Trustees
Alex Conabeare, Chair
Alex joined the Foundation Trust as a Trustee in May 2024. He has held previous roles as a Director of the Knowledge Schools Trust and chair of the Local Governing Body of the KST London Primary Schools, as well as establishing and supporting the governance in various KST schools.
Alex grew up in London, attending an independent school centrally which gave him a broad and varied education. He studied Physiology and Pharmacology at university in Bristol before returning to London and developing a career in Marketing and Digital across a number of diverse sectors. A father of two, his daughter was a founding pupil at the Earl’s Court Free School Primary and his son now attends West London Free School Secondary. He believes that the principles set out for the schools are very important for the well rounded and confident development of our children.
Kathryn Cooper, Trustee
Kathryn became a trustee of the Knowledge Schools Foundation Trust in October 2018. She was formerly a fundraiser for the Trust, during which time she established and lead a fundraising programme to seek charitable donations and grants from external donors. She is a founder and governor of the West London Free School and a director of the Knowledge Schools Trust. Prior to joining the governing body of the secondary she established, and then chaired the governing body of the West London Free School Primary and The Earl’s Court Free School Primary for three years.
Her career has incorporated roles in marketing and communications across the technology, education sectors and finance services sector.
Susannah Ford, Development Trustee
Susannah Ford became a trustee of the Knowledge Schools Foundation Trust in March 2022. She has more than 25 years of national newspaper experience, as an editor and writer on The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, the Evening Standard and The Sunday Times, where she was Literary Editor and edited the News Review section.
Between 2012 and 2021, she was executive director of the Forward Arts Foundation, the charity responsible for National Poetry Day and the Forward Prizes for Poetry. She is on the board of Modern Poetry in Translation. Born in Wales, she lives in Hammersmith.
s.ford@ks-ft.org
Julian Granville, Trustee
After qualifying as a chartered accountant, Julian Granville worked for Coopers & Lybrand’s management consultancy division in Russia. He joined Boden in June 1995 initially as Finance Director, becoming CEO in 1997 and then Chairman in 2016.
Julian also chairs Monica Vinader, a jewellery business, and sits on the advisory committee of Piper Private Equity
He is a Trustee of Into University, a charity supporting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to attain a university place.
Dee Purdy, Trustee
Dee joined the Foundation Trust in May 2017. She was formerly the Chair of the PTA at West London and Earl’s Court Free School Primaries and established the Schools Enrichment (SEP) Programme which successfully tapped into the skills, time and networks of the parents/ carers to support the schools as they established their enrichment programme in the early years.
Her career has included IT project and process management roles within the international financial sector. In 2018, after 19 years in finance, she left the City to take up a role as senior IT programme manager for her husband’s telecoms software company, Lastmilexchange.
Dee lives in Hammersmith with her husband and two children who both attend West London Free School Primary. She grew up in South Africa where she attended a local school and later did a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts (Hons) degree at the University of Cape Town.
Sharon Robinson, Trustee
Sharon became a trustee of the Knowledge Schools Foundation Trust in September 2023, after several years of working with the trustees to raise funds from grant-giving foundations.
After qualifying as an accountant, she has had a career in finance across a variety of industries including investment banking, travel, food and digital agencies. She now works freelance as a part time Finance Director both to small and medium sized companies and also several charities.
Living in Hammersmith, Sharon has three children who all attend or have attended West London Free School and she is trustee of several local charities. Previously she was a governor at a local primary school and is currently chair and trustee of the Fulham Symphony Orchestra.
Jane Eastwood, Development Manager
Jane Eastwood was appointed Development Manager at the Knowledge Schools Foundation Trust in 2025 alongside her continuing position as Librarian at the West London Free school where she has worked since 2017.
Prior to joining the Knowledge Schools Foundation Trust and the West London Free School, Jane had an extensive and varied career in media and the arts. She spent over 10 years at the BBC in editorial and communication roles across BBC New Media, BBC Television and BBC Music & Arts Publicity and played a key role in raising the profile of the leading arts charity, the Art Fund. Jane joined the Trinity School Book Award Committee in 2023.
For development enquires please contact Jane via foundation@wlfs.org