Chair of Governors
Philip is the immediate past Joint Head of Chambers at 1 King’s Bench Walk in London (2013-2020), having been called to the bar in 1989 and appointed a QC in 2012.
His various professional accolades include being past Secretary, Vice-Chairman and Chairman, and now an Honorary Life Vice President of the Family Law Bar Association and also a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers.
He is also a proud Old Boy of Merchant Taylors’ (1978-1985) and an alumnus of Liverpool University, where he graduated in Law in 1988.
Philip has devoted his time to his former school for many years, serving as President of the Old Boys’ Association, a Trustee of the Merchant Taylors’ Old Boys Charitable Trust and as a Governor, before becoming Chair of Governors in July 2020.
Gareth is an Old Crosbeian (1990-97) and joined the Board of Governors in 2022.
After leaving School, he spent 25 years as a logistics officer in the Royal Navy, serving ashore and afloat all around the world, including in Afghanistan; the Philippines for disaster relief after Typhoon Haiyan; across the Middle East; and a number of tours in Whitehall working closely with HM Treasury and the Foreign Office.
His sea appointments ranged from frigates and destroyers (including taking HMS Dauntless out of build), to time at sea in both US and Italian aircraft carriers, and culminated in being the Commander Logistics of the new aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, leading a team of over 150 logisticians and administrators on board. As a junior officer he read Geography at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge and more recently completed a second MA through King’s College London in Defence Studies.
On leaving the Royal Navy in 2021, Gareth joined John Lyon School in North West London as the Chief Operating Officer before moving on to a similar bursar role at Farleigh School in Hampshire, responsible for the day-to-day running of the school through provision of HR, finance, administration, IT, estates and grounds support.
With many years of experience as an HR Director operating at board level, I have partnered with global brands across both the public and private sectors, nationally and internationally.
I have a proven track record of developing and delivering strategic people initiatives that drive business growth, operational excellence, and organisational performance. I thrive in high-pressure environments and have successfully led complex change programmes, creating synergies across business units while aligning people strategies with commercial objectives.
Passionate about building high-performing teams, I empower individuals to achieve their full potential and foster cultures of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement. I lead with integrity, vision, and a strong commercial mindset, ensuring that people strategies support and enable the organisation’s long-term strategic goals.
Chris retired from policing in February 2026, having served for over 32 years with Merseyside Police. Chris was a career Detective, a senior investigating officer, serving in every rank as an investigator rising to lead the force as Deputy Chief Constable.
Chris is an experienced homicide investigator, an accredited strategic firearms commander, public order commander and mentor to a number of leaders within the organisation.
During his career, Chris spent five years leading the six-force North West Regional Organised Crime Unit & regional specialist policing collaborations and represented the North West region on a number of national policing boards. Chris led three national policing portfolios, including crime recording standards on behalf of the National Police Chiefs Council until his retirement.
Chris has lived, studied and worked in the Merseyside area all his life. He has a BA (Hons) in Geography and having a thirst for continuous improvement he studied for his Master’s degree in leadership whilst serving and in 2019 was selected as the sole UK policing representative, and spent three months attending the FBI National Academy senior leadership programme in Quantico, USA.
In his spare time Chris enjoys all sports, the outdoors and maintains a diminishing desire to run one more marathon. Chris was previously a local primary school governor and has been a governor at Merchant Taylors since 2020.
Matthew attended Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ School between 2002 and 2009 before going on to study Economics & Finance at The University of York. He then qualified as a teacher after completing a PGCE – where he specialised in Mathematics – and later achieved his Masters’ degree in Education whilst working as a primary school teacher in a 4-form entry school in Southport.
Now with over a decade of teaching experience, Matthew is currently the Assistant Headteacher of an ‘Outstanding’ primary school in Formby, where he holds many responsibilities, including Curriculum Leader and Mental Health Lead.
As a result of his enthusiasm and commitment as the Year 6 class teacher in his school, Matthew was awarded, ‘Primary School Teacher of the Year’ by the National Pearson Teaching Awards in 2023 – receiving his award on BBC’s ‘The One Show’. This has since led to him sharing his practice and knowledge with Sefton Council, The Department for Education…and even at 10 Downing Street!
Ian is a managing director of MHP Group, a leading integrated communications company with clients from across every sector, across the world. Before, he was an award-winning political journalist.
Ian advises at a senior level on all aspects of the media, from media relations to corporate reputation, crisis communications and campaigning work. He is also a specialist in integrated accounts that combine all media channels, including advertising, social content, PR and public affairs.
He also specialises in giving practical, strategic advice to chief executives and has advised a wide number of public schools on crisis and reputation issues.
Before joining MHP, Ian was Political Editor at the News of the World for 13 years. During that time, he interviewed four Prime Ministers, covered five wars and won awards for his campaigning journalism. He also advised News Corporation on political, economic and media issues.
He has appeared regularly on television and radio (including Newsnight, Sky News, Dispatches, Panorama and the Today Programme).
Ian began his career at the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo, where he started as a graduate trainee after an MA (Hons) at the University of St Andrews.
Ian is an Old Crosbeian (1980-1991) and now lives in Kent, where he and his partner have four children, but his family is from Crosby and he has close links to the local community.
Simon Krol is a Director at Krol Corlett Construction Group, a leading construction company operating across the North West and beyond.
With extensive experience in the built environment and construction industry, he has helped to deliver a wide range of projects across the education, healthcare, residential, commercial, retail in both the public and private sectors.
As a Governor of Merchant Taylors’ School, Simon serves on the Estates Committee, where he brings his expertise in construction, property, and strategic development to support the School’s estate and long-term planning.
Simon holds a strong commitment to social value and community and serves as an ambassador for the Owen McVeigh Foundation and Liverpool Womens’ Hospital. He is also a Trustee of the Merchant Taylors’ Schools Charity, contributing to the governance and stewardship of the Charity in support of the School’s enduring values and future success.
Jeremy Quartermain holds an MA in History from the University of Cambridge and an M.Phil. in Medieval History from Trinity College, Dublin. Since September 2018, he has been Head of Rossall School in Lancashire. Prior to this he was Deputy Head (Academic) at Brentwood School (2013-18) and Head of Sixth Form at Gresham’s (2010-13). Jeremy has also served as an ISI team inspector and an educator for the Holocaust Educational Trust.
Jeremy has a keen interest in music and enjoys spending time with his family in the Lakes and the west of Ireland.
Jamie is an Old Crosbeian (1992-2007), and since 2022 has been the Managing Director of a leading independent flooring business founded in 1955 and in its third generation of family ownership.
After reading Economics at the University of York, he built his career in London and across Europe — working with organisations, and the people leading them, through growth and transformation. Eleven years at RBS / NatWest Group culminated in senior leadership roles spanning retail, private and business banking, with a consistent focus on business transformation, developing people and building high-performing teams.
As a Liveryman of the Merchant Taylors’ Company in the City of London, he enjoys being engaged in the Company’s educational, mentoring and charitable causes – including supporting young people through seven-year Apprenticeships and development programmes such as the Livery Academy Awards.
Returning as a Governor and Trustee of the Merchant Taylors’ Schools Charity, Jamie chairs our Finance Committee and brings a breadth of commercial and strategic experience to the Board – with a commitment to the School’s enduring success and its purpose to provide a great education for life.
