enjoyed a successful nursing career, followed by working in the community as a Health Visitor. This was followed by a career in teaching then developing into training Early Years, Post 16 and Adult Training. My final role was as Head of Service for Learning and Skills for a local authority with responsibility for education including Early, Primary, Secondary, Post 16 and Adult Education.I have lived in Rutland for many years and have had a close association with the school and feel privileged to work alongside colleagues in developing the school further.

Dominic Evans 

Mark Fisher 

I joined Cottesmore Academy on the Inspiring Governance program in 2020, I have been educated to Masters Level and my background is in Engineering and Occupational Science. 

I believe giving children the very best start to their education is fundamental in a school environment, and I hope to to bring my skills and experience to the Governing team and achieve the very best for the children at our School.

Carole East 

Having achieved my P.G.C.E. in Primary Education at Goldsmiths College, my 47 year teaching career has spanned Primary, Further, Adult and Higher Education and the Prison Service. Along the way, I gained a Masters in Continuing Education at Leicester University and a Ph.D. on the impact of mental health difficulties on teaching and learning. I was the Senior Disability Adviser at the University of Nottingham,  supporting students across the range of impairments as well as the staff who taught and worked with them. My primary focus during my career at Nottingham moved from Specific Learning Differences to mental health and autism and, since my retirement in 2019,  I have been volunteering with, and advising, Resilient Rutland, a Lottery funded project promoting resilience and mental health and wellbeing across Rutland schools. I have a lifelong passion for teaching and learning and feel privileged to be able offer my support to Cottesmore Academy in my role as Governor.

Andrew Dowsett

I recently moved to Rutland from Birmingham to take up my current post as Head of Modern Languages at Uppingham.  Prior to this I taught in Solihull and held a number of additional roles, latterly as the Head of Academic Administration, responsible for the full 4-18 timetable and central reporting system.  It was through my involvement in this that I became increasingly involved with staff resource planning, curriculum design and whole-school logistics. As a linguist, it comes as no surprise that I feel strongly about increasing pupils’ access to language learning.  Modern languages are oft neglected areas of the curriculum, yet they are essential to instilling a sense of global citizenship and cultural understanding in young people today.  My second passion is music, and I am always delighted to listen to pupils perform.  All children should have equal access to individual instrumental tuition in my view, but sadly this is not always the case.  I believe that we need to do more to foster the creative arts here in the UK. When I am not planning and marking, or playing the piano, you will probably find me out and about walking and enjoying the wonderful scenery the local countryside has to offer.  It is a real privilege to live in such a beautiful part of the country.

Sara Crosbie 

My family moved to Cottesmore after my husband was posted to 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment in the summer of 2023. 

I work as an Account Manager within the Automotive Industry, but have an invested interest in Primary Level education, and especially the emotional support and SEN provisions within schools. 

As a military wife and a mother to 2 young children, I know how important it is for military families to have exceptional continuity of support and education for their children in the school setting. These families face a unique set of challenges when it comes to relocations, parents being deployed and the general unpredictability of military life. 

I'm therefore very excited to join the Governors at Cottesmore Academy as the Parent Governor, to bring a parental and military perspective to the conversations. I look forward to supporting the school while they continue to provide the very best care and education for these amazing, resilient children.