Senior Staff

Debbie Isaachsen, Headteacher

Debbie Isaachsen joined The Downs as Headteacher in September 2020, having previously been Head at Heatherton School in Buckinghamshire. Debbie has a passion for teaching and learning and enjoys teaching across many of the year groups. Married to Alex, Head of Computing at the school, they have two teenage children and enjoy travelling and playing Pickleball in their spare time.

Imogen Payne, Deputy Head Academic

Imogen Payne joined The Downs for a term’s maternity cover in 2008 as a Year 4 teacher. She is now the Deputy Head Academic and still enjoys teaching many year groups across the school. She is a mum of 3 girls, and Imogen is most often found on the side of a cricket pitch supporting her children and husband as they represent the many teams they play for. Imogen loves trips to the theatre and spectating sports.

Oliver Elliott, Deputy Head Pastoral

Oliver Elliott studied for a BSc at Cardiff University before serving in the Royal Navy and then moving into teaching. He started his teaching career as a maths and PE teacher and has worked in four different independent schools both in England and overseas, boarding and day schools before joining The Downs as Deputy Head Pastoral in September 2022. Prior to The Downs Oliver gained experience as Director of Sport and Head of Seniors. He is hugely passionate about sport and competes in a range of sports whenever family life with two energetic young boys allows and is an avid cricket fan.

Jonathan Barclay, Director of Strategy & Integration

Jon is Bursar and Clerk to our Governors, and bring extensive experience in consultancy, financial services and organisation change to The Downs and wider Pembroke Education group. Before joining The Downs in 2021, he led major operational and transformational programmes at TSB Bank, following senior roles with Lloyds Banking Group and the Boston Consulting Group. Jon began his career with Accenture after after studying Law at the University of Cambridge.

Michael Stewart, Director of Finance

A qualified Chartered Accountant for over twenty-five years, Michael trained with an international accountancy firm in London, where he became a Partner, specialising in advising international entrepreneurial businesses and charities. Since moving to Bristol in 2009, he has worked at a senior level within the independent education sector before joining Clifton High School in 2019 to oversee the school's finances and IT.

Louise Brennan, Estates and Operations Director

Louise trained in Commercial Business Management and, together with over twenty years of experience managing international commercial teams, provides essential services and leadership required for teaching and learning from Early Years to Sixth Form.

Peter Bodkin, Chair of Governors

Peter brings extensive educational leadership experience to his role as Pembroke Group Chair of Governors. After studying Botany at St Andrews and completing a PhD in Freshwater Ecology, he taught at Bradfield College before becoming Head of Tettenhall College for 16 years, including serving as Chair of The Society of Heads. He later became General Secretary of the Society, working closely with Heads and Governors, and served on the Board of Independent Schools Council.

Now a Senior Advisor with RSAcademics, a mentor to new Heads and the current Chair of Nailsworth Town Council, Peter has been a Clifton High Governor since 2016, and now Chairs the combined Pembroke Education Governors.

Jo Oliver

Jo is an employment lawyer and partner at VWV. She has worked with education clients for over a decade, helping schools to successfully navigate complex employment issues, meet their regulatory obligations and promote positive cultures in relation to EDI and safeguarding. Jo joined the Board of The Downs in 2022. She sits on the Pastoral and Estates & General Purposes Committees.

Rachel Thornton

A Governor at The Downs since 2004, Rachel sits on the Estates & General Purposes (E&GP) Committee, Commercial Enterprises Committee, and Chairs the Nursery Committee where she is a Director of Downs School Enterprises Limited. Rachel also oversees the Health & Safety arrangements at The Downs, reporting into the wider E&GP Committee. Her working life has been with two PLCs, HAT Group PLC and then with MITIE Group PLC, the UK’s leading facilities management company where she was Head of Central Services responsible for a wide range of company aspects including property, insurance and transport. On leaving MITIE, she became self employed and now manages property for a range of business and private owners.

Robert Narracott

Raised and educated in the West Country, where Robert's father practiced as an Architect, Robert gained his degrees and qualified as an Architect from the University of Wales in Cardiff.

In 1980, Robert spent five years working alongside his father at his Architectural Practice in Devon. During this time, he married Sian, and they had a son, Alex. In 1985, they relocated to Bristol, where Robert founded his own Architectural Practice, and during this time they welcomed daughter Zara to their family.

Robert's practice, NOMA Architects Limited, has grown to have three Directors, but since 2017, he has been gradually stepping back, and whilst he is no longer a Director, he is retained as a consultant, working part-time. Reducing his working hours has allowed him the opportunity to offer his skills on various committees where his experience is proving invaluable. In this vein, Robert the Clifton High School Council 2019 and sits on the Finance and General Purposes Committee.

Jessica Jenkins

Jessica and her family moved to Bristol in 2016 and were welcomed by Clifton High School. Jessica was appointed a Parent Governor at the end of 2020.

Jessica is a Consultant Clinical Oncologist, having trained at The Royal Marsden Hospital in London and working as a Consultant in Kent before taking up her current Consultancy post at the Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre.

Jessica has actively worked as part of the Senior Leadership Team within University Hospitals Bristol and Weston (UHBW) NHS Foundation Trust, was 100k Genomes Project Oncology Lead and worked closely within the UHBW Digital Team to create and implement Electronic Patient Records.

Jessica's key interests are safeguarding, student and staff wellbeing and positive mental health. She also encourages the innovative use of digital tools and technologies, as we prepare our pupils for life practices beyond School.

Paula Shore

Before joining Bath and Wells Multi Academy Trust as an Assistant Director for Education, Paula was a school advisor in Bracknell Forest Council. Before this, she was a headteacher in four different counties and later an executive headteacher overseeing five primary schools in Bristol. During her school leadership career, she attained both the NPQH and NPQEL.

With a passion for learning and developing opportunities, she has recently been awarded an MBA in Educational Leadership. She remains a member of the Chartered Management Institute and the Chartered College of Teaching. Having worked across several educational sectors both in England and overseas, including Children's Centres, Universities, faith-based and community primary schools and three all-through schools, she continues to develop an understanding of how education addresses the diverse needs of its communities.

Paula joined the Council of Governors at Clifton High School in December 2023 and also sits on the Education Committee.

Toby Mullins

Toby has recently retired after 27 years of school Headship in a wide variety of different settings. He started his career in boarding schools, where he was a Housemaster at Framlingham College, before his promotion to Deputy Head at Churcher's College. His first Headship was at Seaford College in West Sussex. A three-year spell in the Midlands as Executive Principal running two large secondary academies, in deprived areas, was followed by three shorter spells setting up and running schools in the 'for profit' sector.

He has a degree in Economics from Leeds and an MBA from London Business school, where he specialised in leadership, new venture development, managing change and project management. He is also a qualified Executive Coach and works with clients from both the business and educational sectors. He was an ISI inspector for twenty years from 2004 and carried out both compliance and educational quality inspections.

Toby has been both the Chairman of the Society of Heads and also of the ISC. He is an experienced board member, having served on seven school governing boards, both state and independent, and is one of the the trustees at The Children's Trust, a major charity for children with acquired brain injury. He currently Chairs the Trustee Board of the United Westminster Grey Coat Foundation, which runs three independent and two maintained secondary schools.