Former mayor retires as chair of governors of Hove school

A former mayor of Brighton and Hove is stepping down as the chairman of the board of governors at Blatchington Mill School.

Jenny Barnard-Langston first became involved with the Hove secondary school when she chaired the East Sussex County Council Education Committee.

Six of the thirty teenagers that she fostered went to the school.

Mrs Barnard-Langston joined the board of governors body 24 years ago and has since become the chairman of governors, working with three head teachers at the school.

She said: “After many years at the school the time is right to move on and with the recent examination results I am leaving on a high.

Jenny Barnard-Langston

“My journey with the school has been an exciting and sometimes turbulent one. It has often been hard work and at times it has sapped my energy.

“However, there is no doubt in my mind that working with a team of governors to create an environment where learning is purposeful and each student has the opportunity to achieve their potential has been one of the most rewarding roles that I have undertaken.

“I am extremely proud to have overseen the continued success of such a popular oversubscribed school and where only last year we attracted Olympic hockey medallists to open the two new and hard-fought-for all-weather pitches.”

“I am continuing in a governance role. I have recently been designated National Leader for Governance and I am currently chairing the governing body of a local primary school.

“I am passionate about education and that youngsters across the city should have equity and that the quality offered in the city schools offer every child the chance to thrive and to reach their targets – nothing less will do.”

Mrs Barnard-Langston chairs the governors at Benfield Primary School in Portslade.

As a councillor, she served as a councillor for 20 years as a member of East Sussex County Council, Hove Borough Council and Brighton and Hove City Council.

She was the mayor of Brighton and Hove in 1999. Since then she has become a magistrate and a trustee of the Tony Barnard Foundation, a charity which was set up in memory of her husband Mark’s father.

She chaired the governors at Patcham High School, in Brighton, Somerhill Junior School, in Hove, and Cuckmere House School in Seaford.

She has also served as a governor at Davigdor Infant School and Hove Park School, in Hove, and she chaired the corporation board of Lewes Tertiary College, now Sussex Downs College.