Good Governance reaps rewards for school

An ExxonMobil employee is using her strategic skills to help boost the well-being of young children, under a company initiative to help local schools.

Marie-Theres Rumler, a counsel in the Law department at ExxonMobil’s UK headquarters in Leatherhead, Surrey, has been a governor at Boxgrove Primary School in Guildford for two years.

Under ExxonMobil’s Governors Scheme, the company rewards employees’ activities as governors of schools with donations of £1,000 per year to the school.

Thanks to Marie-Theres’s volunteering, Boxgrove received a Governors Scheme grant towards some much-needed playground equipment.

Marie-Theres attends the school council as the link between governors and pupils, prepares and attends meetings of the governing body, and supports the special educational needs coordinator.

“Governors take a strategic view,” she explained, “through development planning, reviewing academic standards and monitoring the school’s performance against targets.

“We’re a critical friend in helping improve standards and giving assurance that decisions are made in the best interests of the pupils.”