Search this site Home School Senior Dept Team News Admissions Jobs Q&A Friends Facilities Hire Contact Secure Team > All-through Teaching Staff Alice Gifford - Teacher of French & Spanish Born and brought up in Paris, Alice studied French and English literature at the Sorbonne University and at Sussex University. Having taught French language for a summer in Lebanon, she then went to live in Spain for three years where she taught adults and children in language schools. On returning to the UK, Alice worked at the Peugeot factory in Coventry, initially as a liaison with French engineers and then as a logistics analyst. She then retrained as a Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) teacher through the Graduate Teaching Program (GTP) at Sussex University. Alice has worked as a French and Spanish teacher in a secondary school since 2005, during which time she has been on many school trips abroad. She enjoys sharing her passion for learning languages, being a firm believer that it opens exciting opportunities in our personal and professional lives, as well as being a great way to appreciate different cultures. Alice is married with three children and enjoys running in the hills, reading and discovering new places. Chris Pearson – Director of Music Chris joins Cobham Free School after spending 4 years at Bacon’s College in Rotherhithe holding the roles of both Head of Music and Head of Performing Arts. Chris holds Music degrees from both Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal College of Music. Chris worked for a number of years as a professional tuba player both in England and Europe before completing a GTP with the Bromley schools Collegiate in 2008. Chris has always had an overriding passion to learn, with music being at the heart of that. Since first picking up the recorder at the age of 4 Chris has gone on to learn a variety of instruments including Trumpet, trombone, bass guitar, the organ and specializing on the Tuba. Since leaving the Royal College in 2003, teaching has played a major role in Chris’ life first as a peripatetic and then as a classroom teacher. Chris believes that music should be available to all and has the ability to enhance every child’s’ life and learning potential. He is excited that in joining Cobham Free School, he has been given the opportunity to bring his passion for Music to a school that counts Music as one of it’s key strengths. Chris is still a busy musician, playing regularly, as well as an avid martial artist holding a master level in Wing Tsun kung fu. In his remaining free time Chris continues to learn and is currently training as a plumber. Chris and his wife live in London and are soon to become a family of three. Andy Simmons (Chelsea FC Foundation)- Director of Sport Andy has worked as a specialist Coach for the Chelsea FC Foundation where he has taught children of all different ages, abilities and backgrounds in a variety of schools across Surrey. He is delighted to join Cobham Free School as its first Director of Sport. Andy is excited by the challenge of teaching Physical Education to all students at CFS as well as coordinating all aspects of our sporting provision including sports based extracurricular activities and school teams. Andy made the jump from Retail Manager to Sports Coach after returning from a six-month travelling experience. During this time, he volunteered in Ghana where he taught a variety of sports to children and adults alike. Since this decision was made, Andy has gained FA qualifications in Football and Futsal as well as Blind Football. More recently, he has completed the '1st4sport' Level 2 Award in Multi-skills Development in Sport and is continually looking into what he can achieve next. He believes that children of all ages should be given as many opportunities as possible to play a range of different sports to aid their physical, social, psychological and technical development. It is this mantra that Andy will use to progress the Sport Department and infrastructure to a level befitting Cobham Free School’s true potential. Andy lives in Walton on Thames with his partner, where he enjoys playing various sports, running along the river and baking cakes! Laura Newman - Special Educational Needs Coordinator Laura Newman read Economics at Reading University, then went on to study for an MsC in Finance, Economics and Econometrics at City Business School. After a brief stint in the City, she decided she would rather work in the community, and in particular with children. After completing a PGCE on the SCITT scheme based in Wandsworth schools, teaching mainly in the Early Years, she worked for 6 years at a state school in Lambeth with a high level of SEN and EAL children. Laura taught mainly children in Years 3 to 6 over that time, taking the roles of Maths Leader, Assessment Co-ordinator, Phase Leader of Years 3 and 4, Inclusion Manager and then joined the Leadership Team as Assistant Headteacher. Laura has taken a short break to be at home with her two small children and manage a renovation project. She is now very excited to be returning to work. The area of special education needs is one she feels passionate about and she has undertaken a large amount of training in her previous roles. Having recently moved to Cobham, Laura is enthused to be a part of the Free School and to be working as part of her new community. The ethos of ‘Optimum Omnibus’ or ‘Best for All’ is especially apt for Laura’s role and one she is committed to achieving. Rachel Bridgwood - Special Educational Needs Disability Coordinator Rachel Bridgwood has always wanted to go into Primary School teaching and after studying Educational Studies as a first degree, went on to gain a Master's degree in Applied Linguistics from Cardiff University before working as a consultant doing Needs analysis, Course design and Teacher Training in English as a Foreign Language for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Ministry Of Defence, in this country and abroad, for 6 years. Rachel then taught graduates English for Academic Purposes at SOAS (University of London) for a brief period before going to Roehampton to do a Primary PGCE, specialising in English. Since qualifying, Rachel has taught a variety of year groups at excellent private and state schools and has enjoyed specialising in SEN, in which she is doing a further course at Roehampton in Leadership and Management. Having spent a few years in Madrid, with her husband's job, Rachel was keen to return to teaching and joined the team at Cobham after the first term, in the Gospel Hall. Rachel is passionate about providing each child with the right tools and confidence for accessing the curriculum effectively and enjoys the SENCO role which is both varied and highly rewarding. Living in Horsley, Rachel's free time is taken up with her four children! Clare Walker- Special Educational Needs Disability Coordinator Clare has always wanted to work with children. She realised teaching was the right path after travelling and working in Australia. She returned to England and gained her qualifications at Roehampton institute. She has, through out her career worked in state schools, first in Hammersmith and Fulham and then in Lambeth. Both schools were in inner city areas, with high levels of SEN and EAL. Within these schools she has worked as Literacy Coordinator and then as key stage one phase leader. Supporting children with special needs became a passion. Clare then volunteered for a charity called 'Springboard for Children'. Working 1:1 with children with specific literacy difficulties , mainly dyslexia. She then took a break from her career to raise her two children. Clare is excited about returning to work after her career break. Sshe is looking forward to supporting children, particularly with SEND, to ensure they reach their full potential. Like Springboard for Children, she believes that 'every child can achieve their potential and none should be left behind in the education system' Report Abuse|Print Page|Powered By Google Sites