Meet The Teachers

Eltham College is pleased to introduce our Sports Director, Marc Edwards, as part of our Meet the Teacher series.

With a background in sport science and extensive experience in teaching Physical Education, he brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our school community. Marc has a history of participation and excellence in various sports, including football, cricket, and hockey, where he represented his district, county, and even England at the age of 14. He was also a county age group captain for Worcestershire Cricket Club up to U17s and was named captain of the England U21’s hockey team at the Junior World Cup in Malaysia and Youth Olympics in Sydney, Australia where he won a Bronze Medal in the same year.

His experiences in hockey opened many doors for him, including the opportunity to extensively travel the world and study Sport Science at Loughborough University. He began his teaching career in 2012, training to be a PE teacher at KES, Birmingham. Since then, he has gained a diverse range of teaching and leadership experience, including two years at Windsor High School and Sixth Form, Head of Hockey at Princethorpe College, and most recently as Head of Physical Education & Games at Trinity School, Croydon.

Since joining Eltham College, Mr Edwards has been impressed with the students’ enthusiasm for physical activity and competitive sport, which is evident in the high participation rate. With our outstanding sports facilities and dedicated team of PE and Games teachers, the school is able to offer a wide-ranging PE, Games, and Co-curricular program. As we move into a fully co-educational setting Mr Edwards is eager to continue providing extensive opportunities for all students to stay physically active and reach new performance heights in our competitive core sport provision.

As part of our ‘Meet the Teacher’ series Eltham College is proud to introduce our accomplished librarian, Caroline Roche, who brings a wealth of experience to our school.

With nearly 28 years in the field, including six years establishing new libraries from scratch, she has been a valued member of the Eltham College community for the past 10 years. During this time, she has made significant improvements to the library, increasing its usage by replacing 90% of the fiction in the first three years. Caroline has also fostered a culture of reading by creating staff and student book clubs, training student librarians, inviting authors to speak, and creating an environment that supports learning. Additionally, she has invested in online resources and advocates for their integration in teaching and learning.

Beyond her role at Eltham College, Caroline has made significant contributions to the field of school librarianship. She has served as the Chair of CILIP’s School Libraries Group (SLG) for six years, during which she authored two chapters of a book for new school libraries called ‘Creating a School Library with Impact’ and oversaw the development of an Open University course to accompany the book. Caroline’s contributions have been recognised by CILIP, who awarded her an Honorary Fellowship for their services to school libraries.

The Head of Eltham College is a strong supporter of reading and fully endorses our librarian’s efforts to promote reading and the library’s role in education. The end-of-year Prizegiving ceremony at Eltham College centres around books, emphasizing the importance of reading by allowing students to choose a book as their prize. The Head also supports Caroline’s voluntary work as Chair of SLG and the Great School Libraries Campaign, recognising the vital role that libraries play in schools.

Next up in our “Meet the Teacher” series is James Chesterton. He joined Eltham from St George’s College, Weybridge in 2009 as Head of Geography. He later transitioned from an academic to a pastoral management role, becoming Deputy Head of Middle School. He supervised two year groups through their time in Years 9-11, including the current Upper Sixth who sat their GCSEs during the disruption of the Covid pandemic.

In his free time, Mr Chesterton enjoys spending time with his wife and two young children, playing golf, and coaching hockey teams at Eltham College. He is now Assistant Head of Lower School and says: “I am very much enjoying my new role as Assistant Head (Lower School); one of the key reasons I have remained at Eltham for a long part of my career has been the pace of change here in recent years. The addition of wonderful new facilities such as the Turberville Building and the second astroturf pitch has really added to what the school has to offer to prospective students and staff and the move to co-education has been very exciting to be part of.”

Amelia Armstrong joined Eltham College as a Teacher of Economics and Maths after working for two years in an international boarding school in Switzerland. Prior to that she completed a Master’s in Economics and Finance at the University of Bath, achieving a Dean’s Commendation for Academic Excellence.

Amelia has played netball for many years and is now a coach for the girls at Eltham, alongside teaching Economics and Maths.

Miss Armstrong says: ‘I have been delighted by the passion and engagement that the sixth form students have shown towards the subject of Economics, and enjoy discussing the current state of the UK and world economy with them.’

Louie Evans, a physics teacher with close to 20 years’ experience in London schools across the state and independent sectors has recently joined Eltham College as a Teacher of Physics.

Mr Evans says: ‘One thing that has really impressed me at my new school is a phonetic pronunciation guide for student names and a link to recordings of students saying their names! Also, I am looking forward to getting to know the college, sharing my love of physics with my students and my passion for teaching and learning with members of staff as I lead one of our Professional Learning Communities.’

Learn more about Mr Evans and what he’s enjoyed in his role so far here at Eltham College in his interview.

Mo Sanusi recently joined Eltham College as the Head of Economics after leading the Economics department in a top state school in North London.

He studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University, where he also gained his PGCE in Mathematics. Mo has worked in a number of state schools in South London, and he is very excited about the prospect of enhancing the Economics experience for all of his students in the Sixth Form.

Mo says: ”Eltham College is a very friendly and ambitious school. I am in total alignment with the values which this school are founded upon.”

To find out more about the Head of Economics here at Eltham College watch our interview with Mr Sanusi.

Isabelle Tyner recently joined Eltham College as the Director in Residence for Drama.  Isabelle studied Drama and Theatre at Chichester University and graduated during the pandemic. She then spent a year working at Darrick Wood Secondary school as a teaching assistant before being accepted for an MA at RADA and Birkbeck university for a joint degree in Text and Performance.

Isabelle has won the Best Student Film award at London Rocks Film Festival for her dissertation short film called, Can The Moon Walk Me Home?, as well as receiving a distinction for it. The film focuses on women’s safety and grief and is being released early next year.

Isabelle says: “I love how extra-curricular drama projects at Eltham brings passionate and talented students together from all year groups and coming back after being a student myself has been a delight!”

Find out more about Isabelle, the Director in Residence for Drama by watching the full interview.

Sebastian Johns, Director of Music at Eltham College, started his career in education at Uppingham School. After a very happy year of conducting, composing and some teaching, he moved to Epsom College to begin his formal teacher training before becoming Assistant Director of Music there two years later.

Sebastian learnt of the music reputation at Eltham College from former students during his time singing in Cambridge.

He says: ‘The school has a famous musical pedigree, and I’ve always dreamed of leading a music department of its quality; when I saw that the job was being advertised, it was a no-brainer!’

One of the first projects Sebastian is undertaking as Director of Music is to improve the music technology offering, and to professionally record and film all concerts.

He explains: ‘It’s a great way for the pupils to analyse their performances and ascertain the next steps but is also such an important way for us to show the outside world quite how strong the music here is. Watch this space!’

Learn more about Music and other co-curricular activities available at Eltham College here.

We sit down with Katy Powis-Holt, who joined Eltham College as Head of Politics in 2020. With an impressive academic background including an MA in History from Cambridge University, Katy brings a wealth of experience to the classroom having previously served as Head of History and Politics in a south London school. She is also a frequent contributor to the A Level Politics student magazine, Politics Review, and boasts years of experience as an A Level examiner.

Since joining Eltham College, Katy has already made a significant impact, helping to develop the Sixth Form PolEcon Society and setting up a Junior Politics Society to inspire and engage students in all things political. Her passion for learning beyond the classroom has seen her take students on numerous excursions to places such as Parliament, the UK Supreme Court, the Bank of England, and the Greater London Authority. Katy’s enthusiasm for politics even extends to the theatre, as she has taken students to see political dramas. Join us as we get to know Katy Powis-Holt and learn more about her approach to teaching politics at Eltham College.

In the next instalment of our Meet the Teacher series, we have the pleasure of introducing Nicola Bilsby. Having dedicated nearly thirty years to the teaching profession, Nicola is a highly experienced educator currently serving as the Head of Wellbeing at Eltham College. Additionally, she holds the position of Deputy Head of Chalmers House and teaches Mathematics. Nicola is passionate about the energy that students bring to all aspects of their school lives, both within and outside the classroom.

By actively collaborating with fellow educators, parents, and external stakeholders, she fosters a sense of community and positively impacts student welfare. Nicola Bilsby’s dedication reflects the profound impact education can have on shaping the lives of young individuals within the Eltham College community. Her primary objective is to ensure that every student has access to a wellbeing programme that caters to their needs, supporting their mental, physical, and social development.

Introducing Edmund Cavendish, an educator with a remarkable journey at our school. Mr. Cavendish joined us in 2005 and has since made a significant impact in various roles. He initially served as the head of the junior school, overseeing its transition to a fully co-educational institution and expanding the co-curricular programme. Edmund then moved to the senior school as the head of academic scholarship, where he has developed an engaging programme of talks, trips, and lectures.

Throughout his time here, Edmund has actively contributed to our Oxbridge programme and until recently coached the hockey team. In addition, he is a talented tenor in the choral society and a passionate supporter of Leeds United. Stay tuned for our interview with Edmund, where he will share valuable insights and experiences from his educational journey at Eltham College.

In the next episode of “Meet the Teacher,” we introduce Mark O’Dwye, a dedicated  teacher at Eltham College Junior School for nearly 30 years.  Throughout his time here, Mark has been a dedicated form tutor for years 4, 5, and 6, and has served as the Head of Year 5 and 6. His passion for sports has been a driving force, as he held the position of Head of Sport, coaching numerous teams and impacting thousands of students. Currently, Mark is the Assistant Director of Sport and Head of Junior School Co-Curricular activities.

Meet Ann Massey, the Deputy Head at Eltham School for six years, responsible for student wellbeing and pastoral care. She has led transformative changes to meet evolving student needs in our co-educational setting. Proud of the Eltham Constitution and Congress, fostering transparency, support, and student voice.