Responsibilities placed on a governing body are profound--starting with governors' own performance and the achievement of the pupils. In recognition of the weight of duty placed upon them, every governing body has, by law, to appoint a clerk who is not a governor. Committees of the governing body may be clerked by governors, but the main meeting of the full governing body must be supported by someone who is apart from (and not a part of) it. In this article, the author describes the characteristics of an effective clerk.