Meet the teachers and staff who make our school such an amazing place.
Meet the teachers and staff who make our school such an amazing place.
Principal, Somerhill
Head of Somerhill Pre-Prep
Deputy Head, Academic
Sectional Lead Yardley Court
Deputy Head, Pastoral
Sectional Lead Derwent Lodge
Deputy Head, Somerhill Pre-Prep
Deputy Head, Co-Curricular
Duncan Sinclair
Born in Zimbabwe, Duncan and his family moved to South Africa when he was 7. Educated at The Ridge Prep School and St Alban’s College, Pretoria, Duncan left school to enjoy a Gap Year at Port Regis in Dorset where he caught the teaching bug. Having read English at the University of Cape Town, he then gained his teaching qualification and joined the staff at the prestigious Diocesan College Prep in Cape Town; ‘Bishops’ for short. Not long afterwards, he was tempted to travel back to England again and joined the staff at St Michael’s, Otford in 2002 as a Year 4 class teacher, and the UK became home for good.
At St Michael’s, Duncan rose through the ranks to Head of Geography, Head of PSHE, Senior Master and finally Deputy Head. After 10 years, he sought Headship and was appointed Headmaster of Taunton Prep in Somerset in 2013. Following four successful years at the school, Duncan joined The Schools at Somerhill in 2017 and is the Principal of the Schools and Headmaster of Yardley Court.
With his wife, Georgie, and young boys Hamish, Callum and Fraser, Duncan can often be found scrambling about the garden playing diggers and tractors, or reading “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” endlessly! After an early career in semi-professional rugby in the Western Province, he now plays village cricket for Knockholt, is a goalkeeper for Sevenoaks Hockey Club and enjoys the odd round of golf. Given his mum was a music teacher, Duncan also enjoys singing and has played the clarinet, trombone and tuba in the past, resurrecting his tuba playing skills to join his pupils in the Somerhill orchestra!
Amanda McKnight
Amanda McKnight completed her undergraduate degree at Glasgow University, after which she studied at Durham University gaining a Post Graduate Certificate in Education. She has teaching experience in State and Independent sector in both the UK and USA. Passionate about developing a true sense of adventure, curiosity and confidence in each child, Amanda is driven by the need to do the best for all children and help them find their unique ‘gift’, develop a growth mindset and become resilient little learners. She is proud to be leading a team of enthusiastic, dedicated, and caring staff at Somerhill Pre-Prep.
Amanda and her husband David have three children; two daughters away at university and their son is at Cranbrook School. When not working, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends. Before Amanda’s teaching career, she worked in Public Relations and Marketing.
Deputy Headteachers | |
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Alex Holmes | Deputy Head, Academic, Prep |
Sian Lambert | Deputy Head, Pastoral, Prep |
Matilda Lowe | Deputy Head, Pre-Prep |
Jonathan Shute | Deputy Head, Co-curricular, Prep |
James Thain | Assistant Deputy Head, Academic, Prep |
Somerhill Prep Teaching staff | |
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Nicola Barker | Head of English and Latin |
Fiona Bates | Teacher |
Francoise Blair | Teacher |
Bianca Bodenham | Teacher and Year 5&6 coordinator (DL) |
Charlotte Bowers | Teacher |
Andrew Caldwell | Head of PSHE and Year 7&8 coordinator |
Lesley Carley | Teacher and Year 3 coordinator (YC & DL) |
Emma Cashmore | Teacher |
Jane Cook | Teacher |
Carol Cleaveland | Cover Teacher and TA |
Tom Davey | Director of Sport |
Isabel Ewing | Head of History |
Jane Findlay | Director of Music |
Jessica Garraway | Teacher |
Hayley Hartley | Head of Art |
Elisha Hoggart | Teacher |
Emma Howard-Williams | Head of Digital Literacy |
Andrea Jones | Drama Teacher and Head of PRE |
Laura Kerr-Sheppard | Teacher & Head of Girls Games |
Laura Latimore | Teacher |
Andrew Leach | Head of Engineering |
Danielle Limpinnian | French Teacher |
Tara McGowan | Teacher |
Clare Marples | Swimming Instructor |
Johnny Matthews | Head of Geography |
Alison McLaren | Teacher and Year 6 coordinator (YC) |
Lizzie Payne | Teacher |
Camilla Pratt | Teacher |
Georgie Sinclair | Teacher |
Gavin Smith | Teacher |
Henry Smith | Head of Science |
Rebecca Spence | Teacher and Year 4 coordinator (YC & DL) |
Sam Spence | Head of Maths and Year 5 coordinator (YC) |
Aletta Spittal | Teacher |
Emma Stokes | Teacher |
Estelle Taylor-Langley | Head of French |
Stephanie Vidler | Music Teacher |
Gemma Whitlock | Swimming Instructor |
Alexander Warne | Teacher |
Anna Watson | Teacher |
Jordan Wadsworth | Games Coach |
Mitchel Walker | Games Coach |
Andrew Wood | Games Coach |
Somerhill Pre Prep Teachers | |
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Rachel Bond | Teacher |
Camilla Bullen | Teacher |
Jordyn Campbell | Teacher |
Tom Carter | PE Teacher |
Nicola Davis | Teacher |
Amanda Dawes | Pre School Room Leader |
Stephanie Ferrabee | Teacher |
Amber Hall | Teacher |
Lynn Harding | Teacher |
Kate Herbert | Teacher |
Alice Highwood | Teacher |
Sarah Hutchings | Teacher |
Grace Laverick | Teacher |
Matilda Lowe | Teacher |
Claire Matthews | Teacher |
Rebecca McGrath | Teacher |
Vanessa Markham | Teacher |
Susie Palmer | Teacher and Pre School coordinator |
Carla Streeton | Pre School Room Leader |
Natalie Wilmowski-Syms | Teacher |
Sarah Woodgate | Saplings Leader |
Somerhill Teaching Assistants and Technicians | |
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Kath Archibald | Pre Prep Teaching Assistant |
Sarah Benham | Prep School Science Technician |
Polly Bishop | Art Technician |
Alison Cowen | Teaching Assistant Year 3 |
Jane Gillett | Pre Prep Teaching Assistant |
Isabel Hopkins | Pre Prep Teaching Assistant |
Sandra Jeffrey | Pre Prep Teaching Assistant |
Claire Martin-Coward | Pre Prep Teaching Assistant |
Ella Maher | Pre Prep Teaching Assistant |
Kathryn Mason | Pre Prep Teaching Assistant |
Beth Miles | Pre Prep Teaching Assistant |
Amber Passey | Pre Prep Teaching Assistant |
Emma Peerless | Pre Prep Teaching Assistant |
Chloe Perkins | Pre Prep Teaching Assistant |
Kerryn Smith | Pre Prep Teaching Assistant |
Lauren Smith | Pre Prep Teaching Assistant and Early Years Key Person |
Julie Taylor | Pre Prep Teaching Assistant |
Karen Vousden | Teaching Assistant |
Sarah Wakeford | Lead Teaching Assistant Pre-Prep |
Auxi Westhorp | Pre Prep Teaching Assistant |
Leah White | Pre Prep Teaching Assistant |
Somerhill Learning Support | |
---|---|
Sally Brown | SPP Learning Support Coordinator |
Janet Chick | Teaching Assistant |
Kate Helyar | Head of Learning Support |
Tineke Jennings | Learning Support Teacher |
Jo Leroni | Learning Support Teacher |
Lindsey Morris | SPP Learning Support Coordinator |
Elspeth Sax | Learning Support Teacher |
Louise Vaughan | Learning Support and Teaching Assistant |
Somerhill Support Staff | |
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Barry Baldock | Maintenance |
Vivien Bayley | Finance Assistant |
Michael Catt | Interim Finance Manager |
Christina Filby | School Office Administrator |
John Fuller | Minibus Driver |
Ian Funnell | Groundsman |
Donna Gaskin | Bursary Administrator |
Noleen Hammond | Finance Assistant |
Chris Hockaday | Groundsman |
Julian Hunt | Bursar |
Tony Jennings | Groundsman |
Simon Killick | Minibus Driver |
Richard King | IT Technician |
Wes Laker | Groundsman |
Lucy Logan | School Office Manager and EA to the Principal |
Vicky Marriott | Finance and Payroll Assistant |
Lesley Martin | Admissions and Marketing Assistant |
Jessica May | Human Resources Manager |
Lucy Mitchell | School nurse |
Alan Miles | Maintenance |
Dennis Negus | IT Manager |
Victoria Osborne | School nurse |
Sally Paler | Registrar |
Ian Pearce | Minibus Driver |
Dale Perkins | Senior IT Technician |
Mark Pluck | Porter |
Susan Smith | Librarian |
Laura Southall | Finance Manager |
Ben Sceal | Head of Grounds |
John Sceal | Head of Maintenance |
Jessica Stephens | Marketing Manager |
Simon Steward | Head of Premises |
Andy White | Minibus Driver |
Serena Woodcock | School Office Administrator |
Eloise Wright | School Office Administrator |
Charlotte Wooldridge | Gap student |
Jason Davis | Gap student |
George Rook | Gap student |
Ben Watts | Gap student |