Tony studied Economics at London School of Economics then worked for the BBC and EMI before establishing his own music and media companies. After an MBA at Cranfield University, he entered the education profession initially as an unqualified teacher. He trained at the University of Hertfordshire and qualified as a teacher in 2008. Promoted shortly afterwards to the Senior Leadership Team as Assistant Headteacher at Roundwood Park School, he became Deputy Headteacher there in 2012.
Driving excellence in education by establishing the best structures to enable staff to deliver an enriching teaching experience and for students to thrive in a nurturing learning environment has been fundamental to the classroom and whole school work Tony has undertaken. He has taught A level Economics, Business, Sociology as well as GCSE Business and KS3 English, PRE and PSHCE.
Tony contributed to the initial proposal to establish a new secondary school in Harpenden from 2013 and then worked as project manager for the Trust since 2015. He was appointed founding Headteacher of the Katherine Warington School in 2017 and took up the position in January 2018.
Tony is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
David gained his Bachelor of Science degree in biological science, whilst studying in Edinburgh, before completing his PGCE at the University of Hertfordshire. David has been working in the education sector of Hertfordshire schools for over 17 years. He started his teaching career in Harpenden, working at Roundwood Park School, where he progressed to be a successful Head of Science and later seconded onto the school’s senior leadership team, in a role that supported other local secondary schools.
David moved to The Nobel School to take up the position of Assistant Headteacher where he was given responsibility for raising standards at KS4. He line-managed all three core subjects of English, maths and science and was responsible for assessments and exams. David has experience in Initial Teacher Training, co-ordinating the set-up of The Nobel School as a Lead Training school in partnership with UH.
David is delighted to join KWS and is looking forward to developing the culture of the school for current and future generations to enjoy.
Grace Aikman joined our team as part of the founding leadership team in the role of Head of English in September 2019.
After completing her Post Graduate Degree in English Literature at the University of Portsmouth, Grace studied for her PGCE with the University of Hertfordshire in 2014 and passed with Distinction. After starting her teaching career, Grace worked as a Head of Year at Sir John Lawes School looking after Year 7, 8 and 9 during this period. She was also supported by Sir John Lawes to complete her Masters in Education where Grace specialised in supporting vulnerable students and passed with Distinction in 2019.
Grace has been thrilled to support Katherine Warington School and their Year 7 year group through their first year at secondary school and is excited to take on the role of Assistant Headteacher in September 2020.
Zoë graduated from Manchester University with a Masters degree in structural engineering before working for PwC Consulting and Capgemini in Australia and the UK. She then led technology delivery at the Telegraph Media Group before making a career change into teaching. Having completed a PGCE at Roehampton University Zoë spent her formative teaching years working for the Harris Federation in inner London. Moving back out to Hertfordshire (where she was born and bred) in 2013, she has worked as Head of Maths in two schools, significantly improving results. Alongside this Zoë has consulted for Herts for Learning and is a GCSE examiner for Edexcel. She has also supported primary schools in Maths, both as an SLE (Specialist Leader of Education) and a parent volunteer. Zoë strongly believes that all students can achieve in Maths and is focused on engaging them to feel confident in the subject. She is passionate about creating positive and successful teams that accomplish great things in her post as Head of Maths in the founding leadership team at the Katherine Warington School.
Amy is an experienced educator, SENCo and Assistant Headteacher, having been working in education for 23 years. She studied French at the University of Liverpool, before completing her PGCE and starting her teaching career in the same city, then moving to London. Amy’s extensive experience of inner city teaching has led to the passionate belief that regardless of circumstance or challenges, every child has the right to achieve and fulfil their potential; and this is achieved through high quality education, led by those who have the highest expectations of the students they teach and nurture. She is a Specialist Leader in Education (SLE) and a Harpenden parent.
Dean has worked in education for his entire career to date, and most recently at Roundwood Park as Network Manager prior to KWS. Dean has recently completed the CSBM Qualification to further his career as a School Business Manager.
Dean has been involved in the KWS project from the start, having attended design meetings, building meetings and many site visits during the build. Dean was also responsible for the IT procurement for KWS, appointing the IT Contractor and overseeing the IT installation on site.
Previously he has also been involved in sound and lighting consultancy work both in local theatres and national venues.
Dean is glad we have finally opened on site and looks forward to seeing students flourish and make use of our state of the art facilities. He also looks forward to developing further community use of the facilities and launching the KWS radio station.
Although officially joining the KWS team at the beginning of September, Julie initially began working freelance on the recruitment for KWS staff at the beginning of this year.
Julie comes to KWS with over 30 years’ experience, both inside and outside of the education sector. Having started her working career in education (at the University of London) she has come full circle, during which time she has enjoyed successful careers with the Financial Times Business Publishing Division as a Production Manager and then in banking with Nomura International as a Legal Executive. As her children reached secondary school age Julie secured a role with Roundwood Park School where she spent 13 years in various roles, the last five of which were as HR Manager.
Julie has a vested interest in KWS; one of her previous roles at Roundwood incorporated the responsibility of Project Manager, working alongside the team that established the Harpenden Secondary Schools Trust.
Sarah studied Physics at Durham University and, before embarking on her final year of study, completed a summer internship for a major consultancy firm in London, which only served to confirm that she did not want a career doing a ‘typical office job’. After graduating, Sarah qualified as a teacher in 2010 through the Teach First teacher training programme and spent the first four years of her teaching career at an outstanding school in Wembley, where she held the role of Head of Physics. Sarah then moved to Harpenden and joined the Science department at Sir John Lawes school and quickly became Assistant Head of Science, a role that she has held there since 2014. Sarah has been immensely excited to be involved in the set up of Katherine Warington School and is keen to use the network of Rothamsted Research, the University of Hertfordshire and Harpenden’s outstanding secondary schools to ensure that students at Katherine Warington School experience the wonder of Science, both inside and outside the classroom.
Samantha achieved a joint honours degree in Mathematics and Sport Science at the University of Birmingham before continuing to complete her PGDipEd in Mathematics Education (secondary) there.
After a year out to travel, she began working in a school in Cheshunt, being promoted to Key Stage 3 co-ordinator in her second year. After four years there, she moved to an international school in Thailand, where she was promoted to the position of Head of Mathematics after one year. In addition, as a keen footballer herself, she introduced girls’ football as a weekly extra-curricular activity at the school, which included coaching her team in local and international competitions, with some trophies being won!
After returning from three years in Thailand, Samantha worked at a school in Hatfield as the second in maths for two years; within this role she mentored NQTs whilst improving the teaching and learning provision within the department. Now, in her 10th year of teaching, returning to the role of Head of Mathematics – she is excited to have the opportunity to enthuse and motivate the students at KWS to love maths as much as she does!
Originally from Worcestershire, James began his performing career at the age of 8 as the organist at his local church, subsequently moving to Piano and Flute as his joint principal study having studied under Mark Gasser (Head of Keyboard, Brisbane Conservatoire) and Helen Rimmer at the Birmingham Conservatoire.
Whilst studying music at the University of Sheffield, James began to compose for musical theatre leading to the premier of his first professional musical in Birmingham in 1997 and has subsequently composed a range of music for plays and commissions including ‘Monster’ the musical, The Crucible and After Juliet at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield and the Edinburgh Festival. James has also acted as musical director on a number of shows, including “Jesus Christ Superstar”, “Beauty and The Beast”, “Fame”, and “Little Shop of Horrors” to name but a few.
James has worked extensively in education over the last 20 years, in a range of roles as both Head of Faculty and Senior Leadership in the state and Independent sector as well as consultancy work at local authority and national level, specialising in Music, Performing Arts and e-learning.
Teaching has always been the only career option for Zoe. She gained her undergraduate degree in Education and Mathematics at Keele University, Staffordshire; completing two school placements during her time there. Zoe wrote her dissertation on the gender differences within Mathematics at GCSE level and through this research Zoe has found a passion for helping children from all student groups achieve within the subject. Zoe is completing her PGCE with the University of Hertfordshire in Mathematics and following on from her interest in Gender and Mathematics, Zoe wrote her formative PGCE assignment on Pupil Premium students and their achievement in Mathematics. Zoe started the girls football team whilst she was still at school and was then entered onto the FA Coaching Course and she has continued coaching both children and adults throughout university and whilst completing her PGCE placements. Taking on the position of Mathematics and P.E. teacher at Katherine Warington is a huge step in Zoe’s development and is very excited to be part of the founding staff to develop this new school.
Holly graduated from the University of Hertfordshire with a BA honours in Graphic design and illustration before undertaking the Graduate teacher program in 2009. She has taught Art and design, Photography and Graphics courses across several Hertfordshire schools before undertaking her first head of department role in Luton. Holly is currently undertaking her Master’s in education and leadership as well as building her knowledge of whole school leadership through the Ambition institute and is a moderator for AQA. Holly strongly believes that all students should have access to the Arts and that creativity and visual literacy is vital in developing well rounded students. She is an advocate for all art forms and is passionate about building a vibrant, creative and knowledge led curriculum at Katherine Warington School.
Jacob-John is a graduate from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Before stepping into the joyous world of education, for several years he trod the boards bringing Theatre, Shakespeare and language to a wide range of audiences including writing and directing 2 national theatre-in-education tours in Italy. Up until 2018, Jacob-John worked as the Head of English and Theatre for an Italian education company teaching English through the pedagogy of Drama. It was there that Jacob-John was fortunate enough to create his own curriculum that would be rolled out to students all over the country, led training seminars for Italian English teachers, and trained and headed up a team of over 200 English tutors and actors. Upon his return to the UK Jacob-John embarked on the journey to obtain his PGCE from the University of Bedfordshire. Jacob-John is delighted to be part of KWS and together with the founding staff, build a safe, creative and expressive learning environment.
Steve graduated from the University of Durham with a BA (Hons) in Sport. He then embarked on a 10 year career in the British Army. Following this successful decade in the military, he started his teacher training in 2013 in St Albans and qualified as a PE teacher. After a couple of years teaching he was asked to teach Key Stage 3 RE as well as PE. Over time this evolved into also successfully teaching GCSE RE and A-Level Philosophy and Ethics. He joins KWS as Head of PRE & PSHE, as well as a teacher of PE.
Amanda holds a Joint Honours degree in English and Geography from the University of Swansea – a combination of creative and analytical skills which stood her in good stead in her former publishing career commissioning university-level textbooks, and which she now looks forwards to utilising in her role as an English and Geography teacher at KWS.
Having worked across both primary and secondary education, Amanda has six years experience as a Teaching Assistant and has recently completed her teacher training at Sandringham School in St Albans. She is thrilled to be involved in Katherine Warington School right from the start and is passionate about helping your young people to develop the knowledge and skills that they need to achieve their potential in whatever walks of life they ultimately choose.
Amanda is a lover of books of all sorts and an avid netball player, coach and umpire.
Samantha’s teaching journey started in 2005. She gained a Sport Science degree at Middlesex University and went on to gain her post graduate degree in teaching. Samantha began her teaching career at an outstanding inner city London school teaching Physical Education. In her second year of teaching Samantha was promoted to Head of PE and Deputy Head of Performing Arts where she led the department for six years.
Feeling she had achieved all she could as a middle leader Samantha turned to the international scene where she was offered the opportunity to teach PE and Science at a very prestigious international school. She taught for four successful years in Malaysia before returning to the UK to study Biology at university. With a love for science, Samantha studied modules part time in biochemistry, cell biology, microbiology and human physiology achieving 1st class grades in all. She has since taken a break from teaching and studying to raise her daughter but is now ready to return.
Samantha is very active, she enjoys competitive sport and plays netball in her spare time. She has competed at an international level for Gaelic football and has recently completed her first triathlon. Samantha loves helping students achieve their full potential, emotionally, academically and socially. Samantha is looking forward to creating a positive learning environment that will fuel her students to become lifelong learners.
Clare is excited to have joined KWS as teacher of Spanish. Clare graduated in Applied Languages (Spanish and French) from the University of Ulster and started her career working as a Spanish analyst at Thompson Financial in Dublin and then London.
Realising her desire to teach, she completed her PGCE at the University of Glasgow and has been teaching now for 20 years. Her most recent posts have been as Head of Spanish at St Albans Girls’ School and at Princess Helena College, before taking time out to focus on her three young children.
Clare is passionate about the Spanish language and culture alike and it is her firm belief that one can truly engage with a country’s people when one has the appropriate language skills, and it is precisely for this reason that she places great emphasis on equipping students with key language structures in order to encourage independent learning from a very young age. She will share her enthusiasm and passion for Spanish through engaging and fun lessons at KWS.
Liwei speaks six languages and is passionate about sharing his love of languages with students, which stems from many years studying and working aboard (in Syria, the U.S., El Salvador, Spain and Iran). He aims to inspire students to feel and do the same.
Liwei has been teaching Mandarin and Spanish in the U.K. since 2017. Having taught in three inner London schools, he developed a strong belief that every student can succeed through hard work and can achieve great things in life with languages. He is an active teacher researcher who has been involved in the IOE Chinese Character Project.
Outside the classroom, Liwei is a Latin dancer. He enjoys dancing salsa, bachata and cha-cha. Liwei is also a meditator. He finds the loving-kindness meditation, in particular, life transforming.
Liwei holds a BA in Arabic from National Chengchi University (Taipei, Taiwan), a MA in Muslim Cultures from Aga Khan University, a PGCert in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language from SOAS, and a PGCE in Modern Foreign Languages from the UCL Institute of Education.
After completing a Masters degree in Educational Psychology, Jamie qualified as a teacher. He has taught for over 12 years in a range of educational contexts, including in America, Sweden and inner London. He has also recently completed a Masters Degree in Sports and Exercise Science, with a particular focus on Sports Psychology and how teachers, coaches and parents/carers can create the optimum environment to support youth development.
Jamie is very passionate about all sports and has played cricket and football to a high level himself, as well as having considerable experience in coaching, particularly football coaching. Jamie’s motivation as a teacher is to inspire students to share his love of sport whilst educating them about the physical and psychological benefits of physical exercise, developing their confidence and ensuring all students make progress in their learning.
Bryony has always wanted to teach, and from her teens she was involved in coaching sports. However, she knew it would be History that she would teach as it was her passion. After completing her degree at the University of Hertfordshire, she moved to Canterbury to complete her PGCE and this is where she began a career.
After a few years she moved back to Hertfordshire and over the last 10 years she has been working in two secondary schools in the Borough of Broxbourne. During this time, as well as working in the classroom, she has supported the school’s gifted students and worked with Local primary schools to help support the transition from Primary to Secondary. For the last five years she has worked as a Head of Year. This included supporting students throughout their transition journey in year 7, overseeing careers including work experience and working with them to ensure they get the best possible outcomes in year 11.
This year Bryony is excited to start at KWS leading the History and Geography departments. She feels it is important that students gain a good grasp of Britain today and how we got here.
Outside of school Bryony is a keen Hockey player and enjoys travelling.
English Linguistics has always been a subject Samiha has felt passionate about. This drove her to study and explore it further at the University of Hertfordshire where she pursued her undergraduate degree in English Language and Linguistics BA (Hons). Samiha studied a variety of innovative modules, ranging from, Language Processing, Child Language, Grammar and Phonology, Corpus studies, Clinical/Forensic Linguistics and Language in Species.
The comprehensive study of English from all of these different perspectives, enabled Samiha to understand and appreciate the language from a more objective and scientific lens.
In addition to Samiha’s major in English Language and Linguistics, she complemented her studies with a minor in English Language Teaching where Samiha gained both theoretical and practical knowledge in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
Samiha completed her PGCE with the University of Hertfordshire. She trained with one of our partnership schools, Sir John Lawes, and experienced many opportunities to work with a variety of professional learning teams of the highest calibre.
Samiha firmly believes that every student has the potential to learn, grow and become a successful member of society regardless of how and where they started. Samiha is thrilled to be a part of the
Sonia originally studied law at Manchester University and, after completing the Legal Practice Course at the College of Law in Chester, worked in London and Frankfurt as a solicitor in the project finance department of Allen & Overy. Having taken a career break to start a family, Sonia decided to retrain as a teacher and has been doing a mathematics degree part time at The Open University. She studied for the PGCE with The University of Hertfordshire and passed with distinction in 2020.
Sonia is thrilled to be starting her teaching career with KWS and is looking forward to supporting her students to enjoy maths and approach the subject with confidence.
In her spare time, Sonia enjoys hiking, swimming and basketball and is a volunteer coach at Harpenden Swimming Club.
Jim began his career as a time served light motor vehicle apprentice, servicing and repairing Rolls Royce and Bentley motor cars. Following a long and successful career in the motor industry he joined Robert Bosch as a technical trainer; there he delivered a wide range of vehicle systems and electronics courses to the Bosch service network. Jim also enjoyed his time as technical training manager for Renault UK which preceded joining the College of North West London (CNWL) as a lecturer for Higher National Qualifications. During his time at the CNWL, Jim completed his Certificate of Education (CertEd).
Later on in Jim’s career, he spent time at Uxbridge College as Head of School for Engineering, Technology and Innovation and then Oaklands College as Head of Department for Electrical Installation and Plumbing and Gas. Now, Jim is excited to be teaching students at Katherine Warington as a member of the Design and Technology team.
With pre-admission from Wuhan University, China, Qiaochu majored in Translation and Interpreting and minored in Economics. In the final year, she was sponsored by CSC to study at the University of Aberdeen as an exchange student, however she was determined to continue postgraduate study in the U.K. After obtaining her BA in Literature from Wuhan University, she decided to pursue a new learning experience and gained her MSc in Human Resource Management and Employment Relations at the University of Warwick.
Qiaochu has been passionate about language learning and intercultural communication all her life. Having completed her PGDE Mandarin at the University of Aberdeen this year, she firmly believes that all pupils can succeed no matter what their starting point is. Qiaochu is thrilled to be part of KWS and is dedicated to inspire pupils to explore more possibilities of their future through learning a foreign language and knowing another culture.
Apart from her passion in languages, she also enjoys spending time cooking, painting and practising archery. She loves travelling and has learned Farsi in Tehran in recent years.
Jean obtained her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology and History of Art from the University of Cape Town and an Honours Degree in Psychology from the University of Grahamstown. Jean has always been drawn to teaching and worked in various educational settings in South Africa and England before gaining her PGCE from Middlesex University.
During her career she became interested in SpLD (dyslexia) and studied further, gaining her Level 5 and Level 7 diplomas, allowing her to both teach and assess students with and for dyslexia.
Jean’s career includes teaching in the Speech and Language Base at Cowley Hill Primary School, leading the SpLD Base at Windermere Primary School and more recently supporting students with literacy difficulties at Wheatfields Infants’ School.
Jean loves to see students’ self-esteem and confidence grow as she helps them to overcome their barriers to learning.
Elizabeth studied for four years at Nottingham Trent University and obtained a BA (Hons) degree in Fashion Knitwear & Knitted Textiles. Wanting to extend her knowledge further, Elizabeth also completed a year in the industry – learning about design processes.
Soon after her degree, Elizabeth began her PGCE at the University of Cambridge – focusing on Design & Technology. Her determination to become a teacher stemmed from her own school experiences. During the course of this year, Elizabeth was able to enhance her textiles skills and improve her knowledge of product design, graphics and food technology. Teaching in her placement schools has allowed Elizabeth to view Design & Technology as a whole subject rather than the individual areas of study. Additionally, Elizabeth has been encouraged to teach her subject with an in-depth focus on creativity and autonomy.
Elizabeth is excited to begin her journey at KWS and teach a variety of creative subjects. She hopes to inspire students to value their creativity and motivate them to achieve their goals.
From a young age Lucy was provided with the perfect stepping stones for a teaching career with a mother as a geography teacher. Lucy studied BSc Geography at the University of Nottingham where she consolidated her desire to pass on her passion for the subject to younger generations. After achieving a First class degree, Lucy worked as a Learning Support Assistant for a year at Roundwood Park School where she learnt to support students of all abilities and help them to thrive at school. Lucy then went on to complete her PGCE in Geography at the University of Cambridge and will begin her first year of teaching at KWS.
As well as Geography, Lucy has a strong passion for sport, in particular gymnastics and trampolining. Starting at the age of 5, Lucy competed at National level competitions and in 2018 became the Adult Gymnastics British Champion. Despite retiring, she is still heavily involved in the sport being a qualified coach and judge and is looking forward to starting a gymnastics club. Lucy currently plays County level netball and is very excited about teaching PE and leading the netball squads at KWS too.
Natasha’s passion for English amplified during her English Literature and Creative Writing course at Falmouth University. As well as developing her love and understanding of English Literature through different periods, Natasha took a particular interest in scriptwriting. Following a desire to challenge herself, she liaised with a local radio station; Source FM and began writing, directing, producing, editing and eventually airing her radio play. This experience provided Natasha with the opportunity to work alongside actors, sound technicians and radio hosts.
Taking time out of education, Natasha worked as a Content Writer for a travel agency. Writing as a career was a fantastic experience as it enabled her to develop a deeper understanding of how studying English can be applicable in everyday life. Natasha wishes to give students an insight into how English can be a viable career path and crucial to specific industries.
Natasha completed her PGCE at the University of Bedfordshire, where she focused her core investigation on the correlation between student motivation and in-class assessment strategies. The university course provided Natasha with ample pedagogical research to utilise in her English classroom.
Natasha is delighted to be a part of the KWS team and is determined to help students fulfil their potential and help them find the confidence to face their challenges.
Karen has a BSc Accountancy degree from City of London and went on to join Price Waterhouse London, gaining her Chartered Accountancy qualification in 1993.
She remained at Price Waterhouse for two years post qualification, transferring from Audit to the tax department.
During her time at Price Waterhouse Karen specialised in large retail clients including House of Fraser, Harrods and went on to work at both Mothercare Plc and Marks and Spencer upon leaving practice.
Following a four year work placement in Bermuda, she returned to the UK and worked for both Cross Pens and Threshers before deciding to join a local accountancy practice for a work life balance with her four children.
In 2013 Karen joined Roundwood Park as Bursar and has spent the last six years overseeing the department in all aspects of school finance, reporting to Governors, liaising with external auditors, preparing financial information for government bodies and running the functions of a finance office.
Karen brings her expertise and knowledge in school finance to Katherine Warington and become an integral member of the school staff, assisting parents, Governors and staff in navigating the financial aspects of a secondary school.
Michelle has been a PE teacher for twenty years, working in schools in Sheffield, Milton Keynes and Luton. In addition to this, she has been Head of Department for two years in a brand new school and Head of Year for nine additional years in the same school.
In addition to this pastoral role, she had the responsibility of Deputy Assistant Head of KS4 Intervention, Designated Child Protection Officer, SMSC co-ordinator (with particular focus on British Values) and SLE for behaviour. More recently, she has undertaken the leadership roles of Lead Practitioner for Inclusion and also Culture Lead (which included the responsibility of Careers Lead), as well as being the Designated Teacher for Looked After Children.
After graduating from Durham University with a BSc in Psychology, Jo qualified as a Chartered Accountant. She started her career as a specialist in charity audit, before moving in-house to work as a Finance Manager and Financial Controller for national charities including the Down’s Syndrome Association and Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity.
After taking time out to raise her two boys, Jo has worked more recently at Roundwood Park School here in Harpenden before joining the founding finance team at Katherine Warington School.
Spending her spare time running and in exercise classes, (when not accompanying her children to their various sports and activities), Jo brings to the school’s finance department the benefits of her professional background coupled with her experience of working in a local secondary school.
Chrissy has spent the majority of her career working within the civil service, initially undertaking general admin, then continuing to a customer service reception based role. She progressed to work in press and publicity and then in internal communications.
Prior to joining KWS, she worked for five years at a local school for deaf children as Assistant to the Senior Leadership Team and School Secretary.
In recent years she has obtained further qualifications in British Sign Language, GCSE Spanish and Floristry.
She enjoys swimming and flower arranging and is a committee member of her local flower group.
Sarah qualified with an NNEB certificate and worked for 17 years in childcare, mainly as a nanny in private homes but also in nurseries and schools. During this time she gained further childcare qualifications and a Certificate of Higher Education in Psychology.
She then moved into elderly care and gained several qualifications including QCF level 5 in management in health and social care.
Following several years of administrative work, Sarah is looking forward to being part of the founding team at Katherine Warington School. Drawing on her varied experiences, Sarah works with both staff and children throughout the school providing support
After graduating from the University of Westminster with an Honours degree in Photographic and Electronic Imaging Science, Chris spent the subsequent fifteen years in publishing, working on a variety of books, monthly and weekly magazines.
A move out of London led to a change in career direction. Chris worked for a start-up company that provided Maths-based P.E. sessions in primary schools around Hertfordshire and North London.
Chris’ passion for helping children led to a move working for a forest school and qualifying as a Level 3 Forest School Practitioner. After seven years Chris decided it was time to come indoors and the exciting new challenge that KWS offered.
Chris is a keen sportsman and qualified FA football coach.
Vikki graduated from Keele University with a first class honours degree in biology and forensic science before starting work in science publishing – she worked for BioMed Central in London and then the Royal Society of Chemistry in Cambridge, rising to the Deputy Editor of the Bio journal portfolio.
During an extended maternity leave, she started volunteering with HomeStart (the children’s charity), supporting families in Luton. Returning to work saw a change in focus to the education sector, working with a number of Luton schools in various roles including governance administration.
She enjoys working with pupils, parents and staff to help pupils reach their potential and enjoy their school experience.
Alison graduated from a prestigious performing arts college having studied Dance and Musical Theatre, alongside diplomas in teaching dance. Before beginning to take the first steps into the education sector, Alison spent 4 years performing professionally around the world whilst experiencing a wealth of different cultures.
As teaching was always a passion, she decided to retire from performing and pursue her teaching career within the Performing Arts sector. This experience opened Alison’s eyes to the joys and challenges of teaching, and she knew that she wanted to continue. Alison is thrilled to be able to embark on this opportunity offered by KWS to support teachers within an academic setting.
Alison is enthusiastic and passionate about supporting teachers to help students achieve their full potential. She brings with her a positive mentality, enabling her to work with students to overcome individual challenges and to find positive ways to learn and achieve. Her goal is to help students discover a passion for learning as she did as a child.
Abigail read Environmental Sciences at the University of York before gaining an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College, London. After a short time working for an environmental consultancy firm in London, it was clear that Abigail’s true passion lay outside of the office and she qualified as a teacher in 2012 through the Teach First scheme.
Following a four year period teaching science at an inner city school in London, Abigail took a break from her career to look after her young family, before returning to teaching at Sandringham School in St. Albans. Abigail firmly believes that all children, whatever their circumstances, have the right to succeed and is committed to supporting all students in reaching their full potential. She is a Harpenden parent with three young sons who keep her busy, but also enjoys being active and playing netball.
James was born and educated in Essex. He has always had a love of animals and studied animal science at Writtle College before getting his first job working with parrots and reptiles.
As well as animals, James has a keen interest in the natural world and has travelled to many different places including the South Pacific islands, Australia, Asia and South America; it was during this time he decided he wanted to learn more adventurous outdoor skills and upon returning to the UK became an outdoor activities instructor, training in climbing, abseiling and caving which he thoroughly enjoys.
After years of living out of a backpack James has recently bought a house in the local area and plans to enjoy his free time with friends and family, climbing and sitting in the garden amongst his menagerie of animals.
Danny gained an interest and started learning about I.T when he was 5 years old, Throughout his time growing up he really enjoyed IT lessons and helped family members with their technical problems. Danny then studied I.T further at Luton Sixth Form college for 3 years and received a Young Heroes Award for his hard work and managing to achieve the highest grades possible.
Danny started working at Katherine Warington School as an I.T apprentice and has worked extremely hard to learn everything required to fulfil his role at the school. This involves helping students and staff with their technical related problems on a daily basis. He is now a proud member of the I.T department and looks forward to seeing KWS thrive.
After completing a BSc in Social Policy & Psychology at the London School of Economics, Annie’s interest in academic attainment for children from different backgrounds resulted in her pursuing a Master’s in Education Policy at King’s College. While studying, she worked as a Youth Worker in Harlesden and upon her MA completion, Annie continued to work in schools and local councils supporting vulnerable families and young people – not just academically but with their social and emotional well-being, too.
Whilst on a career break to raise her children, Annie undertook numerous voluntary roles often involving her children where possible. Locally, Annie organised Christmas hampers for the L&D children’s ward, regularly helped at the local food bank and arranged necessities for the Grenfell victims, while internationally she fundraised in aid of nappies for babies in war-torn countries and distributed educational resources to refugee children and orphans on trips across Europe. Annie’s passion for helping those in need is rooted in the words of Muhammad Ali: ‘service to others is the rent you pay for your room on this Earth’.
On the weekends Annie also works at Al Bayyinah School in St Albans as a special needs co-ordinator, supporting students with various needs.
Annie looks forward to developing her role at KWS, while bringing her experience in community social work, youth work, SEN and policy studies to create a holistic approach in giving the best to her students.
Tara studied at the University of Central Lancashire graduating with a BA (Hons) in Dance Performance and Teaching. After university she went on to experience amazing opportunities working with children whilst travelling around the world. Continuing to follow her passion of performing arts she was fortunate enough to work as a teacher and choreographer both locally and in the United States.
She has always wanted to pursue a career as a teacher, and after spending a number of years teaching in the Private Performing Arts sector and working as a Learning Support assistant, Tara decided to complete her PGCE. She qualified as a Secondary Dance Teacher in 2021, through a SCITT programme allowing her to progress her experiences in the classroom further.
Tara is passionate and enthusiastic in providing students with a safe and fun learning environment. She hopes to bring her passion for the arts and teaching to KWS and encourage students to progress to their fullest potential. Tara is excited to gain more classroom experience and further her knowledge in a range of subjects and the day to day running of school life.
After graduating from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, Zuzana travelled across to the UK to join a consulting firm in London. After a few years working in the European market Zuzana qualified as an HR specialist before moving to work as an HR Manager for Private Equity Firms.
When Zuzana moved to Harpenden with her family, she started to volunteer at her boys’ local primary school before taking on a role as a Teaching Assistant at Harpenden Academy where she has worked for the past six years.
Zuzana enjoys spending time outdoors, especially running and cycling, along with discovering new walks around the UK. She is excited to bring her past work experiences with children and her HR background to the administration and HR departments at KWS.
Lorna gained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Studies from the University of Northampton. She has spent the majority of her working career in the FMCG industry, where she has gained a broad and varied skill set working in HR/Recruitment, Purchasing and Brand Marketing functions.
Lorna has always aspired to work in an educational environment. So, following an extended career break to raise her two boys, Lorna is delighted to be able to fulfil this ambition at KWS. She is enthused by the school’s beliefs, values and learning ethos and is passionate about supporting students, to reach their full potential.
In her spare time, Lorna enjoys running and cycling to keep fit (and keep up with her boys). She is also a Beaver Leader, which she finds rewarding and fun.
Jo has been working in education for the last 11 years, at a Pupil Referral Unit in Watford. Over this time she has had the pleasure of supporting young people with their behaviour, social, emotional and mental health. Jo is dedicated to ensuring that all young people develop personally, academically and achieve individual success.
With a background in Hairdressing, Jo began her journey into education as a Learning Support Assistant and very quickly, promoted to Tutor and Head of the Hair & Beauty department. Alongside this role, she has been a Mentor to individual students helping to develop their courage, resilience and positive attitude towards learning.
Jo has decided to now step away from teaching and focus on her passion, working in the pastoral side of education.
Jo is kind, patient and totally student focused. She is passionate about supporting young people to believe in themselves and achieve their full potential.
Emma studied clothing and design at The London College of Fashion, going on to work in a womenswear buying office in London. In her early twenties she spent a year travelling around Australia, returning home via South East Asia. Emma went on to spend time living in the USA and at a later date in Dublin, Ireland.
In between and after her travels she worked in business sales, predominantly in telecommunications. In her early thirties, Emma completed the TEFL course and travelled to Italy where she taught English to the Italian military.
Emma has worked in Education as a teaching assistant for the past 5 years and very much enjoys the challenges that this role brings. She is thrilled to be working at KWS and is looking forward to being part of an exciting and developing team.
Caroline previously worked in South London as a Marketing Executive for a software company. After moving to Harpenden to raise her family she became interested in working within education, focusing specifically on supporting SEN students. Caroline has worked for several years as a Learning Support Assistant at Sir John Lawes School and is now happy to be able to share her experience at Katherine Warrington School.
Tom completed his BSc Hons degree in 2007 studying Sport Science and Philosophy and after working as a buyer for a successful electricals business he joined the Majestic Wines graduate management scheme where he soon became store manager, gaining wine tasting qualifications and getting to visit winemakers and vineyards around the world. Tom later moved into the Majestic Wines recruitment team and headed up the team there for four accomplished, and award-winning years, before deciding to take on a new challenge and follow a career in education.
After completing the school direct programme in Religious Education, through the University of Hertfordshire and based at Hitchin Boy’s School, Tom arrives at KWS keen to put his knowledge and experience together to teach PRE, PSHCE and Business Studies.
Outside of school Tom enjoys a range of sports, travelling, photography and spending time with his young family.
James started his career working in the building industry, becoming a fully qualified steeplejack and enjoyed working on some of the tallest buildings in London. During this time he started to play rugby socially and was soon picked up by Premiership side Saracens. Pursuing his love of rugby, he moved to Brazil as part of the award winning ‘Try Rugby’ programme, which introduced children and communities to rugby and helped with English in Schools. On his return to England, he pursued a career in education, first working as a Rugby coach at Bedford School, before starting at a Pupil Referral Unit in Milton Keynes as a Teaching Assistant, progressing to Lead Inclusion Mentor across the academy. James returned to his studies completing Maths and English functional skills and Maths GCSE, before completing his first year Foundation degree in ‘Children and Family Studies’ at the University of Bedfordshire. In his spare time he is currently a steward at Dunstablians Rugby Union Football Club in his spare time.
Jess began her career as a Registered general nurse before gaining a further qualification in Mental health nursing. She has many years of experience in working with adults and adolescents within hospital and community services in London. She also spent some time working in Australia and Northamptonshire. Her role as a community psychiatric nurse in CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) motivated her to train as a child and adolescent counsellor. She is qualified as a child psychotherapeutic counsellor. In addition she has recently completed training to assess and provide treatment for PTSD.
Jess believes that therapy can enable young people to improve their emotional wellbeing by helping them to self reflect, express themselves and learn to trust supportive adults. Therapy adapted to best suit each individual student further promotes their engagement with the process. Her integrative arts training course supports this through the use of various arts, games, metaphor and creative communication.
Anthony has taken a circuitous route into education, despite showing an aptitude for teaching since his own school days. Throughout his A levels and BSc Anthony acted as a tutor for peers or students at his previous school. Once qualifying with a first class degree in Zoology with Conservation, Anthony spent the following years putting this knowledge into practice with The Wildlife Trust and National Trust. During his 6 years in the conservation sector, Anthony regularly mentored work experience students and organised educational open days.
In 2020 Anthony returned to education to pursue his passion for teaching – undertaking his PGCE at the University of Hertfordshire. Throughout his studies Anthony focused on translating science content knowledge into techniques to best pass this information on to students. The PGCE and experience in Anthony’s placement schools provided plentiful opportunities to hone his skills and he is keen to begin his journey at KWS. Anthony hopes to bring his experience of nature conservation into the classroom and inspire the next generation of scientists to love, appreciate and understand the world around them
Chris is a Therapeutic Wellbeing Practitioner who trained at The Institute of Arts in Therapy and Education in Islington, London, specialising in creative group work. With added Diplomas in Life Coaching and Meditation Teaching, Chris has been delivering creative therapeutic interventions for individuals and groups across North London and Hertfordshire since 2013,working in both primary and secondary schools.
As a qualified youth football coach, Chris has not only coached youth teams for ten years, but has also developed a concept using football as a form of play therapy.
In 2019 Chris also launched ‘MACAW’ (Mostly About Comedy And Wellbeing) Playshops which are groups that come together and use comedy, imagination, role play, improvisation and group interaction to enhance self confidence, self esteem, resilience and wellbeing.
Clare studied A levels in Art, Geography and English then left the sixth form to work in a care home to gain some work experience. From there she took up a post in a firm of Solicitors in the Accounts Department where she has been for the last 21 years. Feeling it was time was a change and a new challenge she has joined KWS as part of the Learning Support Team. She likes swimming and cycling in her spare time as well as finding new adventures for the family to enjoy.
Eunice is originally from Italy, Sicily. She came to England in her twenties, at first as a working student in a College in North Yorkshire to learn English. She then moved to Edinburgh for one year where she worked as a Community Service Volunteer for a project that supported Independent Living for Young Adults with Learning Disabilities.
After moving to London, she focused on her studies by taking a Diploma in Translation at the Westminster University and consequently a CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting. In her spare time she enjoys travelling widely across Europe and is now a proud mum of four beautiful children. She has many hobbies which include reading and cooking.
Harry gained his Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Geography from Durham University, before starting his first career in Deloitte Consulting, where he worked as a change management specialist for various FTSE 100 companies and organisations in the UK public sector.
He then completed his Post-graduate Diploma in Education with UCL. His teaching career began in Croydon and then after a couple of years, re-located to Hertfordshire. Harry worked at Sir John Lawes as a Geography teacher, and he was seconded to the Senior Leadership Team. He then joined KWS in 2021 as the Head of Humanities, responsible for Geography and History.
Harry’s motivation is in helping students to understand the changing world and, most importantly, the part they play in it. Student’s impact on the world is far-reaching, and through geographical and historical education students build an appreciation of this.
Sonia has always loved science since a very young age. During school she completed her work experience in a pharmacy whereby she took on new skills by working with a team and meeting new people every day. She also had the opportunity to be a language leader where she went to primary schools to teach French and do presentations to children.
After leaving school, she studied medical science at Luton VI Form College for 2 years and then went into studying BSc Hons in Biomedical science at the University of Bedfordshire where she graduated. She thoroughly enjoyed microbiology and completed her final project in studying why certain antiretroviral drugs become resistant to HIV.
After graduating, she went on to work as a science assistant at SPD development to test and analyse Clearblue products by looking for the presence of HCG antibodies and also then went to work as an activity leader for Barracudas where she enjoyed playing sports with children over the summer holidays.
Sonia continued her career working as a pharmacy assistant where she gained good problem solving and social skills. Conducted covid tests on people and was a general covid operator during the covid pandemic.
Sonia is now thrilled and keen to help support the science department as a lab technician at Katherine Warington school. She has always had a passion to become a lab technician.
Justina’s career has been spent in the sport, health & leisure industry. She began by competing nationally at youth level covering sports from trampolining to waterskiing, and then moved on to coaching. The Health Club sector was her next move as a Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer. Then she became part of the management team at various local centres and gyms, and most recently at Stanborough Park in Welwyn Garden City.
Justina’s main responsibilities have been centred around youth and sports development programmes, the day to day operation of facilities and creating opportunities to promote healthy lifestyle experiences both on and off the water.
With her transferable coaching skills, she now joins the KWS team as a Cover Supervisor. She hopes to further develop her training in an educational setting. Her aim is to help every student reach their full potential and succeed, while using her skills and knowledge to promote the benefits of a healthy mind, body and soul!
Yasmin graduated from the University of Hertfordshire with a BA honours in English Literature with Creative Writing and New Media publishing before going on to complete her MA in Creative Writing a year later. Not satisfied with just one Masters degree, she went on to complete another, this time in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University, where she spent most of her time admiring the peacocks on campus.
Her debut novel, ‘All The Things We Never Said’ published in 2019, and was nominated for the Carnegie Medal as well as being labelled ‘a gripping, thought-provoking, sometimes shocking thriller’ by The Guardian. Her second novel, ‘This is my Truth’ followed in 2021.
As well as writing novels for Young Adults and working in libraries, Yasmin enjoys making bookish fan art – she has worked with authors such as John Green and Colleen Hoover.
Paula gained her Bachelor of Design in Sydney, Australia and worked in Graphic Design and Advertising before moving to Magazine Journalism. While at a gourmet food and travel magazine, she was inspired by the stunning travel features and in 2006 she moved to the UK in search of adventure.
She was an art editor for an interiors magazine for many years, until leaving to take time out with her young children. She started volunteering in 2017 at her children’s school, supporting pupils with their reading and was a Scouts assistant leader for the Beavers group.
In 2021, Paula began volunteering at KWS and enjoyed her time assisting in the library and helping students in the classroom. Now as the Library Assistant, Paula is excited to bring together her enthusiasm for reading and visual communication, to support the students of KWS by enhancing and developing the library as it grows with the school.
Clara graduated from the University of Greenwich with a BSc Equine Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation degree. She has worked as a groom at various yards over the last few years and enjoys spending time with her own horse. Clara was offered the opportunity to volunteer at Strength and Learning through Horses, an organisation that runs therapy and education programmes to young people struggling with mental health issues, emotional behavioural problems and learning difficulties. Here she gained a lot of experience and formed close relationships with the students, seeing how much the horses and the staff could help them really spurred on her desire to support young people. Clara decided a role as a learning support assistant would allow her to fulfil her passion to make a difference and help students with any difficulties they are facing.
Marc was born in Luton and raised and educated in Harpenden and enjoyed the Batford/Harpenden countryside as a child and still as an adult. Marc loves football COYS.
As a younger adult Marc became a care assistant and enjoyed working in care homes and spent a long time as an HCA working in Luton and Dunstable hospital.
Marc then moved on to work for a well-known discount supermarket for 10 years before joint KWS and is looking forward to this next career stage.
Harpenden Secondary Education Trust
Company Number: 09238779
Registered Address: Katherine Warington School, Lower Luton Road, Harpenden, Herts, AL5 5FH
Chair Of Trustees: Jenny Howarth, j.howarth@kwschool.co.uk
Katherine Warington School,
Lower Luton Road,
Harpenden,
Hertfordshire,
AL5 5FH
Telephone: 01582 314777
admin@kwschool.co.uk