Mike Coote

Mike had a career in Information Technology, ending as UK Managing Director of a Computing Services company.

He then spent time in the charity and education sectors.

Mike was Chair of Assisting Berkshire Children (ABC) to Read. He created this Charity when a National Charity closed the local Branch. The Charity trains and supports volunteers to give additional one to one reading help to junior school children.

He was also Chair of Voluntary Action (Chiltern and South Bucks). This provided a volunteer brokering service and voluntary organisation support for the two districts.

Mike led a project to merge all the support Charities in Buckinghamshire, creating Community Impact Bucks, which he chaired for the first five years of its life.

Mike was Trustee of Farnham Common Community Library. He was part of a small team that set up the Community Library under the auspices of Bucks County Council. He was responsible for volunteer recruitment and management.

Mike was also a School Governor. He was Governor of St Michael’s Catholic School, High Wycombe. During this time, he led the merger of two adjacent schools (one junior and one secondary) to create the new all-through school. He was then Vice Chair of Governors for four years.

He was also Governor of St Ethelbert’s Catholic School, Wexham. He was asked to be part of an Interim team to improve the school following an unsatisfactory OFSTED report. He then became Vice Chair and subsequently Chair of Governors, as the school achieved a ‘Good’ OFSTED report in 2016.

For the last 8 years Mike has volunteered for Hearing Dogs as a speaker and fund-raiser. He also supports his wife, Clare who is a Volunteer Dog Trainer, currently training her tenth dog. Meeting the partners of some of dogs Clare has trained has given Mike a real appreciation of the life changing benefits the Charity delivers.