New and Familiar Faces

At the start of the Autumn Term, in addition to welcoming new pupils, we welcomed many new (and one familiar!) members of staff to the College. We hope that you enjoy your time here and look forward to seeing you in action inside and out of the classroom! 

Mrs Sally Elliott

We are delighted to welcome Mrs Elliott to the College as our new Deputy Head (Pastoral). Mrs Elliott was previously Assistant Principal at Reading Girls’ School where she was responsible for safeguarding, inclusion, personal development and behaviour and attendance. As Designated Safeguarding Lead, Sally has a wealth of experience in a wide range of challenging scenarios and as a result has developed strong relationships with local authorities and their designated officers (LADO). 

Having grown up in Italy, Mrs Elliott is a fluent Italian speaker, teaches MFL, and has experience in delivering many co-curricular activities such as football, running, trampolining, Italian Film Club and student senior leadership groups. 

To read more about Mrs Elliott, a separate news article has been published.

Mrs Fiona Dunn 

Welcome to Mrs Dunn who joins as Assistant Head (Pastoral). Mrs Dunn joins us from the Duke of York’s Military School in Dorset where she was previously DDSL, the lead role for staff training in safeguarding. 

Mrs Dunn has a long record of experience in boarding both as Housemistress and as Senior Housemistress. She is a teacher of Physical Education and is fully immersed in the co-curricular side of school, coaching hockey and athletics. 

Mrs Dunn will work closely with Mrs Elliott, our new Deputy Head (Pastoral), and together they will make an extremely strong pastoral team to support our pupils. 

Revd Dr Nick Baker 

Revd Dr Baker joins us as the new School Chaplain, having worked previously as a Librarian/Curator at Hereford Cathedral and College Librarian at Eton College. Following his last role as Archivist at Princethorpe College, our new 'Rev' began training to be ordained for the ministry and is currently an Assistant Curate in Leicestershire.   

Revd Dr Baker’s experience in independent schools has given him an insight and love of working within a community where he enjoys supporting others and lending a listening ear. 

Mrs Teuta Hill 

Mrs Hill joins us as the College’s new Head of Business Studies. She has most recently been Associate Head of Faculty and Head of Business and Economics at Kingsbury High School. Prior to that she was a Business Studies Teacher at William Morris Sixth Form. 

Mrs Hill has a wealth of experience as a Quality Nominee for BTEC and, additionally, is also very interested in wellbeing and has led wellbeing classes for pupils. 

Miss Ella Morgan 

Miss Morgan joins the College as one of the newest additions to the Maths Department. Having just completed her PGCE placement, Miss Morgan has a background in economics and started her career in accountancy as an audit associate. However, following the pandemic, she decided to pursue a career in teaching.   

Miss Morgan is keen to engage with wider school activities such as music, rock climbing and Duke of Edinburgh.  

Mr Neil Adam 

A very warm welcome back to Mr Adam who returns to the Maths Department! Many of you will be familiar with Mr Adam who stepped in for a term last year to cover in the department and we are delighted that he is returning to Shiplake on a permanent basis.   

Mr Adam did a wonderful job when he was here, seamlessly slotting into the maths team, delivering high quality teaching in very short space of time, putting his hand up for lots of things, and enjoying our school community. 

Mr George Bosomworth 

Mr Bosomworth joins the College with the History Department having recently completed his PGCE in Kent. Passionate about history and teaching, Mr Bosomworth is also an avid sports enthusiast and football and handball coach. 

Miss Sarah Kenyon 

Miss Kenyon joins us as an additional teacher in the Science Department. Previously, she was Assistant Head (Teaching and Learning) and Head of Biology at The Oratory. 

Miss Kenyon brings a wealth of experience in her subject and general science and is a Level 2 qualified rowing coach having coached boys and girls since 2014. She is also a keen netballer. 

Mr Ben Cartwright

Mr Cartwright joins us as the newest addition to the Theology and Philosophy Department. He has just completed his PGCE with QTS and prior to that, spent a year as a Graduate Resident Assistant in the Educational Progress Department at Taunton School.   

Mr Cartwright is a keen actor and vocalist and performs as part of a Barbershop choir.  

Mrs Lucy Isaac 

Mrs Isaac joins the English Department in a temporary capacity as she provides maternity cover for the first half of this term. She is in the process of completing a Masters in Education at Reading University, having previously worked as a Nurture Lead and Subject Teacher at Chilworth House Upper School. Shiplake isn't completely new to Mrs Isaac though as she held her wedding reception here over the summer!

Mrs Natalie Spearing

Mrs Spearing is the latest addition to our marketing team joining us as the new Alumni Relations and Events Officer. Mrs Spearing brings a wealth of marketing and events experience having previously worked for the Chartered Institute of Marketing. 

Miss Violet Weston

Miss Weston joins as the newly-created position of PA to the Bursar. Miss Weston began her career in education at Abberley Hall School as a gap year student and was soon promoted to the position of PA to the Head.   

Miss Weston impressed everyone with her depth of understanding of the PA role and the rhythm of working in an educational setting. She has previously worked in London as a Marketing and PR intern and joined the Bursary team in July. 

Mr Colin Gingell

Mr Gingell joined us in August in a hybrid role as Maintenance Technician and Rugby Coach. He has a background of developing houses and a varied career in different industries. He is looking forward to being part of the team and, with the familiar surname, is Mr Bertie Gingell’s father! 

Mr Ryan Coling

Mr Coling, who has 15 years of experience working as a gardener at various companies, joined the grounds team over the summer and got stuck in straight away into looking after our sports fields and helping prepare them for the rugby season, as well as working hard to maintain the hedges and flowerbeds around the site.