Expert Teaching
What do we mean when we talk about ‘expert teaching’? 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.
Subject Specialists
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.
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.
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.
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’.
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.
Spanish Specialist, 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.
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 and The National Literacy Trust.
Head of 11+, Gina Gent, has fostered excellent relationships with senior schools in London, Surrey and beyond over the course of several years. She has gained a high level of expertise in the ever-changing 11+ exam landscape and is perfectly positioned to support pupils in managing the transition to their chosen secondary schools.