What We Offer Our Students

FOUNDER & DIRECTOR / SCIENCE & METACOGNITION TEACHER

Pip was the an EFL teacher at Project International from 2012-2016, and was the head of science, and a member of the senior leadership team at The Winter Term, from 2016 until the founding of The English Guild Experience in 2022. He was a counselor at Camp Pasquaney in the summer of 2022. Before teaching, he earned a degree in neuroscience from the University of Bristol, specializing in the neuroscientific principles of learning in young people. He worked at the education charity PEAS, which supports children to access quality secondary education in countries across Africa. He is a BWY qualified yoga teacher and has successfully taught the logic and practice of insight meditation to over 300 students. He is an artist and a semi-professional craftsman, producing and selling high-quality woodwork and furniture, hats and scarves and board games, and is currently in the process of building his own house. He is also a singer and musician. Helping students build curiosity, find the joy in community, and develop a well-earned confidence in themselves are some of the greatest joys in his life.

FOUNDER / MATHS TEACHER

James is a qualified secondary maths and economics teacher with over 12 years’ teaching experience. After studying Economics and Education Studies at Cambridge University UK, he spent five years as a stock broker in the City of London. Following the untimely death of his father, his desire to get back to teaching could wait no longer. He undertook a PGCE in Secondary Mathematics at the Oxford University Department of Education before fulfilling a commitment to compete in a round the world sailing race. He worked at The Winter Term as head of maths and lead boys’ dorm counselor from January 2013 until March 2022. He was a Programme Director for Project International, running summer camps for up to 200 students. He has now decided to found his own project to offer young people an extraordinary opportunity to learn in an environment that inspires curiosity, compassion for others and aiming for the highest possible personal standards.

HEAD OF ARTS & CRAFTS / PHILOSOPHY TEACHER

Paddy has over thirty years experience teaching secondary school age students. She trained originally as an English and drama teacher, but has gone on to teach a range of arts and humanities subjects. She spent some time working for the Aga Khan Education Services in Tanzania writing and illustrating text books at an appropriate language level for EFL secondary students in East Africa. Back in the UK she was responsible for introducing courses in critical thinking, philosophy, ethics and world religions to her school curriculum, including very successful programmes designed to stretch and challenge high ability learners. Her educational resources are published online by the Times Educational Supplement. Her interests include art, crafting, gardening and yoga.

HEAD OF WORK EXPERIENCE / SCIENCE TEACHER (ENVIRONMENTAL & LAND BASED)

Geoff has a broad and deep background in teaching, having over 30 years experience in a variety of educational settings. Qualifications include BSc Hons Science and the Environment, PGCE, Advanced Diploma in Special Educational Needs, and M.Ed. He has over 20 years in secondary school in a variety of roles including Head of Science and Advanced Skills Teacher, plus working for VSO in Tanzania. He also spent many years working with special needs students. Much of his work involved setting up and running agricultural, horticultural and environmental programmes, focussing on experiential learning and links with the farming industry, including several years as Chair of the School Farms Network. He has co-authored many GCSE biology Teachers’ Guide books for Nelson Thornes and written much on–line learning material for Oxford University Press. His interests include gardening and arboriculture, and he is a seasoned semi-professional musician and composer.

HEAD OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING / ENGLISH & HUMANITIES TEACHER

Vin Broderick attended Camp Pasquaney as a boy. That experience began a life-long interest in the growth of individuals and communities, in education, and in making learning an exploration and adventure. He served as a counsellor, trustee, and, finally, director from 1997 until 2020. Vin majored in English and minored in History at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, coached rowing at Williams College, and then taught English over the course of ten years at St. Christopher’s School in Richmond, VA, where he served as acting English Department chair and as faculty advisor to the Honor Council. He got a masters at Harvard University, studying history, literature, and moral development. Vin joined the faculty at Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, MA, for ten years, where he was English Department Chair, College Counsellor, and head of the rowing program. He and a fellow teacher started the Nobles Outdoor Education program. Vin also taught Swiss and European History and English at the Winter Term in Lenk, Switzerland.

Emily has over 10 years’ experience working in the charity, arts and education sectors. She is currently Producer at international theatre charity Good Chance, where she founded and runs the poetry collective ‘Change the Word’ with refugees, asylum seekers and locals. She produced the COP26 leg of the multi-award winning travelling festival ‘The Walk with Little Amal’ and runs Good Chance’s Dome ‘Theatres of Hope’ in refugee centres around the world. She was previously Head of Programme and Executive Director of national writing charity First Story, working with over 2,000 young people each year. She led the charity to found the UK’s first ever National Writing Day reaching 85,000 young people. Emily led the education charity Ministry of Stories through a period of transition as their Executive Director in 2018-19, and convened the advocacy think tank for the creative writing in education sector.

John Curtis, B.A., Yale 1958, M.A. University of Pennsylvania 1964; Teacher, Episcopal Academy, Philadelphia, 1961-64; Headmaster, International School of Bern, 1964-69; Director, Buckingham Browne & Nichols Lower School, Cambridge, Mass. 1972-77; teaching Headmaster, Commonwealth-American School of Lausanne, 1977-88. Member of the Accreditation Committee, European Council of International Schools, 1984-88; Overseas Representative to Committee on Overseas Schools, New England Association of Schools and Colleges, 1984-88; Founder and Director of The Winter Term, Lenk, Switzerland, 1989 - 2005; Founding Headmaster, Acacia International School, Livingstone. Zambia, 2006; English Teacher and Dorm Parent, The Winter Term, 2007-2022.

Katie holds a 1st Class BSc in Chemistry from Queen Mary University of London, with a masters degree from Tufts university in child study and human development with a concentration in clinical and developmental health and psychology. In 2022 Katie also graduated from Boston Children’s Hospital’s LEND Fellowship (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities). The interdisciplinary training program provided Katie with diverse educational opportunities across clinical, educational, and policy sectors. As part of the LEND fellowship Katie attended the Disability Policy Seminar in D.C. where she met with US legislators to educate them on current challenges facing children with Neurodevelopmental disorders and their families. Katie has a long-standing relationship with Camp Onaway in New Hampshire, serving as a senior counselor, acting assistant director, and head of the dance program. Moving forwards Katie strives to support today’s youth through developing educational programming that meets individual needs whilst creating widespread reach.