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OR Committee

Aims of the Committee

The OR Committee consists of representatives from across the alumni community representing differing age groups, genders and interests. The ORs are very much an integral part of the wider Reed’s School community, and as such, the Headmaster, Bursar and members of the Development team also sit on the Committee.

Working closely with a team in the Development Office, the Committee aims to:

Help ORs keep in touch with each other and the School.
Organise and promote events and activities that will benefit both ORs and the School which are appropriate to all ages and geographical regions.
Support and uphold the ethos and traditions of the School.
Encourage our ORs to become involved with the Committee's various sports clubs - cricket, hockey, rugby and golf.
Promote networking among ORs and the broader Reed's community.

OR Constitution

To view a copy of the OR Committee Constitution, please click here.

OR Committee profiles

Marcus Baker (Mullens 1980), OR President & Chair of OR Committee

Marcus took over the Presidency of the Old Reedonians from Nigel Taunt in September 2018 and is also the most recent member of our Board of Governors.

An Old Reedonian, he studied Business at Hertfordshire University before embarking on his insurance career in the early 1980s. By 1994, Marcus was Divisional Director, Marine and Energy division at Johnson and Higgins which was acquired by Marsh and McLennan in 1996. Marcus continued his ascension within Marsh and McLennan becoming CEO Marine London between 2004 and 2014, Deputy CEO Marine and Energy London from 2006 to 2008, CEO Marine and Energy EMEA from 2008 to 2009 to his present position of Chairman of the Global Marine Practice in 2009. Marcus is also a Pensions Fund Trustee for Marsh and McLennan and a member of the Marsh Presidents Council since 2015.

He is married with one son, who is now also an OR, as a 2019 leaver.

Justyn Herbert (Capel 1983), Vice President ORs & OR Committee member

After leaving Reed’s School in 1983, Justyn studied hotel management at Westminster College. He now works for Small Luxury Hotels of the World as the global Human Resources Director and also Finance & Commercial Director for its sister company, Luxury Hotel Partners, which manages deluxe hotels including the world-renowned Marbella Club. He started his career at The Savoy Hotel and has worked in many boutique luxury hotels including The Ritz, as well as on several projects in countries across Europe and Africa.

Justyn is a governor of a primary school in Tooting which is a member of the Reed’s School Primary Forum. He also sits on the board of a hospitality professional association and was on the steering group for a hospitality charity.

He is married with two children and lives in south-west London.

Roger Mew (Bristowe 1959), OR Committee member

At the age of five, Roger became a boarder at Andrew Reed’s Royal Wanstead School. Having passed the 11+, he transferred with nine others to Cobham in 1953. Roger enjoyed his time at Reed's, representing the School at boxing and performing in concerts on piano and clarinet. He was Secretary of the Woodwind Orchestra, a member of the Choir, the Jazz Club, the Cycling Club and a Corporal in CCF.

Roger left Reed’s in 1959 and, after travelling and working in Europe, finally settled down in the financial world eventually to become a tax consultant, which still occupies him on a part-time, freelance basis. Passions include classic cars and travel, having visited around 30 countries.

As a volunteer Roger helps disabled children ride horses and dabbles in painting in water colours and DIY generally. He continues to immensely enjoy the renewed friendships of ORs, running the online 1950s Forum of about 60 ORs and attending as many OR events as possible.

In 2016 the Governors invited Roger to become a Vice President of Reed’s in recognition of his long-standing support of the School.

Andy Wotton (Mullens 1975), OR Committee member

After leaving Reed’s in 1975, Andy joined National Westminster Bank and essentially had two careers with the organisation. The first lasted for twelve years in what would now be considered ‘traditional branch banking’. The second was in Training & Development where, for the next eighteen years, he undertook and managed every aspect of adult learning and development, enjoying every moment of it.

Andy married Judy in 1981 and they have two grown up children and four grandchildren.

Since retiring, Andy has been instrumental in researching the School's history and discovering many interesting people who helped shape its future. The outcome of all this endeavour has been by way of contributions to the Reed's Heritage website and being appointed Vice President of the School.

Jerry Ross (Mullens 2008), OR Committee member

Having joined Reed's Sixth Form in 2006, Jerry felt immediately welcomed into the School community and with her general 'fear of missing out', she took up just about everything possible, including a new-found love for hockey.

Jerry left Reed's two years later with lifelong friends. She went on to Oxford Brookes to continue her studies in English Literature and Geography and continuing to play hockey.

Jerry joined the public sector as an Intelligence Researcher within law enforcement and found a real love for the industry. After five years of development, Jerry joined the private security sector which has opened up new opportunities and challenges.

Jerry joined the OR Committee five years ago to keep engaged with those still at Reed’s and reconnect with those who left in the latter days of the 'noughties'. Over this time, she has been delighted to see the growing number of young alumni engaged with the OR and School community.

Sam Brandon (Capel 2008), OR Committee member

Sam left Reed's in 2008 to study Sports Marketing & PR at Leeds Beckett University. He went on to specialise in social media, becoming Head of Social Media at Liverpool Football Club in 2015 then Frisson Creative Agency in 2017.

During the pandemic, in 2020, Sam turned his passion for cricket into his own business, Buffalo Cricket, selling high quality and engraved cricket equipment.

Sam lives in London with his wife and family.

Nick Gray (Blathwayt 1993), OR Committee member

Nick studied Management & Marketing of Textiles at Manchester University (UMIST) after leaving Reed's 1993. There he met Laura and the couple have now been very happily married for 16 years. They have two children and live in Guildford.

After university, Nick worked in Fashion PR, joining Ben Sherman, the clothing company which, at the time, had a London office of just seven people. He was there for nearly three years, travelling the world and heading up the marketing team as the company went from success to success. After Ben Sherman, he moved to a creative agency called Live & Breathe, where he has been for 18 years and is now one of the two owners with 85 staff across three offices.

Nick played a lot of sport during and after Reed’s and is now suffering the consequences with permanent injuries, banishing him to running, swimming and cycling!

Rosie Pidgeon (Blathwayt 2015), OR Committee member

As one of our newest Committee members, Rosie hopes to particularly engage the more recent members of the OR community.

Leaving Reed’s in 2015 as Mark Hoskins’s first-appointed School Captain, Rosie set off to ski the Three Valleys but returned to education to study Economics at Bath University. Alongside her studies, Rosie has been fortunate to gain professional experience on the Lloyds Banking Group Scholarship Programme and as an Industrial Placement student within IT Transformation at PA Consulting.

Mark Hoskins (Headmaster), Reed's School

Mark was educated at Gowerton School and at the University of Nottingham where he read Economics. After working briefly for the Civil Service as an economist, he studied for his PGCE at the University of London and then entered the teaching profession. Mark has a Master’s degree in Education from the University of London and a Master’s degree in Applied Economics from SOAS, University of London.

Before joining Reed's in 2014, Mark was previously Second Master (Senior Deputy Head) at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, and before that was Head of Middle School and Head of Economics and Business Studies at Whitgift School.

With his wife, Sharon, and their two children, Mark is loving being part of the Reed’s community and working with governors, staff, parents, pupils and Old Reedonians to continue to build on Reed’s School’s many successes.

Lucy Hurford (Bursar), Reed's School

Lucy was educated at St Teresa’s School, Ruskin University and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge where she read Geography and studied for her PGCE before entering the teaching profession.

She taught at Seaford Head Community College and Chichester High School for Boys before joining Hewlett Packard to train as a management accountant. She then started a career as Bursar at Ripley Court School in 2008 before joining Reed’s as Bursar & Secretary to the Governors in January 2013.

Lucy married Ed in 1998 and they have three children. Both their boys currently attend Reed’s and are thriving from its excellent education and pastoral care.

Kathryn Bartram (Development & External Relations Director), Reed’s School

Kathryn lives close to the School with husband Jacob and their children, the eldest of whom joined Reed's in the Close in 2018.

Kathryn graduated from Colby College in Maine, where she earned a double degree in Economics and Mathematics. During this time she also spent one year at the London School of Economics reading Statistics and Mathematics.

After her undergraduate years, Kathryn worked for the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston as a research assistant in the financial markets sector. She then gained an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and, in 2000, moved to the UK as a management consultant with McKinsey & Co, focusing on branding and marketing. Kathryn then joined Citigroup as their Head of Product for Credit Cards. In between Citigroup and Reed’s School she founded her own business in the wholesale distribution sector.

Sharmaine Matthews (Head of Alumni & Community Relations), Reed’s School

Sharmaine's career started in international development aid followed by 25 years working in corporate communications, marketing and PR mainly in the media and broadcasting world with the likes of Thames Television, Sky and Capital Radio. She joined Reed's in 2008 to start the alumni relations function.

She is passionate about her role to continue to build strong relationships between the School and our amazing OR community for the mutual benefit of both parties. In addition, with her third-sector experience, she feels honoured to be able to support the work of the Reed’s Foundation in marketing and fundraising for this wonderful charity.

Married to Peter, they have four children, two of whom are Old Reedonians, leaving in 2016 and 2019. Both have thrived in this wonderful environment and Sharmaine is delighted to know that theirs and her association with the School will be lifelong.

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