Clare Shaw

Chair of Governors

Lyndsay Flannigan

Vice Chair of Governors

Glen Bird

Headteacher

I have been a Governor at Berwick Middle School for 11 years and Chair of Governors for the last 6 years.

It was when my children, a boy and girl, attended Berwick Middle School that I took a real interest in trying to understand all aspects of school life 

I moved, with my parents, to Berwick 32 years ago. After finishing school, I qualified as a ski instructor and studied at the Sorbonne in Paris before furthering my education at Manchester University where I studied International Hotel Management.  

My working background is in hospitality and customer service. I started within the travel industry and then, after having both children, I worked for Berwick Borough Council, which then became Northumberland County Council. I worked within the Licensing Department and then as a Training Officer for Customer Service personnel. This role meant I travelled throughout the county.  My focus, has always been to be passionate in giving staff the correct tools and knowledge to enable them to strive and succeed in giving the best service to the residents of Northumberland. 

 As a Governor I have gained extensive knowledge in many aspects of education. New challenges are continually being faced and training is delivered to ensure that these are adequately addressed. My strengths lie within finance - budget setting and monitoring, Human Resources, Safeguarding and Leadership and Management. This includes the staffs’ Health and Wellbeing. I am a very ‘hand on’ Chair, who enjoys getting involved with all aspects of governance.

My passion for Berwick Middle School and all that it stands for is evident. We have great staff and amazing pupils and it is a pleasure and an honour to be involved with the school.

I have been a governor at Berwick Middle School since 2015 and have always been involved with the resources committee, which I have chaired for the last 4 years.  I have a degree in business studies and have worked in the finance sector since leaving university.  Although the school finances and staffing are where my main skills lie, I am currently also the safeguarding governor and have previously been pupil premium governor.

I currently have 2 children who attend Berwick Middle School and one who is now at Berwick Academy so I understand what is important to the pupils and parents.  I believe that all the children who attend our school should achieve their full potential and should get every opportunity to enable them to do this.

My name is Glen Bird and I am very proud to be Headteacher at Berwick Middle School.  I started my first year at BMS in 2008 and it’s been an absolute privilege to be a member of the teaching team and then the leadership team since then.  My specialist subjects are Maths and PE and I have previously held the roles of Head of Maths, Assistant Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher.

I am passionate about all areas of the curriculum as a way of developing children's curiosity of the world around them.  I am also committed to developing and supporting children's mental and emotional wellbeing (especially after lockdown) and their growth mindset to ensure each child reaches their potential and finds their own way to shine - whatever this may look like.

Away from the school I’m kept entertained by my two young boys, and I am happiest when I'm outdoors, being active or cooking in the kitchen. I enjoy a wide variety of sports and have represented Berwick across a few.  Although my body is now too old for rugby I still play cricket for Berwick each Summer.  I’ve been very lucky to have travelled to a lot of places around the world but during the holidays it is usually the North West of Scotland with my family which has become like a second home.

Nicholas Shaw

Gillian Osborne

Associate Governor

Paul Rosie

I have been actively involved with Berwick Middle School since I started my teaching career at the school in 1999.  I happily worked at the school until 2017 and in my time was lucky enough to lead in a variety of different subject areas and pastoral roles until eventually becoming the school’s Deputy Head Teacher in 2015.  I was the school’s staff governor for many years and was fortunate that when I moved to my new role as Head Teacher of Holy Trinity Church of England First School I was able to continue to be part of the school community.  Working as a partnership of schools is a vital part of education and as the Head Teacher of one of the feeder schools to Berwick Middle, it is a pleasure to be involved in the next stage of education for my school’s children. 

I enjoy the opportunity of continuing to work with a set of staff whom I trusted and respected and to support a school that I believe in.  Both my children now attend the school and I have taken on the role as parent governor.  This role brings with it a new perspective and I strive to represent parents’ views at our Governing Body meetings.  I hope that my experience and knowledge of education in our area can enable me to help support my fellow governors, the senior leadership team and the Berwick Middle Community as a whole.

I am currently Deputy Head & SENDCo at Berwick Middle School and have been a music teacher for 20+ years in a variety of schools both in this country and overseas.

I have a stepson who is 22, currently travelling the world, and my son is 12 and a pupil at Berwick Middle so I have a genuine interest in the development of the school both as a parent and teacher.  This is my first time being a school governor and I am really looking forward to becoming more involved in school life.

I graduated in 1995 from The Northern College, Aberdeen with a B.Ed (Hons) in Music and began my teaching career working in a variety of Primary Schools throughout Fife, Scotland. In 1997 I moved to New Zealand to work, travel and experience a completely different way of life. After moving back to the UK I worked in a secondary school near Salisbury where I was Head of Music, Head of Year 7 and Key Stage 3 Coordinator. In 2003 I moved to Washington DC to be Head of Music at The British School of Washington. This was an amazing opportunity to travel, meet people from all over the world whilst continuing my teaching career within the British curriculum.

I moved back to the UK in 2007 and now live with my husband, boys and dog in Foulden, Berwickshire.

Governor Meetings - Attendance Record

2024 - 2025

2023 - 2024