The trustees, leaders and staff are all highly committed. They strive for each student to achieve their potential. Leaders and staff work exceptionally well. Together, they provide students with an excellent quality of education.
Ofsted, 2020Representing over 46 different nationalities and joining us from a range of global educational backgrounds, our team is at the core of Halcyon’s vibrant International Baccalaureate learning environment.
A commitment to shared leadership means that all of our teachers are able to bring the very best of their knowledge and experiences to Halcyon, as IB examiners, school leaders, heads-of-grade, and subject leaders. Halcyon prioritises investment in recruitment and professional development, helping us to innovate in the classroom and create an ever-improving learning environment together.
Here you can meet some of our colleagues, and learn more about their work at Halcyon.
“Hi, I’m Katie, and I’m from Bangkok, Thailand. I came to the UK to study for an MBA – my second masters’ degree! I have worked as a Business Development Manager in the past, introducing South East Asian products and ideas to the UK. After five years in this industry, I decided to move into education, keen to use my experience of working in universities in Thailand for ten years. Halcyon was my answer! Here, I’m the Purchasing and Facilities Officer, and I liaise with teachers and students to acquire new teaching resources, to book rooms, and to organise school-wide events, such as our Model United Nations Conference and International Night. If you see me around don’t forget to say hi!”
“Hi, I’m Nito, the Student Wellbeing Leader – otherwise known as the students’ personal lawyer! Before coming to Halcyon, I worked in Restorative Justice and other youth organisations. My background is mostly youth work and relational work with young people. At Halcyon, I also teach PSHE, Explorations, and some Extracurricular Activities. My role is, in my opinion, the most enriching one in the school – it is relational; I get to see every facet of the school and I get to know all students and staff very well. The reason that I chose Halcyon is because it is innovative and collaborative, and is able to work across cultures, throughout the community, to ensure that students have as wide and varied school experience as is possible.”
“Hello, I’m Oisin Byrne. I was born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, where my mother ran an international school for nineteen years. I’ve been here since 2013 – when Halcyon opened – and I teach primarily Spanish and Theory of Knowledge. I also coach the Senior Boys’ football, and we run a tournament each year for local schools. What I like about working at Halcyon is the collaborative nature of working, as well as its integration of technology into the classroom environment, which works really well; our students are part of a generation of digital natives, after all. The students really have a desire to learn, there’s a great sense of community, and a great atmosphere; I feel that the students really enjoy their time here.”
“I was brought up in Leicester, central England, where I completed all of my education; primary to tertiary and beyond. After completing my industrial placement year at AstraZeneca during my BSc Chemistry, I caught the research bug and went on to do my Ph.D. in ‘Synthesis of anticancer prodrugs’. Whilst working on my research studies I got my first taste of teaching by supervising practical chemistry classes and teaching theoretical organic chemistry to MPharm students for their dissertation. For the past 10 years, I have been working in international schools in Italy, UAE, Brunei and, more recently, Germany. Most of my experience has been in IB schools. I am so pleased to have joined Halcyon because I am part of a diverse and dynamic community. The IB philosophy of global citizenship empowers students to go out and solve global challenges. Personally, I have been involved with questions of sustainability, and am enjoying continuing this passion at Halcyon through teaching and ECAs.”
Staff List
Barry Mansfield (Director)
Guillermo Afonso, Learning Systems Coordinator
Lori Fritz (IBDP Coordinator, Physics, Science)
Nito Harvey (PSHEE, Student Wellbeing Leader)
Kerry Jenkins (IBMYP Coordinator, Biology, Science)
Emma Hart (Admissions Director)
Bejal Shah (HR Director)
Jon Taylor (Finance & Operations Director)
Achim Beck (Co-Founder and Board Trustee)
Michael Cutbill (Board Vice Chair and Board Trustee)
Rita Halbright (Co-Founder and Board Chair)
Eli Haroush (Board Trustee)
Satoko Jenkins (Board Trustee)
Aideen McNamara (Board Clerk)
Alexia Phillips (Board Trustee)
Dipali Sahni (Board Trustee)
Pamela Sears (Co-Founder and Board Trustee)
Sally Thorogood (Board Trustee)
Chair of the Board of Trustees email address: chair@board.halcyonschool.com
Administration Team:
Fin Buchanan (Communications Manager)
Magali Duenas (Receptionist and Administrative Assistant)
Joanna Holmes (Finance Manager)
Nadia Little (Admissions Assistant)
Katie Limchaikul (Purchasing and Facilities Officer)
Will McAdam-Brown (Marketing Leader)
Maria Rosengren (Development Manager)
Catering Team:
Holly Langrish (Canteen Superviser)
Michel Logsen (Kitchen Porter)
Monika Steyer (Manager Chef)
Menen Tsige (Catering Assistant)
Maya Yoshida (Chef)
Sameera Ahmad (Visual Arts)
Farah Ahmed (English, Theory of Knowledge)
Rahana Ahmed (English B Teacher)
Asil Al-Shammari (University and Careers Counselling Director, Designated Safeguarding Lead)
Shah-Noor Ashraf (Individuals and Societies, Geography, Deputy Safe Guarding Lead)
Hannah Austin (History, Individuals & Societies)
Ladislav Bari (Mathematics)
Sonja Bartholomew (Mathematics)
Andrea Blades (Design)
Natalie Bolzan (French)
Timothy Burtenshaw (Music)
Oisin Byrne (Theory of Knowledge, Spanish, French)
John Callender (Physical Health Education)
Lucy Cooke (English)
Susan Dance (Visual Arts)
Pilar Delgado (Spanish)
Lucy Dever (Visual Arts – Maternity Cover)
Faye Ellis (Digital Learning Coach)
Lindsey Fairweather (English, English Plus)
Kelly Foster (Theatre Arts)
Lori Fritz (Physics, Science)
Celeste Gardner (PHE, PSHEE)
Tewolde Hagos (Teaching Lab Technician)
Nito Harvey (PSHEE)
Kerry Jenkins (Science, Biology)
Ed Jennings (Geography, Individuals & Societies)
Anne Liao (Science, Biology)
Mei-Ling Lin (Mandarin)
Sabahat Lodhi (Science, Chemistry)
Barnaby Mckendry (Geography, Individuals and Societies)
Rokhsareh McKendry (Mathematics)
Kelly Mildenhall (Drama and English)
Elizabeth Mitchell (PSHEE & Restorative Practitioner)
Sana Muhammad Sharif (Economics)
Elena Pelaez-Perez (Spanish)
Jillian Priestley (Digital Library Educator)
Jesi Rosati (Learning Coach)
Raymond Smith II (Physics, Science)
Martyn Steiner (Environmental Systems and Societies)
Sandy Stoneman (English)
Katie Wright (Mathematics)
Our school mission applies as much to our staff as it does to our students: providing the creative and professional space for our team to contribute and to learn at their full potential. This is crucial in delivering a high-performing culture.
Our focus on wellbeing also applies to our staff as much as it does to students: creating an environment where everyone feels recognised and nurtured, and where individuals have the necessary agency to be professionally challenged and fulfilled.
Central to our organisation is that we have embraced a collaborative, distributed model of leadership. We do this to focus on the essential purpose of all schools – to all be at our best to educate. We prioritise meaningful learning impacts and professional growth, which means, for example, that our subject teams operate with a rotating shared leadership, appropriate to the particular task at hand. Everyone contributes and everyone has the opportunity to lead, to be accountable for school development and to enjoy the professional challenge of being a change-maker. It is our school, together.
Middle-leadership is generated through our project programme. Each year, we prioritise a number of intended learning impacts or wider intended improvements to our school culture, and create time-limited research projects which are led by different staff members. For example, we are currently supporting projects that will build more effective approaches to student voice, data analysis, sustainability, community partnerships, staff wellbeing, diversity equity and inclusion, design thinking and IB approaches to learning, and English language acquisition. Each project leader has the opportunity to have a profound impact on our school, to develop crucial professional leadership skills which enhance the whole organisation; and to collaborate with the community to ensure Halcyon remains a centre for innovation.
Halcyon is guided by a clear mission – to provide an exceptional education that draws out the unique potential of each student – and is built upon three pillars: innovation, collaboration and community.