Staff

Staff Leavers

Alexandra Hems

Headteacher 5 years at St George’s

Since joining us in January 2017, Alex has been an impressive Head. From the outset she has demonstrated an incredible understanding of the values of girls' schools. She has been a huge supporter of all activities across the programmes at St George’s. One of her first priorities when she joined the school was to set up the Foundation Office at St George’s and put in place a network so that former pupils could not only stay in touch with the school, but also so that they could help each other as women in the workplace. She started the London reunions, which have been so successful, and has taken a genuine interest in the careers of our alumnae. Our 130 celebrations were Alex's idea and the wonderful frieze of the history of the school will forever be a reminder of her Headship.

Covid, of course, was a great challenge. Alex's leadership ensured that St George's was the talk of Edinburgh for our provision during lockdown. Furthermore, to have overseen the magnificent refurbishment of the Hall and Crush Hall during such a time is truly to Alex's credit. Alex has a wonderful work ethic and managed to balance the leadership of St George’s with her own family life, which is no mean feat. Not only that, she also achieved this with energy, grace and humour. Particular thanks come from us for Alex’s interest in the Old Girls, two of which now include her own daughters, Charlotte and Sophie. Thank you, Alex, for your support and leadership of the school. We wish you every success in your new role as Head of the Aldenham Foundation in Hertfordshire and hope you will stay in touch. Don’t forget, you may leave St George’s, but St George’s doesn’t leave you!

Fiona White

Deputy Head of JS, 32 years at St George’s

Fiona has been a central part of St George’s Junior School for the past three decades and has been a driving force for the development of the vision and ethos that is strongly in evidence today. She is a passionate and dedicated teacher, who always prioritises the needs of the children in everything that she does. Fiona joined St George’s Junior School in August 1990 and was initially employed as a teacher of

Upper Primary. Her talent for teaching, organisation and enthusiasm shone through immediately leading to her appointment as Head of Lower Primary. Fiona’s keen eye for detail made her the ideal person to develop the Science curriculum for every stage of Junior School. Fiona’s colleagues and generations of children will remember with fondness the many Science Fun Days that Fiona coordinated for the Junior School. These were full days dedicated to providing children with an opportunity to witness first-hand the wonder of the scientific world! This patience embodies Fiona as a teacher. She has time for every child in her class, and indeed the entire Junior School. Fiona has a wonderful sense of humour and this is in evidence not only for her colleagues but also for parents and children as well. Fiona has been an incredible influence over the positive ethos focused on wellbeing, learning and enjoyment for our young learners in Junior School, especially following her appointment as Principal Teacher (learning and teaching) in August 2014, and then as Deputy Head of Junior School in 2016. The nurturing atmosphere which ensures that every girl feels welcomed and included is a huge part of what makes our school so special and Fiona has been instrumental in its development. We wish Fiona well for the adventures that she is planning for this next stage of her life. Bon voyage Fiona – thank you for being a wonderful colleague - we will miss you!

Milly Adams

Teacher of Primary, 28 years at St George’s Milly began her career at St George’s as a respected full time Primary 4 teacher in January 1994. With much to give, Milly soon became a valued member of the Duke of Edinburgh team in the same year, leading multiple expeditions over the hills for many years. On return from maternity leave following the birth of her first child, Rebecca in 1996, Milly took up a job-share with her colleague, Fiona, pioneering the way for a more flexible approach to working at St George’s Junior School. Completely committed to her role as a Duke of Edinburgh leader, Milly continued to devote many a weekend to expeditions and was often to be seen with her baby, Thomas, on her back as she walked the hills with the St George’s Duke of Edinburgh students. In 2015, with her family now growing up quickly, Milly returned to full time teaching, becoming a Primary 1 teacher, where she has enjoyed teaching the youngest of our students. Milly is an accomplished pianist, has green fingers when growing plants, is a master cake baker and is a very obliging member of staff who is a pleasure to work with. St George’s Junior School will miss you, Milly (and your cakes!). Wishing you all the very best Milly, as you move into retirement.

Peter Thomson

Head of Music, 22 years at St George’s Peter joined St George’s in August 2000 as a Teacher of Music under Philip Redfern and swiftly established himself as a passionate musician. This is no surprise as he had studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama, achieving a Double First diploma in voice and piano, followed by his PGCE. While we know of Peter’s love of Jazz and his success with the Jazz Band, it is a little-known fact that he sang in the Scottish Opera between 1983-87. He uses his powerful vocal chords to good effect in the RMC and at hymn

practices, when it sometimes seemed as though he and Mark Ashmore were the only people actually singing. We have also benefited from Peter’s skills on the piano at assemblies, although he needs the odd nudge when he loses count of the number of verses that have been sung. Peter’s well-deserved promotion to Director of Music in 2015 heralded a new age of music at St George’s. He has been very energetic in his promotion of music, both curricular and co-curricular, and his list of concerts, performers’ platforms, musicals and indeed music tours, is long and impressive. Covid hit music particularly hard, and it is greatly to Peter’s credit, and that of the Faculty he leads, that so many of our students continued their lessons online and have re-formed orchestras, choirs, ensembles and bands. New applications for instrumental lessons are, in fact, at a record high. ‘Sister Act’ was a triumph in the most difficult of circumstances, and the concerts held over the last few weeks of term were a testament to the hard work and determination of our musicians, led by Peter. We must also thank Peter’s wife, Michelle, who has accompanied many of our musicians over the years. Peter’s daughter, Lizzie, left St George’s in 2014 and has gone on to forge her own successful musical career. Thank you, Peter, for your contribution to the musical life of St George’s over the last 22 years. We hope you enjoy a long, happy and musical retirement.

Paula Sinclair

Teacher of Primary 19 years at St George’s Paula attended St George’s as a pupil from 1980 and graduated in 1993. She went onto study at Aberdeen University where she received an MA Hons in French and then onto Edinburgh University where she attained her PGCE in Primary Education. We were very fortunate that Paula returned to St George’s in August 2003, as a Primary Teacher where she has taught in varying stages across the primary years, in particular with our Primary 6s, the P3s, our P1s and for 6 years with the P5s. During this time Paula was also involved in the CCF and was also our Acting Contingent Commander in 2005. In more recent years, Paula made the move back to Lower School to teach the P6s. With her wealth of knowledge at this age and stage (and of course St George’s as a whole, including Lower School), she hit the ground running. In less than three years she has led the eco committee to devise, fundraise and build an outdoor biodiversity classroom and a rather large, outdoor seating area outside Lansdowne Modern. Two significant projects have been created through passion from Paula and, in turn, our students. Paula always had her students and colleagues' best interests at heart. We are incredibly thankful for her attention to detail, time with students who have moved on from P6 and her care. Paula - we are all very excited for you and your next chapter and wish you all the very best.

Iain Fleming

Digital Content and Website Manager, 14 years at St George’s During his 13 years at St George’s, Iain’s mastery of IT skills and a willingness to problem-solve to create something useful for staff have provided us with a range of IT systems. Many of these feature in the backbone to the smooth running of the school including the IT Helpdesk ticket system, the secure exams procedure for computer use, helping to implement Virtual Reality into the curriculum, rolling out Microsoft Teams in the space of 2 weeks before the school shut due to lockdown and running the setup and delivery of the live Teams and Zoom Virtual Events Later adding Digital Content Manager to his armoury and in this capacity, he has been instrumental in creating quality video content and photography for the school. Our video clips are a fundamental part of our marketing strategy, and they play a key role in bringing the school to life across all our digital channels. Iain is always super quick at responding to IT issues coming into the Hub and more than once has

dealt sensitively with navigating stressed teachers through Microsoft Teams during the early days of distance learning. In addition, he has made a huge contribution to supporting all staff in keeping up to date with their plethora of IT devices and the fast pace of changing IT. His help and support have been greatly appreciated by staff and students at St George’s. We wish him well with his new role at Edinburgh Uni Business School as Technology Support Officer.

Cate Stewart

Early Years Practitioner 14 years at St George’s After thirteen years with St George’s Nursery, Cate Stewart made the difficult decision to retire at the end of this term. During her time in Nursery, Mrs Cate has shown extraordinary love, care and warmth to all of the children. Her gentle and kind approach has long been appreciated by children and families alike. Her knowledge of the early years curriculum is much admired and she has a special skill for sharing this wisdom with the children. Cate has been an important advocate for developing art projects within the nursery and we will remember her well for these spectacular displays. Her background in graphic design means that she is an inspirational artist in her own right. Her own enthusiasm and creativity has allowed many a child to express themselves with gusto and meaning! Over the years, Cate has been a supportive colleague to all in the Nursery and Junior School team. She is much respected and always sees the best in every situation. In recent years the song 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' has been a favourite of hers to sing, and Cate's colleagues in nursery say that this captures her cheerful and optimistic approach perfectly.

So, although it is with sorrow that we say goodbye, we know that Cate is looking ahead to this new chapter in her life. She is looking forward to being able to spend more time with her extended family, and beloved dad. And, as her daughter Lucy prepares to enter into her final terms of sixth form here at St George's, Cate is keen to be able to support Lucy with this new and exciting stage of her young life as well. Thank you Cate for being such a valued member of our St George's nursery team, and for all of your contributions to our school.

Jane Thompson

Senior Admissions Officer, 11 years at St George’s Jane started at St George's in September 2010 as a part-time playleader in the After School Care Team, before taking on the additional role of part-time Admissions Officer in October 2011 (working between two areas), before being solely in Admissions from August 2018. At St George's she has enjoyed all her different roles working with many lovely and talented people and happy children. Working in the Nursery and Junior School has always been a lot of fun, and she has many happy memories from berry picking at Craigies Farm or sandcastle building at North Berwick with holiday club to pulling young children on sledges around the hockey pitches in the deep snow of 2010. Her role in Admissions has been somewhat more serious but also rewarding in a different way! Admissions is a diverse and interesting role; she has met a huge range of people, and certainly, no two days have ever been the same. We will miss Jane's friendship, hard work, dedication and professionalism. She has been an outstanding member of the admissions team, a strong team player, a tower of support and a dear friend to many. We wish Jane the very best in her retirement!

Jackie Irvine

Teacher of English, 11 years at St George’s Before joining us at St George’s, Jackie had been a Head of Faculty, a staff reporter and also a freelance writer. Jackie is a wonderfully, warm-hearted woman. She cares deeply about her students, colleagues and friends, and can always be relied upon to lend a listening ear or a supportive word in times of stress or difficulty. If you are having a wobbly day, a quick chat in the staffroom or WhatsApp exchange with Jackie will set you right again. As a teacher both of English and of Support for Learning, Jackie brings to the classroom a sense of fun and a real passion for learning, patiently carrying even the most reluctant students along with her. Students speak of her with fondness and latterly she has been very much missed. Despite years of experience and expertise which she could easily draw upon, Jackie epitomises the expression ‘going the extra mile’, and this is especially true where issues of student wellbeing and pastoral support are concerned. Jackie is a strong advocate for the students in her care, speaking up for them and never afraid to put her head above the parapet when others might shy away. We fervently hope that during this long and happy retirement, Jackie will still make time for a few WhatsApps!

Clea Friend

Visiting Music Teacher (cello), 8 years at St George’s Clea's work as a community musician has expanded recently to the Middle East where she is involved in setting up a music programme for Syrian refugees in Aarsal, Lebanon. She has also been employed to work in her own community to aid with Covid recovery and for this has set up the new Stockbridge Music Hub. (www.musichub.uk) These projects along with an active freelance playing career create a rewarding musical combination. She has enjoyed her seven years at St George's and hopes to keep connected with the music department through occasional coaching, adjudicating and teaching.

Billy Melville

MIS Support, 7 years at St George’s Billy joined St George’s in June 2015 and slipped quickly into his role. Billy set about making his mark by offering his thoughts and ideas to streamline our processes. A friendly face and a helpful nature made him a firm favourite of the staff as he was always to willing to help. Billy’s ability to manipulate vast amounts of data in a single spreadsheet should be recognised at this point. What would look daunting to most was a normal amount of data for him to handle. His attention to detail is second to none. Over the course of his time at St George’s he has worked on some large projects requiring large volumes of data to be cleaned and manipulated. In all cases this has been done carefully and commented on by the system suppliers. He never got stressed by anything. Despite a to do list as long as your arm, Billy calmy worked his way through it. Often working beyond his 5pm finishing time to make sure he got it done (unless it was a Friday and there were after school drinks!). When the decision was made to move our MIS to ISAMS, Billy was instrumental in the data migration and cleansing. This was a huge project made harder thanks to COVID, but it is a testament to him that the data was migrated in time and the system was up and running in 8 months. Billy will be an absolute loss to the MIS team and to the staff as a whole.

Thank you for all the support you have given everyone.

Turid Engstrom

Early Years Practitioner 7 years service Turid joined St George’s Nursery team in April 2015 and has worked with every age and stage of Nursery children. She is passionate about Nursery education and is an advocate for children’s play experiences, especially in the outdoor environment. Turid has great skill and training in equity of provision for children with additional support for learning needs in the early years setting. Turid has been a driving force in developing the Nursery playground and Fantastical Forest areas in recent years. She enjoyed extending the children and staff knowledge of the Virtual Nature School during the Spring term 2021 and was dedicated to ensuring that all children had access to learning stimuli for outdoor activities during covid lockdowns. The Nursery team will miss Turid’s drive and determination – no task is too great and Turid will always find a way to bring quality provision and care to the children. For Turid, the child is always at the centre. We have been proud of Turid as she has worked hard to complete er BEd in Early Childhood Education over the last few years, at the same time as working towards becoming a Forest School Leader and also being mummy to two very energetic twin boys. You are an inspiration Turid, and we wish you every success in developing your home as a childminding setting, and we know that this new chapter of your life will be a wonderful success.

Olivia Lovely

HR Manager, 5 years at St George’s Since Olivia joined us in August 2017, she has been a huge asset to St George’s. Olivia’s eye for detail is a great strength, and we have always been in awe of her ability to retain a great deal of complex information, relating to employment law for example, and to apply it to a given situation with ease. Her wise, considered counsel, and willingness to give herself wholeheartedly to finding solutions to apparently intractable problems has been much appreciated. As note taker to the Staff Consultative Forum she has been invaluable, and I know we will miss her in this capacity as in so many other areas of school life. She has definitely been the human face of HR, and gives a great deal of herself, with kindness, patience and sensitivity. A great listener, however long her own to-do list, she always makes time for people. We hope that her new life on Skye allows her plenty of good balance and relaxation as well as a professional challenge. We wish her every success and happiness in her new adventure!

Rebecca Warren

Head of Physics 5 years at St George’s

Becky started at St George’s in 2017 as Teacher of Physics, having joined us from Manchester Creative and Media Academy. She gained her first degree from Edinburgh in Physics, has a Masters from Oxford in Archaeological Science, a further Masters qualification from Glasgow in Proteomic Technologies and a PhD in Biophysics, also from Glasgow. Becky quickly impressed us, not only in the classroom but also with the enthusiasm with which she embraced other areas of school life. During her time with us, Becky has worked in Houldsworth as a Boarding Tutor, where her contribution was very much appreciated, and she also edited two outstanding editions of the Chronicle with impressive attention to detail and editorial flair. In due course, Becky took on the role of Head of Physics, and we have very much appreciated her thoughtful leadership of the department. The UK Space Design Team has flourished and achieved success at National level under her inspiring leadership; this is such a special opportunity for our students, to work across year groups, and also, in the finals, with teams from other schools. Becky leaves us to explore new opportunities outside the classroom, and we wish her every success and happiness in this next stage of what we know will be a great career.

Nicolas Curiel

ICT Technician, 4 ½ years at St George’s Nicolas Curiel, known to us all as Nico, joined St George’s four and a half years ago with an ambition to further his IT knowledge and improve his understanding of English. He has succeeded on both fronts and has made an enormously valuable contribution to the constantly busy IT department. His work has taken him to all corners of the school and he has undertaken some of the grubbier tasks in hidden nooks which keep our IT running smoothly. He has always done this with a smile on his face and a willingness to learn and improve. While our lives were affected by the pandemic, Nico felt the impact more closely than many of us, being cut-off from friends and family in his native Spain. It is to there, and Valencia specifically, that Nico will move and we all wish him well in his journey and future life. Nico, thank you for all that you have done for St George's and good luck with your future career.

Nicola McPhail

HR Assistant, 4 years at St George’s Nicola has worked part-time in HR since August 2018. Joining us from ESMS where she was their parttime After Schools Club Administrator, Olivia recalls during the recruitment process Nicola advising she was looking for 'greater variety and a heavier workload’. I think we can safely say that Nicola got exactly what she had hoped for at St George's, possibly too much at times. Working part-time and initially squirrelled away in a side office upstairs in Lansdowne House and then most recently backstage in Upper School, not everyone may have been as fortunate as her immediate colleague to get to know Nicola through her sense of humour, available ear to listen, a fascination with the weather, and a love of animals, music and family - although those of you who joined us in the last couple of years will have no doubt had an email exchange at the point of applying for your job, and a friendly word/setting you at ease on your interview day as Nicola was front and central at being everywhere at once on those days, no mean feat when plate spinning the organising of panels, tours and lesson observations where necessary, as well as switching all of this to being on-line over lockdown whilst balancing her own home-life and homeschooling of her two girls. Nicola's behind the scenes presence and willingness to throw herself into the heavy workload, often working beyond her scheduled finishing time to the detriment of time with her family, has been really appreciated and greatly valued by Olivia and our recruiting managers. Nicola leaves us to join the SSPCA, Scotland's animal welfare charity, as Board Secretary and Administrative Assistant, thereby combining two of her passions - animals and family with this working-from-home position. We wish her every success in this new venture.

Jeremy Harper

Business Director, 3 years at St George’s Jeremy joined us in 2019 from Edinburgh Academy, and, as the school’s first Business Director, I think it is not an exaggeration to say that he has had a transformative impact on the way in which we operate at St George’s. I think we have all appreciated the transparency and clarity with which he has presented the operations of the school as a business to us, his approachability, visibility and wide-ranging interests in all aspects of school life. Jeremy was in his second term here when Covid struck and I simply do not know how we would have fared without him. The Houldsworth team will remember Jeremy helping to fix fire alarms in the House late into an evening. A keen walker and lover of the outdoors, he

volunteered to accompany students in the Pentlands during the summer term when we were short of staff. Able to move comfortably between operational and strategic thinking, Andrew, Olivia, and latterly Jill and I have very much enjoyed wide-ranging discussions in our many meetings over the last two years. Far from the traditional image of the penny-pinching Bursar, Jeremy is prudent of course, as we would hope, but his first instinct has always been to try to make things happen for the school if he possibly can. A man of immensely generous spirit and humanity, Jeremy has brought so much more than financial wisdom to St George’s. Jeremy leaves us to become the Finance Director of the National Museums Scotland, which sounds like a tremendous role and one in which we know he will excel. Jeremy, we will miss you greatly, but we wish you every success and happiness in this next stage of your career.

Martin Crawford

Teach of English, 3 years at St George’s Compassionate, loyal, creative: these are just some of the words that we would use to describe Martin Crawford. Martin has been working with us in English over the past few years, initially here and there as a cover for colleagues, but for the last few years as an integral member of our department. Martin is a colleague who is always willing to talk - but more importantly, is willing to listen. We all remember the meaningful conversations we have had, and how his supportive, calming presence has helped steady us in trying times. It is not only us as colleagues, but the students who have been affected by him. Martin is passionate about art, poetry and literature, and he shares that passion with his classes with an emotional sincerity that never fails to resonate. His high expectations and supportive demeanour make him adept at drawing the very best out of his students; under his guidance, their creativity soars. Martin is leaving St George's to move to Madrid where he will explore the new role as a teacher of art, and we will miss him enormously. We will miss never quite knowing what amazing life-story we will find out next: previous forays into a medical degree, careers as an English teacher in Edinburgh and Hong Kong, completing his art degree, his award-winning art exhibitions - and even building bikes. He is a man of many guises, of many interests, and of many wonderful qualities. We wish you, Kirsty - and Pepper - the very best of luck, and we promise to try not to be too jealous when thinking of you soaking up the Spanish sunshine. Thank you for your support, your understanding, and your boundless enthusiasm. Please stay in touch and enjoy your next adventure.

Scott Robertson

Janitor, 1 year at St George’s Scott has been a reliable and useful member of the team, always ready with a smile and helping hand and has been a great help managing Saturday hockey parking and looking after the growing number of weekend events at St George’s. Scott will be missed from St George's and will be an asset to Clifton Hall School. We wish you all the best going forward Scott.

Jane Jones

Teacher of English, 1 year at St George’s Jane joined the English department at the perfect time: January 2021, straight into a national lockdown! She hadn't met the department. She hadn't met any of her students... but undaunted by these challenges, she immediately got stuck in. Through her little box on a Teams call, she radiated a warmth and generosity of spirit that helped us all through those long winter months and when we were all finally able to be together in person, we realised that what we had only just been given a glimpse of her kindness, humour and fabulousness. As a teacher, Jane is dedicated to educating young people about pertinent issues in society, encouraging them to think independently, follow their creative talents and strive to break barriers. Her vast capacity of empathy and her enthusiasm means her classes adore her; it also enabled her to forge strong relationship with them even when all she was staring at were circles on a computer screen. She has designed schemes of lessons that challenge and focus on emotional intelligence, and her classes are really going to miss her.

But it is as a colleague that Jane has made the biggest impact and will leave the biggest legacy - and that is not just the office pastries for Friday breaktimes. She is a pillar of style and manners, and an appreciator of all things fabulous.

She is a theatre and film buff and always has things to recommend. Her glamour is legend and we all wish we could be like Jane when we grow up. She has a wonderful capacity for sensitivity, willing to listen and support anyone with an inclusive and non-judgmental outlook, never missing an opportunity to ask about things that matter to others.

A devoted mum to three wonderful boys, Jane is also a widely published professional writer and leaves us to focus on that. We have even been privileged to meet her alter-ego, Princess Poppy, when she came in in full costume to do a reading with the Junior school, and we know that many exciting opportunities lie ahead.

Jane, we will miss your wonderful stories about trips to the White House and London publishing parties with various celebrities. We will miss the colour and the joy you bring every time you arrive in the office, and the department will (quite literally) be a duller place without you.

Mariam Khalik

Support for Learning, 1 year at St George’s Mariam joined St George's just as the second lockdown commenced and immediately built a rapport with her students online - not a start in a new school that anyone would have wanted to experience. In her time here, Mariam has shown her professional dedication and commitment; she knows her P4 and P5 students well and is able to work with their teachers to ensure we are offering the best possible support. In her work with Joanne they have embraced new support systems with the introduction of Nessy and this is where Mariam's dedication to support for learning comes to the fore - she has trained as an access arrangement assessor and is in the final stages of her Masters, which she will complete work on while in quarantine on arrival in Hong Kong in June. Kellett School in Hong Kong are gaining an Additional Support Co-ordinator who embraces the role of support for learning for the whole school community and we hope that the move goes well and brings your family closer together following the impact that has been wrought by Covid.

Lauren Walker

Teacher of History and Modern Studies Lauren swept into the Department after an extensive career in international schools, latterly in Sweden, and, although in a temporary post, has shown boundless energy and enthusiasm. Her refreshing no-nonsense, straight-talking approach has inspired all of us to question more - and even to examine how metacognitive principles were embedded into the Swedish education reforms in 2011. Her European perspective has also enabled her to deploy a wealth of relevant examples when discussing contemporary political and social issues in Modern Studies.

Pam Oates

Teacher of Economics In the years she has been working at St George’s Pam has turned her hand to delivering lessons in Graphic Communication, ICT, Modern Studies, History, Economics and, latterly, Business Management.The experience and wisdom that comes with her many years of experience as a Principal Teacher at Preston Lodge High School also shone through - I have a memory of her handling the situation with aplomb when the WiFi failed whilst one of our trickier Upper 4 classes was embarking on an extended online task - and won her the respect of our students.

Iain Smith

Teacher of Mathematics Iain has been part of the Maths Faculty for almost two years. He says they have been the best two years of his work life, which is extremely flattering for us! His colleagues describe him as being ‘without a doubt the most creative Maths teacher I have ever known’. His treasure hunts and the Times Table Rock Stars are great examples of his level of creativity. For the latter, he was dressed up as an old rocker and jumped around the room with a fake guitar! Iain is a thoroughly committed and dedicated teacher, who tries and does his utmost best to make sure that every student achieves their potential and has an enjoyable learning experience at the same time. As a colleague, he is incredibly kind and generous, always available to help, discuss best practice, share resources, give his time to organise events. We wish him best of luck and thank him for all that he has contributed to the Faculty and to the School in the last two years.

Megan Monczko

Early Years Practitioner The Nursery and Junior School were delighted to welcome Megan Monczko to our team in January 2021. Megan is a primary teacher from Australia who has specialised in early years’ education. Prior to her time in St George’s, Megan has gained much experience from working in schools and early education and childcare settings in both Australia and Canada. Megan joined us at the beginning of a period of national lockdown at the start of this year and we were grateful to her for the resilience and adaptability that she showed us during this time. Always helpful, happy and upbeat Megan has been an excellent team player and we were grateful to her for the insight and

energy she applied to each task. It is fair to say that although Megan has been with us at St George’s for a short amount of time, she has made a positive impact on many children in both Nursery and Junior School. Her time in Scotland may have been different to what she originally planned as she embarked on her global travels but we hope that she will take happy memories from her time here with us.

Alice King

Graduate Boarding Assistant Alice joined St George's as a Graduate Boarding Assistant in October 2020 from Aldro School in Surrey where she worked as a Matron. Alice’s chirpy, chatty, creative, and energetic nature was an instant hit with the boarders in Houldsworth helping her to settle in quickly to an already established house. She has become a positive presence that the girls will certainly miss. When we were facing a period of lockdown in early 2021, Alice adapted well to a completely new role and took ownership of the supervision of the girls in the Key Worker Hub. The girls were at the heart of her thinking; she always ensured they had what they needed, were tuned into lessons on time, took interest in their work and was a motivation for them through this approach. Alice is an excellent communicator. Creative, willing, and cheerful, she is curious and clearly cares deeply about the individual girls in her charge. During a period of staff shortage due to selfisolation, together with pupil isolation and a positive COVID case, Alice was positive, efficient, and calm, unaffectedly taking the lead throughout the day. Despite the added pressures, she also managed to organise a House quiz and host it with great aplomb, making it accessible and entertaining for all.

In Houldsworth, Alice has been able to draw on her own experience of boarding as a child, enabling her to stand in the girls’ shoes and reflect on what makes a comfortable, happy home for all. The Houldsworth team would like to thank her for the energy and enthusiasm she brought in what was an extraordinary, challenging, and changeable year. Alice leaves us to join Wycombe Abbey as Graduate Resident Tutor. We wish her every success.

Lower 4 Art