Senior Leadership Team
Stuart Nicholson Principal
Mr Nicholson has wide-ranging experience in the education sector in the UK, including 18 years variously as teacher, housemaster, and headmaster at schools in Devon, Edinburgh, and Suffolk.
A graduate of the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Edinburgh, Mr Nicholson also holds the National Professional Qualification for Headship and serves as a team inspector for the Independent Schools’ Inspectorate.
His teaching experience at A-level covers Physics, Business Studies, and Accounting. Outside the classroom he represented university sides at cricket and squash. Latterly he has taken up jogging and he enjoys driving his 1966 Riley Elf.
Colin Jarman Deputy Principal
Having studied at the original Teacher Training College in the UK, Colin went on to do a degree with the Open University whilst teaching in the state sector for 17 years. During this time he taught Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Maths to A-level and occupied all levels of responsibility, including Headship, within the sector. He also organised courses on teaching and management within schools.
Attracted by the educational philosophy of CCSS, Colin joined the organisation in its early years and has played his full part in helping shape it into the successful college it now is. As a Vice Principal Colin has the overall responsibility for timetabling, examinations, staff mentoring and a range of other administrative duties within the College, although he still enjoys teaching his favourite subject of Physics to upper-sixth and one-year students. He enjoys the cultural mix at CCSS and still has contact with students he taught when he started at the College.
Colin has been seen not only in the formal setting but also dressed in various sized dresses and different coloured wigs as he helps students and staff at CCSS to raise money for a variety of charities - he could never be accused of taking himself too seriously.
A proud family man, Colin is also a keen photographer and gardener and a dab hand at DIY. He enjoys travelling, history (especially visiting historic houses), is a fan of Monet and Renoir, and is always willing to try new challenges.
Denise Hammersley Vice Principal (Pastoral)
Denise studied Mathematics and Physical Education at Loughborough University. She spent time travelling with her husband in Asia and South America before returning to the UK to continue her teaching career.
Denise has taught mathematics in a variety of schools ranging from a girls grammar school, a boarding school and a large International school in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Her most recent post was as the Deputy Head of a North London school
where she furthered her academic career by completing the National Qualification for Headship as well as becoming a team inspector for the Independent Schools’ Inspectorate.
Outside of school Denise continues to enjoy sport, knitting and travelling with her family.
Chris Forte Bursar
After a successful early career in private catering Chris joined the RAF in his mid thirties. During and after Gulf War 1 he took part in operational deployments in the Middle East and in humanitarian operations in Turkey and in Somalia, a period he describes as 'quite scary'. Back at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire, he led a squadron of 300 whose achievements included winning the Jolliffe Trophy, awarded for the best catering in the RAF.
Promotion to Deputy Director followed and in 1999 he became the Deputy Commander at RAF Brampton. There he managed a resource budget of £34 million per year but claims that the principles of sound financial management are the same whether you are dealing in 4-figure or 7-figure sums.
An enthusiastic 'joiner-in', Chris has turned his hand to a range of things over the years including playing bass guitar in a local band in his early teens and racing sports cars at Club level in his twenties (he held a class lap record at Brands Hatch for a year). His enduring passion however has been rugby and on retiring from the game he continued as Director of Marketing with the RAF Rugby Union. He also enjoys cricket and golf and most other sports, albeit as a spectator these days. Chris has a lifelong interest in history which he puts down to his early exposure to his Italian heritage, and he enjoys opera and books.
Chris has two children from his first marriage and added a further three step-children when he married Karen in 1999.
