HOME ABOUT ADMISSIONS NURSERY PRE-PREP PREP SCHOOL LIFE NEWS & EVENTS CONTACT PORTALS Home | About | Meet The Teachers Share Page Meet The Teachers Mr Matthew Bryan Position: Headmaster I started my career as a senior school Classicist, teaching Latin, Greek and Classical Civilisation up to IB and A level at Hampton School and King’s, Wimbledon. I then discovered how amazing it is to work in Prep Schools and went out to Summer Fields, a boys’ boarding school in Oxford. From there I went to be Deputy Head (Academic) at Saint Ronan’s in Kent. I’ve been fortunate to experience everything from the ages of 2-19; single-sex and co-ed; day, boarding and ‘flexi’, traditional and progressive. READ MORE Mr Ben Moir Position: Deputy Head Before joining Longacre in September 2016, I was Director of Sport and Senior Teacher (Operations) at Rokeby School, a position I held for nearly seven years. Rokeby is a 13+ boys school in Kingston upon Thames. Prior to this I was Head of Sport at Lanesborough for six and a half years. READ MORE Mrs Nicki Mould Position: Head of Pre-Prep Before joining Longacre I taught Reception and Year 1 and was the childcare and curriculum adviser for a chain of 30 nurseries. READ MORE Mr David Harry Position: Director of Studies/Head of Maths After leaving school I studied history at Aberystwyth University and guitar at the Academy of Contemporary Music with dreams of recording an album and touring the world! After it quickly became apparent that I would be lucky to tour the Surrey Hills, I started coaching football at various schools across the county with Planet Soccer. In this capacity, I visited Longacre on many occasions and was delighted when I joined full-time in 2012. READ MORE Mrs Tara Pandey Position: Assistant Head (Wellbeing) / Head of Art & Design Technology I worked for many years in Advertising and PR in London before completing an Art Degree at the London College of Printing as a mature student. After this I ran my own photography business before the birth of my son in 2005 who joined Longacre in Kindergarten. READ MORE Miss Chloe du Pon Position: Director of Music I’m a classically trained, professional singer and many years ago (!) I started teaching singing at a couple of schools in-between gigs and session work, and Longacre was one of them! It was Longacre that inspired me to study a PGCE, to become a qualified teacher and where I gained the desire for children to experience the joy of music; the positivity, creativity and sense of achievement it imparts. READ MORE Mr Ed Spackman Position: Director of Sports & Activities Growing up in Oxfordshire, my early years were spent playing football, supporting Tottenham and camping on the Dorset coastline. Just as my teenage years struck I moved to Yorkshire, where I developed a muddled accent, played lots of rugby and did lots of drama. Being the son of a teacher and having the great fortune to have been taught by many amazing coaches inspired me to become a teacher. READ MORE Ms Naomi Watts Position: Head of English / Head of Forms V & VI Having parents and grandparents as teachers, I grew up determined never to become a teacher. After graduating, I started my career working for a hospice as People, Learning and Development Manager. Here, my passion for lifelong learning and holistic care began. Inevitably, the teacher-bug caught up with me, so I left my role to dip my toe in the waters of Education. I completed my PGCE and QTS in 2015 and I have never looked back. Since qualifying, I have taught English, Maths, History and Games across Year 4 to 8. READ MORE Miss Becky Clarke Position: Head of Science Before starting at Longacre I read Biology at the University of Exeter. After graduating I did some part-time work as a ‘Rugbytots’ instructor, a sailing instructor and at a local primary school. These jobs helped me to realise I wanted to continue working with children throughout my career which led to an interest in teaching. READ MORE Mrs Penny Macfarlane Position: Head of Humanities / Form V Tutor I spent a few years trying out various jobs and doing quite a bit of travelling before settling on teaching as a career. After my PGCE and three years teaching in London, I was posted with my husband to New Zealand. On our return, I spent quite a few years at home raising my four children – now almost grown up – and started supply teaching at Longacre seven years ago. READ MORE Mrs Sheila Manson Position: Head of Drama / Form V Tutor Since leaving school, a very long time ago, I have completed Part 1 of the MCSP exam, been a doctor’s receptionist, a lab technician in an independent secondary school, trained as a hearing therapist, worked for a local authority installing emergency alarms, been an area organiser for a cancer charity and managed a resource/ rehab centre for adults with an acquired disability! READ MORE Mrs Jenny Fagg Position: Head of Modern Foreign Languages Born and brought up in France to a French mother and an English father, I studied English at the University of Bordeaux then the University of Versailles while, at the same time, teaching English to adults and teenagers. During my studies, I took a gap year to work as a French teaching assistant in two secondary schools in Reading. READ MORE Mrs Susanne Gibson Position: Head of Pupil Progress/Prep Teacher I can hardly remember life before Longacre as I started here in 2004 and can’t seem to keep away! I grew up in Northern Ireland where I completed a degree in Applied Languages. I moved to England for teacher training and a PGCE and decided to stay. READ MORE Mr Colin Cameron Position: Teacher of Computing Life Before Longacre I have been a teacher since graduating from Kingston University in 1997. In my career I have experience of teaching all year groups from Reception to Year 8 in roles from supply teacher to year leader and... READ MORE Mrs Jo Trinder Position: Form IV Tutor Before Longacre I worked at a prep school in Reigate. I was Head of French there for two years and taught children French from Reception to Year 6. Before that I was a Year 3 teacher, teaching all the core subjects and Humanities. READ MORE Miss Charlotte Thorpe Position: Head of Forest School/Form III Tutor After a trip around the world with my sister in 2014, I realised I wanted to work with children and be outside. I began volunteering with the Surrey Wildlife Trust and fell in love with Forest School. I trained with the Trust to become a Forest School Leader and I have helped with Forest School sessions all over the county. READ MORE Miss Fiona Saul Position: Head of Forms III & IV / Form III Tutor Whilst studying for my A Levels, I volunteered in a local primary school and tutored my friends’ younger siblings to help prepare them for their Maths GCSEs. These experiences confirmed that teaching was the career for me! I graduated from Roehampton University in 2011 and took up my first teaching position within Year 3. READ MORE Mrs Nicky Hamer Position: Form II Teacher I have been a Primary School teacher for all my working life, apart from a brief foray into retail management when I first left school and worked for the John Lewis Partnership. I have had experience across the whole primary range, in both the maintained and independent sector. READ MORE Mrs Imogen Bates Position: Form II Teacher Before joining Longacre, I was a Year 2 teacher at Danes Hill school for five years. Prior to that I worked in Years 5 and 6 at a school near Woking. READ MORE Mrs Beckie Reddish Position: Form II Teacher (Maternity Cover) After completing my Primary Education degree at the University of Roehampton I began my career in a state school in Surrey teaching Reception. Since then I have worked across both the state and independent sectors teaching across the Early Years and Key Stage 1. Before joining Longacre, I worked at Newton Prep in Battersea teaching the Nursery class. READ MORE Mrs Leigh Couchman Position: Form II Teaching Assistant Originally from South Africa, I studied Graphic Design and enjoyed a successful advertising career. Becoming a mother changes your sense of purpose, which led me on an entrepreneurial path, in which time I established my freelance design consultancy, setup an extramural art and craft club at my daughter’s school and launched a socially driven “pop-up” art class, where I taught adults to paint. READ MORE Mrs Beth Davies Position: Form I Teacher After leaving university, I quickly realised that I wanted to pursue a career in education. I became a teaching assistant at a local primary school and completed my PCGE whilst working at the same school the following year. I then moved up to London and worked at a school in Chelsea as a Year 2 teacher for 3 years. READ MORE Mrs Christine Hamilton Position: Form I Teaching Assistant Originally from Wales, I studied for a combined honours degree in English and History followed by ten years working in London, initially in investment management and following a belated gap year travelling, I spent eight years working as a Business Analyst for Reuters. READ MORE Mrs Elana Pickering Position: Form I Teacher Having grown up and taught in Australia, I came backpacking to the UK about 15 years ago and never went home! Since then I have taught in schools in central London, including most recently as Assistant Head and year 3 form teacher at St Paul’s Cathedral School. In that role I sat on the school’s senior leadership team, taught English, Maths and IPC, lead staff development, and was girls’ tutor. READ MORE Mrs Daniela Casey Position: Form I Higher Level Teaching Assistant Prior to working in education, I had a seven year career working for Network Rail. I was based in London in the IT department, working as a software analyst. Albeit, I chose a very different career than my actual desire, which was to teach and work with children. I finally decided to make a career change and in 2011 I started as a Teaching Assistant here at Longacre, working with the exceptional Caroline Palmer, whom our fantastic Palmer Hall is named after. READ MORE Mrs Jane Chapman Position: Form I HL Teaching Assistant I have a BA (Hons) Business Studies degree and prior to starting a family, I had a successful career as a Marketing Manager in the automotive industry working for premium brands including McLaren, Porsche and BMW. Then in 2002, I decided to put my career on hold to focus on raising my children. READ MORE Mrs Olivia Kent Position: Pre-Prep Teaching Assistant / Games Assistant Life before Longacre Since the day my teacher allowed me to take the register at the age of six, I have wanted to be a teacher. After having my eldest daughter two weeks after graduating with my PGCE, I then... READ MORE Mrs Heejin Warner Position: Learning Support Teaching Assistant After living in both South Korea and Japan I moved to the UK over twenty years ago. Prior to working in education, I was an HR professional working in various international organisations. My work involved long hours and lots of travelling, so after I had my own child I decided to focus on parenting. READ MORE Miss Andrea Beasley Position: Reception Teacher I joined Longacre in September 2008 and before this was studying to achieve my Level 3 Childcare Diploma. During this time, I experienced working with a variety of different age groups from Nursery to Form I. It was during my course that I discovered my passion for Early Years teaching. READ MORE Mrs Sarah Morris Position: Reception Teacher/Early Years Coordinator Prior to joining Longacre School in September 2018 I worked at a local Primary School where I taught YrR, Yr1 and Yr2 over six years. In this time, I led PE and managed the Key Stage One team. Before qualifying as a teacher in 2012, I managed two private day nurseries and a Sure Start Children’s Centre. Whilst working in these roles I studied part-time to achieve my degree and also had my two children. READ MORE Mrs Melanie Lee Position: Reception Teaching Assistant After I achieved my NNEB, I have been lucky to have worked in a variety of places with young children. I started as a Nanny and then became a nursery leader and then a child minder, while I brought up my own children. In 2007 I became a Reception Teaching Assistant. READ MORE Miss Sara Cedola Position: Reception Teaching Assistant Following my studies in fashion photography at university, I decided to spend some time nurturing my creative side and came across a wonderful photographer who gave me the opportunity to gain some valuable experience working alongside her. Finding myself with some free time, I happily accepted the chance to work voluntarily at a primary school and discovered my love of working with children. READ MORE Miss Jemma Winterton Position: Kindergarten Leader From a very early age I have always wanted to work in the Early Years. I have been working with and teaching children for over 20 years! Each day is different but I find the Early Years especially rewarding. Being part of the crucial early stages and laying down foundations in order for them to grow into individuals is something special. READ MORE Miss Holly Mclaren Position: Kindergarten Room Leader I studied for two years and obtained a Level 3 Diploma in Childcare and Education before going to work in France as a nanny. Before I joined Longacre I worked as a live-in nanny in Hampton. READ MORE Miss Charlotte Philps Position: Early Years Teaching Assistant Before joining Longacre I began my journey of working with children in a local infant school. There I spent a year with Year One and moved up with them to Year Two; it was fantastic to take this step of the journey together. After taking a very special year out to have my daughter, I worked in the Pre-school and in the last two years helped to establish the new nursery. READ MORE Mrs Sheila O’Brien Position: Nursery Leader After attaining my NNEB I became a private nanny for many years before becoming a Nursery Manager of a day nursery. I joined the Longacre family as a parent when my three children started in Nursery through to Form VI. I was offered a job in Early Years when my youngest started in Reception and have worked in both Kindergarten and Nursery for the past 10 years. READ MORE Mrs Becky Chambers Position: Early Years Teaching Assistant I worked as an Administrator at the University of Surrey for eight years until I left in 2003 to have my first daughter. I then retrained as an Early Years Practitioner in 2008 and worked at a nursery in Cranleigh until I started my job at Longacre in 2014. READ MORE Mrs Shirley Carter Position: Early Years Teaching Assistant After gaining my Level 3 NVQ in Childcare and Education, I worked in a school nursery in Birmingham for 13 years. I moved to Surrey with my family in 2007 and worked in a local nursery for 10 years before joining Longacre. READ MORE Mr Simon Floyer Position: Head of PE As a PE and Games teacher I think it is safe to assume that a passion for sport is evident. From a very young age my focus has always been on developing as a team sportsman and pursuing any opportunity to make my interests, my work. I studied Sports Science for 3 years at Brunel University and then worked as a personal trainer before realising my passion to work with children and help to develop their passion for sport. READ MORE Mrs Joey Hall-Palmer Position: Games & PE Teacher/Outdoor Teamwork & Leadership Teacher I have been lucky enough to have taught at schools in the UK, Australia and the USA. I lived and taught in Sydney for 8 years which was amazing as I was able to indulge my love of the outdoors and all sports in fantastic weather. READ MORE Mr Andrew Whitall Position: Classroom Assistant / PGCE Student I graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Physical Education from the University of Gloucestershire in 2019. Whilst at university, I also worked part time as a squash coach at Surrey Sports Park in Guildford. After graduating, I worked full time as a squash coach in a variety of squash clubs within Surrey for a year before joining Longacre as a Classroom and Sports Graduate, whilst still continuing as the Lead Junior Squash Coach at Surrey Sports Park. READ MORE Miss Chloe Holcombe Position: Classroom and Sports Assistant Before joining Longacre, I was a teaching assistant in a local SEN school. I worked closely with a pupil on a one-to-one basis for two years and enjoyed the opportunity to take on this challenging role. READ MORE Mrs Lisa Edwards Position: Head of Learning Support Prior to joining Longacre I taught in both primary and secondary schools in the state sector. In my most recent role, as well as being SENCo I was also Progress Leader for year 7, one of the Deputy Safeguarding Leads and I taught English to years 7 and 8. READ MORE Mrs Jacqui Davies Position: Learning Support Teacher I started my teaching career in London and moved to Guildford where I have enjoyed teaching in many Surrey schools, both in the state and independent sector. READ MORE Mrs Tracey Madgwick Position: Learning Support Assistant I started my career in banking, working closely with the public and taking on many roles before becoming a full-time mum in 1995. READ MORE Mrs Claire Collins Position: Learning Support Assistant After graduating with a degree in the History of the Fine and Decorative Arts, I initially worked in a London art gallery. Although the job was interesting I felt that there was something missing so took a leap of faith and headed to Roehampton to complete a PGCE. READ MORE Mrs Holly Elwood Position: Art & DT Technician After leaving college, I completed a Foundation Degree in Fine Art at UCA Epsom and then volunteered at the David Shepherd Foundation and the Cranleigh Arts Centre. I joined Longacre as a volunteer in the Art Department in 2013 and completed a Higher Level Teaching Assistant Course. I became full-time a year after that, joining Form I and then Form II as a Teaching Assistant. READ MORE Mr Rob Bartlett Position: Librarian This is a case of life before and life after Longacre. In my time away I have been working at Gatwick Airport assisting passengers with reduced mobility. I have helped the blind, deaf, autistic, the elderly, people with Alzheimer’s and dementia, as well as former soldiers who have had limbs blown off. It has been a very humbling experience and one that I will continue to do in my spare time. 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