Having gained a BSc Hons in Geography at Queens University Belfast, Joanne went onto complete her PGCE at Manchester Metropolitan University. She has over 10 years teaching experience and begin her first role at an ‘Outstanding’ Grammar School in the UK where she taught Geography across all the secondary key stages. From there she moved onto a new role within a secondary school in Manchester where she was promoted to Citizenship coordinator and later took on the role as Deputy Head of Department and lead teacher of Geography. Prior to living in Dubai, she began her international teaching career in Qatar where she taught Geography at a British International school in Doha.

Sarah has been with Brighton College Dubai since its opening in August 2018 and holds a BA (ITE) Physical Education degree from St Mary’s University College, Twickenham. Prior to teaching internationally, Sarah worked in London for 5 years across the independent and state sector, establishing herself across both primary and secondary teaching phases.

Having been teaching for over 8 years, she has undertaken a variety of roles through with through the Hackney Teaching Schools Alliance, Head of Girls Games and now most recently Director of Sport and Co-Curricular Coordinator here at Brighton College Dubai. As a former ballerina, she is heavily involved with Dance and Performing Arts within the College community.

As a teacher, Sarah is particularly passionate about Aquathon, Cross Country, Swimming, Dance, Trampolining and Triathlon across the Dubai sports leagues of which  all schools are part of. Sarah is also newly appointed as Head of Primary Swimming for competitive leagues. Sarah has spoken at many professional events across the Middle East, the GESS Education Show, BSME PE networks and most recently at the Gulf Youth Sport Conference. Her passion and enthusiasm for the pupils and the College is evident within her day to day life.

Ian will be going into his 8^th year with Brighton College Family, having been at Brighton College Al Ain before joining us here in Dubai. While teaching in the UK he was a junior boarding master while teaching PE and Games. He read his undergraduate degree at the renowned sports institute, Loughborough University, then gained his PGCE at the University of Exeter.

Ian brings unrivalled experience to Brighton College Dubai sport having gained international honours in Rugby Union, Rugby 7's, Rugby League and basketball, as well as a number of professional clubs. Coaching and developing young sports men and women is now his number one passion, and he hopes his immense passion for sport will help inspire the pupils to live very successful and healthy lives. His number two passion is now golf. Having only taken up the game a few years ago due to "lock down" he has managed to get down to a 4 handicap. Feel free to challenge him to a round.

Catherine hails from Swindon in England. Before becoming a teacher, she studied at the University of North Texas in America where she competed as an international athlete on the Swimming and Diving team. She has a real passion for sports and is looking forward to helping pupils find a sport that they love and can enjoy!  
 With her favourite style of dance being Contemporary; she is looking forward to getting involved with lots of  school productions at Brighton College Dubai.

Educated at a West Yorkshire grammar school, Ashley went on to study her Art Foundation at Batley School of Art and Design, (BA) Fine Art at Loughborough University and PGCE with QTS at the University of Cumbria. Over the last decade she worked in two independent boarding schools in the North of England where she was a Boarding Housemistress and Teacher of Art, Photography, Textiles and PE before moving to the United Arab Emirates as one of the founding members of staff at Brighton College Dubai. She is the Head of Art and was the founding Housemistress for Chichester and Ryle Houses for the first three years, also leading Moral Education and PSHE.

She is a ceramic sculptor, textile artist and printmaker as well as an active NSEAD member and advocate for Art Education. Pastorally, she is extremely passionate about wellbeing and safeguarding, particularly affluent neglect. Outside of school, Ashley plays Gaelic football and netball for Dubai clubs and is a keen swimmer.

A teacher and leader of eighteen years, Mr Ahmed has worked within the Brighton College family since 2017, formerly working as Deputy Head of Arabic at Brighton College Abu Dhabi.  In addition to his strong academic successes in the classroom, Mr Ahmed has delivered professional development workshops for teachers across the Middle East and North Africa

Marwa has a Bachelor’s degree in educational Arabic and Islamic, and is currently studying a higher diploma in the academic standards of teaching Arabic.

She has taught at schools in Egypt and the UAE for 11 years and has participated in living Arabic with the KHDA by designing workshops and publishing action research in raising the standard of teaching Arabic. Marwa has also introduced a new program in phonics and participated in His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Arabic Language Award.

Marwa believes every child is a unique child, and she strives to inspire innovation by creating a positive environment which paves the journey to their future.

Lené started her academic training with a Bed.Psych degree in Educational Psychology after which she specialised with a Master’s degree in Play Therapy followed by a PhD in Psychology. She has 17 years of extensive experience in working with children, staff, parents, and professional practitioners. She has managed and had solo responsibility for pastoral teams and wellbeing divisions within various schools and tertiary settings across the globe, with work experience in the United Kingdom, Taiwan and South Africa as well as the UAE. 

Her niche lies in her ability to connect with a child, and she believes that both parents and educators are important stakeholders and role players in enabling children to thrive. Lene provides a high-quality counselling and holistic intervention as well as preventative care and support to all. She is positive, adaptable and solution focused with a great sense of humour! Lené regards it as an honour to be able to invest in the lives of others with time, compassion and empathy.

Tony has been teaching Maths for twenty four years and holds an excellent track record of securing excellent outcomes for pupils. His experiences to date as a teacher and senior leader are wide-ranging; he has experience of special schools, international schools, new start schools  and academies. Alongside his teaching commitment, he has been an Assistant Head Teacher in Manchester for the past 15 years responsible for: curriculum development, assessment, timetabling and the training of new teachers. He looks forward to sharing his creativity and passion for maths with the pupils of Brighton College.

Aidan is originally from Ireland where he studied Mathematics and Education at University before he began his teaching career on the east coast of England. In 2018 he moved to the UAE to continue his teaching journey and has fallen in love with the culture.
 
Mathematics is a great passion of his and he considers himself fortunate to have the opportunity to teach the subject he loves. He has always enjoyed the challenge of solving difficult problems and coming up with solutions to complex tasks.  It is this challenge that motivates him to ensure each pupil gets the opportunity to realise their full potential in his classrooms.
 
Outside of school, Aidan plays hurling, football, tennis and from time to time he plays golf.  His other hobbies also include chess and other board games such as Scrabble and Dingbats.

Kari is currently the House Mistress of Hampden House and teaches Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Physical Education. Before entering the classroom, Kari was a Research Scientist at the University Hospital of South Manchester.

In her role as a Senior Chemistry and Biology teacher, Kari's team helped to secure some of the best GCSE and A levels exam marks in the UAE.  She graduated in 2007 from Queens University, North Carolina with a BSc Biochemistry Minor, following a full sports scholarship in lacrosse. She completed her PGCE at the University of Manchester and taught at Casterton School and the Blue Coat School before moving to the Brighton family in 2014.

Madhu has a postgraduate qualification in Information Management from the London Metropolitan University and has been working as a qualified librarian for over 20 years in the UK and Dubai. Prior to joining BCD, she worked as a founding school librarian at a leading British school in Dubai setting up the primary and secondary libraries there.

She is passionate about helping children become lifelong readers, independent learners and discerning users of information. She firmly believes that these skills are essential for all round success and aims to use her experience and knowledge to develop and nurture these in pupils at Brighton College Dubai.

Asome hails from Manchester, England where she studied Performing Arts specialising in Drama and Media Performance. Currently she is the Lead Drama Teacher at St Monica's RC High School in Manchester. It’s been a pleasure exploring Drama and Theatre in front of and behind the camera. 
 
Teaching Performing Arts is Asome’s greatest passion as it gives the pupils the opportunity to express themselves. She believes in having a great relationship between teacher and pupil is of the highest importance, whilst creating a positive, safe learning environment where students can thrive and progress. 
 
Asome enjoys travelling, exploring new places and she also likes sporting activities, her favourites include: snowboarding, badminton and athletics. 

 

Sinéad is originally from Co. Limerick, Ireland and is pursuing a new teaching role at Brighton College Dubai. Sinéad holds an honours degree in History, Irish and EAL. Sinéad has also received her Professional Masters of Education from the University of Limerick.

Sinéad has experience teaching in Irish schools and has received positive feedback from colleagues and pupils. Sinéad is passionate

about creating a culture of learning while also promoting pupils’ wellbeing and growth both inside and outside the classroom. She regularly assists with extra-curricular activities that benefit pupils.

Guy is originally from London in the UK and has a wealth of experience teaching science spanning the past 15 years. He completed his degree in Zoology and Mathematics at Leeds University and later a teaching qualification at Goldsmiths College in London. His science teaching career commenced in both the state and private systems in the UK and South Africa. Guy worked as Head of Science at one of the leading British boarding schools in Kenya before moving on to teach in Thailand and then later NLCS Jeju in South Korea.
 
Guy’s main aim is to make science fun through hands-on activities and creating a positive learning environment as well as developing independent learners who think critically. He also believes in  lifelong learning, and as such, was awarded an MA in Educational Leadership and Management with distinction in 2020, which he completed whilst teaching full time.

Patrick holds a BA Hons in Physical Education and Sport & Exercise Science and a PGCE in Primary Education. Prior to working at Brighton College Dubai, Patrick worked as a Teacher for the Ministry of Education, helping train and develop other teachers across the United Arab Emirates.

During his time teaching in England, Patrick completed three years teaching Primary Education (Year 4) and developed his passion for Physical Education whilst being the Head of PE. In his second year at Brighton College Dubai, Patrick is part of our fantastic pastoral team as an Assistant Housemaster for Ryle and Chichester Houses.

Patrick is a social media expert and has masterminded our Brighton College Dubai Sports Instagram page with incredible coverage of everything sports at our college. He is also skilled at operating a drone, which was instrumental in the creation of our sixth form opening video and 50^th UAE National Day photos.

Lori holds a BA Hons in Spanish, French and Education and a Diploma in Education from Stirling University. During her degree, she spent a year as an English assistant in a French Lycée and six months as an assistant in Bilbao, Spain.  Once qualified, Lori taught French and Spanish in a senior school and the local feeder primary schools in Fife, Scotland. 

Whilst working in Fife, Lori created and implemented a primary Spanish course for MFL teachers to teach across the Fife region. Most recently, prior to working at Brighton College Dubai, Lori was Head of MFL for almost ten years in an outstanding school in Dubai.

She has worked in education for almost 15 years, working within schools in Fife, France, Spain and Dubai. She has undertaken a variety of roles including Head of MFL, mentor to university students and a mentor to her pupils and colleagues. She has organised successful school trips to France and Spain.

Throughout her teaching career, Lori has devised extensive curriculum materials ranging from KS1 to KS5 and has supported numerous pupils in Dubai to achieve their DELF certifications through the Alliance Française.   

Ian holds a BA Hons in Literature from Essex University, an MA in Literature from Leeds University, the National Professional Qualification for Headship and an assessment qualification awarded by the University of Durham and Edexcel. Prior to Brighton College Dubai, Ian worked at two other schools in the UAE, having previously spent 7 years as a Deputy Headteacher in an outstanding UK school and 17 years in a variety of other teaching and leadership roles.  

In total, Ian has worked in education for almost 30 years, in London, Yorkshire and Dubai. Additionally, he has been a Senior Examiner for Edexcel and OCR, setting A-Levels and the AEA in English Language and English Literature since 2001. He is currently a Fellow of the CIEA. He occasionally writes for publication: his most recent article (about the role of NFT’s and Media Ecology) was published in ‘The Media Magazine’ in September 2021.

Matthew Dunn studied Software Engineering at The University of Durham, after which he worked as a business and technology consultant for cyber security clients with BAE Systems Applied Intelligence in London. He began his teaching career in 2015 in Newcastle upon Tyne, moving to Yarm School in North Yorkshire as the founding teacher, and departmental lead, of the Computer Science department.

Matthew emigrated to Dubai in January of 2020 and founded the Computer Science department of North London Collegiate School Dubai, where pupils of the subject have enjoyed outstanding IB Diploma results. He has also been responsible for driving the provision and development of educational technologies in several schools and enjoys helping pupils embrace technology as a tool to aid their learning and academic progress.

Matthew is an avid tinkerer of electronics and pupils will usually find his classroom filled with robotics projects in various states of assembly.

Beyond the classroom, Matthew enjoys rugby, cycling, and mountaineering.

Before joining Brighton College Dubai, Sophie held the position of Head of German at St. Julian's School, a British international school in Portugal.

She holds an MA in Translation Studies and began her teaching career in England 12 years ago. As a German Language Assistant at Millfield School, she fell in love with teaching, and after completing the Graduate Teacher Programme, moved to Dubai in 2014. For 5 years, she was the Head of German at the outstanding-rated Dubai British School. Whilst she was there, German pupils went on to achieve the best IGCSE results in the school’s history.

Another proud moment in Sophie’s career was implementing a brand new yoga curriculum for all Key Stage 3 pupils to promote mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.

As a dedicated, multilingual and global educator, Sophie always aim to instil a real passion for, and curiosity of, a language and its culture in her pupils. She believes language learning must be fun and relevant to modern life and the real world.

In her free time, Sophie enjoys practising and teaching yoga, exploring new places, keeping fit, vegan baking and playing the piano.

Before joining Brighton College Dubai, Michael held the position of Head of Science at Flixton Girls School, an 11-18 high school in Manchester, UK. He has 21 years of experience, 14 of which as Head of Science, 5 as an Advanced Skills teacher and in addition to this he holds the title of Specialist Leader in Education.

Michael received his Bachelor of Science degree in Key Stage 2/3 Education and Science with Qualified Teacher Status, from Liverpool John Moores University in 2001 and immediately began teaching. Chemistry is his specialism, but over the years he has taught all three Sciences to a high standard.

Throughout his career he has consistently demonstrated the capability of being an expert in Teaching and Learning and has the skills to create a shared vision and strategic plan which motivates both pupils and staff and leads to outstanding outcomes for all involved.

Sophia qualified as a teacher from the University of Aberystwyth in 2012, having obtained her bachelor’s degree from the University of Liverpool in 2009. She joined Brighton College Dubai from St George’s - an independent girls’ school in Ascot, where she held the position of Head of English for the past three years. Prior to this, Sophia worked at Radnor House, Twickenham for three years as the Head of English.

Sophia has a keen interest in research based practice and enjoys implementing her findings into schemes of learning and resources in the classroom. She believes in constantly learning and striving to improve her teaching - that a teacher’s love for their subject is infectious and at the core of great teaching. She aims to ensure that her ‘ardour for literature’ permeates all that she does. Sophia has experience running wide range of initiatives - from book clubs to speaking competitions - and is looking forward to contributing to the co-curricular life of Brighton College Dubai. Sophia is - somewhat predictably - a very keen reader and also enjoys cooking and baking.

After obtaining his RPT Tennis coaching level 2 in 2009, John began his coaching career as Junior tennis pro at David Lloyd health and fitness club. He has also recently passed his Swim teaching Level 2 and looks forward to using these new skills. John moved to Dubai in October 2021 and has since enjoyed travelling and exploring the UAE.
 
John’s main aim is to actively encourage all pupils to participate in new and exciting sports, while focusing on developing leadership and teamwork that will be invaluable as they progress through Brighton College. 
 
Outside of school life, he loves to travel and explore new places. John enjoys all sports but particularly tennis, golf and football.  Having run his first London Marathon last year, John plans to continue to train and hopes to complete another marathon this year. 

After falling in love with the subject at school, Aidan pursued a career in Design and Technology Education and graduated from The University of Brighton in 2012.

After graduating, Aidan worked mainly in schools in Yorkshire, England, achieving consistently outstanding GCSE results, before moving to La Mare de Carteret High School in Guernsey to become their Head of Design and Technology.

One of the elements which Aidan enjoys about his work is the way in which it is ever-evolving and he loves to promote the use of new technologies involving computer aided design and manufacture as well as those life-long traditional skills which form the base of this exiting subject and a fundamental part of the curriculum. 

Aidan feels a responsibility to promote designing for the future with sustainable design at the forefront of this and looks forward to engaging the students of Brighton College with exiting challenges that promote the values we hold, creating the innovators that one day will be designing the products for the next generation, whilst ensuring that the subject is accessible, inclusive and enjoyable for all.

Outside of the classroom Aidan loves to envelop himself in all areas of the school community and has a particular interest in sport, coaching and playing football and tennis as well as being a keen cook.

Swapping green landscapes for sandy ones, Jennifer moved out to Abu Dhabi five years ago, bringing with her a boundless enthusiasm for her subject, a love of puns (and food – and, frequently, food puns!) and extensive pastoral and teaching experience in some of London’s leading schools.

In the intervening years as a senior leader in the UAE, Jennifer worked as Assistant Head (Sixth Form) at Brighton College Abu Dhabi, with a focus on creating opportunities to enhance pupil wellbeing, leadership and ownership of their educational journeys: putting together academic policies to improve teaching and learning, facilitating engaging programmes to challenge learning beyond the curriculum and providing strong pastoral support so pupils can thrive and develop resilience as they learn to engage with the world around them.

Passionate about empowering pupils to drive their own aspirations, Jennifer delivered university preparation workshops and seminars, lead the Diversity Committee and the Wellbeing Team and designed and implemented the Advanced Diploma, specifically to stretch and challenge Y12 pupils alongside their A Level study.

Though she enjoyed inspiring a love of learning in my pupils through these various branches, Jennifer felt that her roots remained in the classroom and so was thrilled to join the English Department with Brighton College Dubai this year.

Alexander started his career as a Geography Teacher in a large school in London, UK and also worked to support the pastoral care of pupils as Deputy Head of Year. Following five successful years in the UK, he moved to China as Head of Humanities at Dulwich College Suzhou, implementing a range of field trips to support Geography coursework. From China, he moved to South Korea and worked at Dulwich College Seoul where he helped pupils to implement sustainable initiatives within the school community.

Alexander has taught Geography across the 11-19 age range and has a wealth of syllabus development experience in addition to working with pupils on strategies to maximise examination technique.

Outside the classroom, his interests include issues around sustainability, travel and spending time with his family.

Alastair grew up in Lincolnshire, England and studied for his degree at The University of Sheffield before completing his PGCE at Bishop Grosseteste University College in Lincoln. He then taught at a large Secondary school in Lincoln for 12 years, becoming Head of Mathematics, followed by a position at an independent school, also in Lincoln, where he worked for almost six years.

He has always had a passion for sport with football, cricket, running, swimming, cycling and fitness training featuring highly and even took part in the 100mile Ride London cycling event last May.

Mostafa holds a degree in Islamic Studies is from Al Azhar University, Egypt, and has a wealth of experience teaching Arabic B pupils across all levels, having completed his TQUK Level 5 Diploma in Education and Training in Dubai. He has extensive experience teaching Islamic Studies in Dubai across a range of high achieving schools, at which his hard work and dedication was appreciated by his colleagues as well as by DSIB.

Mostafa is confident to say that his passion for exploring the true values and morals of Islamic education is in finding its relevance to his pupils.  He considers his excitement and enthusiasm to inspire the next generation to live up to the high values of Islam and to instil in them the responsibility of being good human beings and excellent citizens is his greatest accomplishment.

Mostafa is spiritual and likes to explore different dimensions of nature – in particular the natural world and human nature. When he is not teaching, you will find him reading. He also loves the outdoors, travelling and playing chess.

After obtaining her degree at The National College of Art and Design Dublin in 2009, Emma began her teaching career in Ireland. She moved to Dubai in 2012 and joined Raffles International School, a BSO ‘Outstanding’ school, teaching classes there from Year 5 to A-Level Art.
 
Emma says, "Art is highly subjective and personal to the pupil and their own experiences; it is only through trial, observation, reflection and feedback a pupil can understand their full potential. The freedom to create is what forms the basis of my instruction in the vast and beautiful field of art."
 
Outside of school life, Emma loves to spend time on her own art work, traveling and exploring new places. She loves to try the different cuisines that Dubai has to offer and to get stuck into a good book.