Staff Leavers Summer 2023

We bade a fond farewell to some of our teachers and support staff at the end of the summer term, as they all now become Old Vikings just like our pupil leavers. We thank them for all they contributed to the College and wish them well with their next adventures.

Nick Brown 

Nick has been with the College for 24 years and in those years, has assumed roles including Skipwith and College Housemaster, history teacher, Head of Co-Curricular and Deputy Head Pastoral. His many interactions with pupils and parents mean that he knows what to do in all situations - he has such an intuitive sense of what the right response is. Nick personifies what Shiplake is about in that he approaches everything from a starting position of kindness. He has gone above and beyond so many times - rolls his sleeves up and gets on with things - he is a yes person and a genuine team person. And throughout everything there has been such a sense of fun where a smile is never too far away, particularly at the times when needed most. We wish Nick all the best as he moves on to the next chapter of his life in retirement. 

Richard Curtis 

Richard is one of our longest serving members of the academic staff having been at Shiplake College for 17 years. In that time, Richard has been a teacher of Maths, Head of Maths, Head of Rugby, Deputy Housemaster in Orchard, Director of Sport, Assistant Head (Sixth Form), and Housemaster of both College and Orchard. Richard has been instrumental in the way in which the Maths department has grown and flourished over the years and his firm, but fair management of House life has meant that high expectations have been maintained of every pupil. Underpinning this is that Richard has always put the needs of pupils first and his pastoral standards and care are of the highest level. We wish Richard all the very best in a very well-deserved retirement from Shiplake. 

Ed Olhausen  

Ed has been at Shiplake since 2017 joining as a teacher of BTEC Business and quickly working his way up to Head of Business Studies and Deputy Housemaster of Orchard. Ed has done a terrific job leading the Business Studies department – his calm, committed approach to all that he does has meant that the pupils benefit enormously from his, and the department’s teaching. Outside the classroom, Ed’s superb musical talent and contribution to the staff band will be much missed as well as his skills as a sports coach. Ed really is the epitome of a professional, enthusiastic and passionate teacher and John Hampden Grammar are going to be very lucky to have him.

Grant Woolner 

Grant has been at Shiplake for just over four years and in this time has pushed standards within the Theology and Philosophy Department. More recently, Grant has been looking after the scholars’ programme, developing and implementing several initiatives to increase the breadth and depth of scholars’ experiences at Shiplake - it is having impact in both higher expectations of our scholars and their accountability for their performance. We would like to congratulate Grant and wish him every success in his new role as Deputy Head (Academic) at Luckley House.   

James Burgess 

An Old Viking and former Head of College, James returned to Shiplake College at the start of the 2022/2023 academic year as a Sports/Teaching Assistant. James has been a popular member of the SCR since rejoining the College in a teaching capacity and has taken on role after role. This resulted in him receiving the Coach of the Year award during the rugby season for his excellent work with the U16s. We wish him the best as he goes on to study Sport Science at Loughborough University.  

Catherine Brazil 

Catherine has been at Shiplake since October 2015 when she joined the Bursary team working as a Finance Assistant. Catherine then moved to work in the Marketing team as the Events and Alumni Officer, a role that she has been doing brilliantly since 2018. Catherine has provided a warm and friendly welcome for many OVs who come back to look at how the College has developed and has been responsible for organising and promoting numerous OV events, many of which go on behind the scenes. By her own admission, Catherine could have happily stayed working at the College but has chosen to follow her long-held dream of becoming a Probation Officer. We wish her all the very best in her new career. 

Arnaud Cottey 

Arnaud has been at Shiplake since 2016 and has been a stalwart member of the grounds team. Arnaud plays a huge role in ensuring that the pitches and in particular the cricket square are in tip top condition. He can often be seen putting out goal posts, marking pitches, cutting, watering and rolling to keep the wicket and outfield maintained and when he is not doing that, often referees weekend fixtures as well as taking part in staff football. We wish him every success in his next venture and thank him for all the work he has done to keep our greens and pitches in terrific condition.