Meet the Team

Expert Teachers

What do we mean when we talk about ‘expert teachers’? Every teacher in our school is a knowledgeable, thoughtful and curious practitioner with excellent pedagogical skills, but we define expert teachers as those who have a high level of knowledge and skill in a particular subject area which goes beyond general teaching qualifications. This is different from the traditional primary school model where a single teacher is a “generalist” who teaches all subjects to one class.

Our subject specialists typically have a degree or advanced qualification in the specific subject they teach, providing them with in-depth knowledge that they can share with their colleagues, enabling connections to real-world applications and offering a richer learning experience for children. Having an expert teacher on each of our subject teams ensures that we are well-equipped to challenge high-achievers and provide extra support to pupils who need it.

“This is one of the best schools I have ever come across. The staff take individual care of each child, pushing them to progress rather than allowing them to be average. It taught me how my children are capable of much more than average. They have become responsible for their own work – all I do is remind them and they do the rest.” Roche School Parent

Subject Specialists

Vanessa Mieville

Position:

Spanish

Vanessa Mieville is a Doctor of Philosophy from Royal Holloway College, London University. Prior to training as a primary teacher she was Executive Manager of a Language Club franchise. Fluent in both Spanish and French, she had extensive language teaching experience before becoming a class teacher.

Tyrone Pugh

Position:

Director of Sport

Tyrone Pugh has a BA in Sports Psychology. He was Head of Sport in a secondary school in South Africa before taking up his first Director of Sport role in a preparatory school in North London. He joined The Roche School as Director of Sport in September 2024.

Dr Alex Leithes

Position:

Maths Specialist

Dr Alex Leithes has a PHD in Astrophysics from Queen Mary, University of London. He taught at Godolphin and Latymer School before joining us to specialise in Maths teaching.

Allison Judge

Position:

Head of English

Allison Judge has an MA in 20th Century English and Comparative Literature from Goldsmiths College, University of London, and a degree in English Literature from Queen’s University, Canada. She is a secondary trained English specialist who previously managed national education projects for The Book Trust.

Katie Woodward

Position:

Director of Music

Katie Woodward studied cello at the Royal College of Music under Margaret Moncrief and Alexander Boyarsky. She set up “The Truman Quartet” whilst there and performed for many functions, including for HRH Prince Charles at Highgrove, St James’s Palace and Clarence House. Besides this, she has won a county music scholarship, made several television appearances, and performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Katie leads our junior, senior and chamber choirs, in additional to teaching music at our school.

Susie Prus

Position:

Head of Art

Susie Prus completed a foundation course at Chelsea School of Art, and an art degree and MA at Goldsmiths where she was taught by acclaimed artist Marina Abramovic. Alongside teaching at The Roche School, she has worked at Leighton House, been interviewed on BBC Radio 4, and she teaches at Putney High School.

Melanie Parrish

Position:

Drama Lead

Melanie Parrish is an experienced secondary English teacher who studied English Literature at University College London. Melanie was trained by the Coram Shakespeare national schools drama programme and has led our school’s successful participation in this festival for seven years. She is proud to have fostered a love of acting in Roche alumnus Aristou Meehan, who went on to star in the Wes Anderson film ‘Asteroid City’.

Gina Gent

Position:

Head of 11+

Gina Gent is one of our most experienced class teachers and taught in a primary school in Kensington & Chelsea borough before joining The Roche School. She has fostered excellent relationships with senior schools in London, Surrey and beyond and has honed her expertise in managing the transition to secondary school over several years.