MALVERN COLLEGE PRE-SCHOOL HONG KONG - Key Persons
Catriona Briggs comes from the United Kingdom and graduated with a degree in Early Childhood Studies and Psychology. She has spent the last ten years working across a diverse range of early years settings in London and Hong Kong. This will be her fourth year teaching at Malvern College Pre-School Hong Kong. Catriona feels passionate about play in the Early Years. She strongly believes in learning through experience and giving children time and space to lead their own journey. It brings her joy to see children playing and exploring together, using their critical thinking skills to make sense of the world around them. In her leadership role as EYFS Coordinator, Catriona will support, develop and coach teaching and learning across the EYFS curriculum so that the pre-school consistently delivers excellent teaching.
Emma-Jane draws upon 20 years of mainstream and SEN teaching experience in Early Years and Lower Primary in the UK, China, Australia and India. Prior to joining Malvern College Pre-School Hong Kong, she worked as Nursery and Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Leader, Head of Year, Class Teacher and Special Education Teacher. Emma-Jane holds bachelor's degrees in Primary Teaching and in Special Education and is particularly interested in the Reggio Emilia philosophy, play-based learning and child-centricity in the pre-school environment.
Originally from Australia, Emma-Jane loves the great outdoors and has been on trekking adventures across the world. She also enjoys cooking, swimming, playing netball and watching Bollywood movies.
Ms. Frederique (Ms. Freddie) is delighted to be part of the Malvern family and is very much looking forward to meeting you and your children, at the beginning of this academic year. Originally from France, she completed her teacher training and qualification in the UK. With over twenty years of experience in the classroom, Ms. Frederique started her career as a Modern Foreign Languages' teacher in England and then taught Early Years at British international schools in Gabon, Egypt and Turkey.
During her career, Ms. Frederique has also coordinated a Modern Foreign Languages department, a tri-lingual nursery, the International Early Years Curriculum, where they used the EYFS curriculum, and the International Primary Curriculum.
By offering a nurturing, fun and stimulating learning environment where children's talents and uniqueness are celebrated, Ms. Frederique's goal is to work with you to provide all children with the best possible start in life.
Jacqueline has been involved in school leadership and Early Childhood education for 31 years and has worked in Australia, the United Kingdom, China and Singapore. She has held several leadership roles including: Acting Head, Vice Principal, Head of Early Years, Curriculum Coordinator and Workshop Leader. In 2013, she was invited to join the Pre-Operations team helping to set up a SGD 250 million school in Singapore.
Jacqueline holds a Master's in Education and a Bachelor of Teaching, majoring in Early Childhood and was awarded a Certificate in International School Leadership from the Principal Training Center (PTC). Jacqueline has published articles in several early childhood journals and has played a key role in early childhood network groups around the world. She is inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy and feels passionate about working in partnership with parents to educate their children.
Laura Marriot, a UK native, draws upon her rich experience in teaching both K1 and K2 as well as English as a Foreign Language (EFL) for different age groups. Having trained and worked in the UK for six years, she joined an international school in Borneo to teach FS2 for two years. Originally qualified as an EFL teacher, Laura spent six years working in different language schools in Spain, Vietnam and Australia. Feeling deeply committed to the Early Years education, she returned to the UK to retrain before starting her new role at Malvern College Pre-School Hong Kong.
Laura loves to travel, experience new cultures and meet new friends.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Management Board
- Director of International School, Malvern College UK
- Director of International Schools of Malvern College UK
Mr Allan Walker is the Director of International Schools of Malvern College UK. Mr Walker is responsible for the general commercial development of Malvern College, and in particular for overseeing the planning and development of Malvern College's overseas campuses. Prior to starting his career at Malvern in 2009, Mr Walker worked in various commercial positions at Harrow School (UK), and was latterly the Business Manager of Harrow School Enterprises Limited, the school's commercial trading arm. Mr Walker holds a Master of Arts degree in Music from the University of Cambridge and is an alumnus of Harrow School.
Job Titles:
- Headmaster
- Member of the Management Board
- Headmaster, Malvern College UK
Mr Keith Metcalfe is the Headmaster of Malvern College UK. He comes to Malvern from Harrow School where he served as Deputy Head Master, overseeing the day-to-day running of the school, drawing on the various roles he has held during his career including Housemaster, departmental head, school inspector with the ISI and coach of various sports, as well as from his experience of running the Duke of Edinburgh's Award programme. Mr Metcalfe is happiest working as part of a team and his aim is to lead Malvern College forward in a spirit of community and collaboration. A passionate advocate of the opportunities offered by schools with a strong boarding ethos, he sees Malvern College as a school that affords the time and space in which to nurture the whole person, and where pastoral care is at the centre of all that it does. It is within this environment that young people will achieve their best, both in and out of the classroom. Mr Metcalfe was educated at Monmouth School and Downing College, Cambridge, where he read Geography.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive
- Co - Founder
- Member of the Management Board
Ms Jacqueline So established a partnership with Malvern College UK in 2011 and has since co-founded Malvern College Qingdao in 2012, Malvern College Chengdu in 2015, Malvern College pre-schools Hong Kong in 2017 and 2019, as well as Malvern College Hong Kong in 2018, collectively over 2,500 pupils from preschool to senior high school age.
She served as the Executive Principal of Malvern College Qingdao, overseeing all aspects of the school's operations and managing its public relations and communication. Ms So set up a similar school, Malvern College Chengdu, in 2015, deliver internationalised education to Western China. Both Malvern Colleagues' graduates have been admitted to world-renowned universities such as Cambridge, MIT, Imperial College, UCLA, and King's College London.
Job Titles:
- Principal ( Coronation Circle )
Natalie is passionate about Early Childhood education and has spent most of her 19 years teaching in Kindergarten. Natalie trained in the UK where she specialised in English, however, she quickly realised that Early Years was her niche. Since 2011, she has worked in schools in Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah, an Emirate just outside Dubai, and has held the positions of Assistant Principal and Deputy Head with responsibility for Early Years and Key Stage 1.
Natalie enjoys the outdoors, reading stories, singing and helping pupils to make progress through playful experiences.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Management Board
Ms Pun joins Malvern College International (Asia) as Director of Education (Chinese). She assists other Malvern Colleges in managing and developing the Chinese curriculum.
Ms Pun has attained her Bachelor of Education in Guangzhou and Master of Education with a major in Chinese Language Education in Hong Kong. She was also a Territory-wide System Assessment Examiner and Reviewer for Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority. She has more than 20 years of experience in education including over 10 years in highly reputable bilingual immersion schools in Hong Kong (International School Foundation) and Beijing (Keystone Academy). Ms Pun is highly experienced in directing the Chinese curriculum with a particular strength in cross-disciplinary inquiry-based learning.
Viola Choi has been working in Kindergartens in Hong Kong and China for 17 years. She has taken on different roles, including Mandarin Class Teacher, Mandarin Curriculum Coordinator, Chinese Head Teacher, Vice Principal and Principal. Viola has a master's degree in Early Childhood Education from The Education University of Hong Kong and teaching experience gained at a bilingual international kindergarten in Hong Kong for 11 years. Viola likes to design engaging and inquiry-based literacy activities for pupils. She regards the relationship between parents, teachers and school as paramount to provide the best education and guidance for children.
Virginia Liao was born in China and moved to Hong Kong with her family when she was a young child. Virginia has been an Early Years Teacher in both International and Chinese Traditional Schools for more than 20 years. Her extensive experience has led Virginia to take on more challenging roles such as Lead Teacher and Mandarin Curriculum Coordinator. Virginia believes that every child is unique and learns in different ways, and that a teacher's role is to nurture a child's love for learning and support the ability of self-learning through various channels. Her hobbies include photography, reading and watching movies. Virginia enjoys travelling to different countries.