Keith Metcalfe - Headmaster
Keith was educated at Monmouth School and Downing College, Cambridge, where he read Geography, and came to Malvern College from Harrow School where he served as the Deputy Head Master.
As well as overseeing the day-to-day running of a school, he has held a number of positions in his career including: Housemaster, departmental head, ISI school inspector, coach of various sports, and Master in charge of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programme.
Keith is an active person, with a love for all things co-curricular, and is a passionate advocate of the opportunities afforded by 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.
He has moved to Malvern with his wife, Clare, and their three children.
Rob Breare - Chief Operating Officer
Rob has spent the last five years working with schools in the Nord Anglia Education family, primarily as the Regional Director of Marketing and Admissions for Europe and the Middle East, based in Geneva. Rob graduated from St Catherine’s College, Oxford and has built a wealth of experience through his early career at Procter & Gamble and WPP, before moving to Kenya as Commercial Director (Bursar) of Pembroke House School and subsequently as Chief Operating Officer at Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Rob is enjoying returning to boarding school life having had some happy memories from his own experiences in a British boarding school in his formative years.
Sarah Angus - Senior Deputy Head
After working for four years in the City of London in domestic and corporate banking during the late 1980s, Sarah went to Cambridge University to read Economics at Lucy Cavendish College. After graduation, she took her PGCE in Glasgow. Having been Head of Economics at Eltham College from 1994-1998, as well as being involved in school expeditions to Iceland, Norway and Nepal, Sarah then moved as Housemistress to Trinity School in Teignmouth, Devon, where she also became Head of Sixth Form. She arrived at Malvern College ten years later as Housemistress of the newly-built Ellerslie House and was appointed Deputy Head (Pastoral) in 2011. In 2017 Sarah was appointed Senior Deputy Head.
Stephen Holroyd - Deputy Head: Curriculum
Stephen Holroyd studied Economics and Economic History at Leeds University before completing his PGCE at Warwick University. He joined Malvern in 1990 and during his time at the College he has taken on a variety of roles parallel to his Economics teaching including Deputy Housemaster, Stage Manager, in charge of Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award, Head of Boys’ Hockey, Sixth Form tutor, IB Workshop Leader, Senior Examiner and author. His most recent roles have been Head of Economics, Politics and Business, and IB Diploma Coordinator. He is also an ISI School Inspector and has held several Prep School Governing roles. Stephen has a love for the outdoors, whether that be climbing, mountaineering, walking or cycling. During a sabbatical summer term in 2019 he, together with his wife, spent 70 days walking from Land’s End to John O’Groats by as few roads as possible.
Lewis Faulkner - Deputy Head: Pastoral
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Lewis Faulkner studied Biological Sciences at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford before completing his PGCE at New College, Oxford. His first teaching post was at Sale Grammar School where he helped to introduce the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. He then taught at St Edward’s Oxford for nearly fourteen years where he was Head of Biology and then Housemaster of a boys’ boarding house for seven years and, latterly, Senior Housemaster. As Master i/c Climbing at St Edward’s he co-led two expeditions to the Swiss Alps and he has cycled across France and Spain. He is a keen runner and at St Edward’s he was Master i/c Cross Country and Athletics. Between running marathons and renovating the family home in the Spanish Pyrenees, he has completed an MA in Education at Oxford Brookes University.
Giles Hopkirk – Director of Studies
Giles went to school at Gresham’s School in Norfolk and then studied Geography at Sheffield University where he also took a PGCE. Giles started his teaching career in the state sector and taught for 5 years at Aston Comprehensive in Rotherham before moving on to be Head of Geography at Danum School in Doncaster. During his time at Danum he became the Gifted and Talented Co-ordinator and was certified as an Advanced Skills Teacher. In 2004 he and his family moved to Peru where Giles took up the post of Head of Geography and Director of Enquiry Based Learning at Markham College, Lima. He was later appointed as the Director of Studies at St.George’s College North in Buenos Aires where he worked for four years. On his return to the UK, Giles was appointed as a Geography teacher at Malvern where he is now Director of Studies.
Penny Bijl – Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)
Penny trained originally as a teacher of English (1986) with undergraduate degrees from Reading and Cambridge. She then gained an M.Phil in Psychology of Education, also from Cambridge, in 1987 and took her MA in 1990. After completing management training with the NHS, she worked as a Contracts and Planning Manager at Kidderminster NHS Trust for 3 years. She then returned to teaching, initially in the state sector, and joined Malvern College in 2004 in the Learning Enhancement department, subsequently also teaching English to IB, GCSE and in the FY for several years and TOK for two years. She is now the College’s Designated Safeguarding Lead.
Kate Tripp - Director of Human Resources
Kate joined Malvern College in 2011 as Head of Human Resources and became Director of Human Resources in 2019. She is a Fellow of the CIPD, has a degree in Applied Social Studies from Sheffield Hallam University and an MA in Human Resources Management from Oxford Brookes University. Prior to joining Malvern, Kate was Head of Organisational Development for a Housing Association and prior to that held a variety of Human Resources roles in the charity and banking sectors. In her spare time, Kate is a season ticket holder at Sheffield Wednesday Football Club.
Natalie Roberts - Director of Finance
Natalie graduated from the University of York with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. After beginning her career at KPMG where she qualified as a chartered accountant, Natalie has since worked in variety of finance roles in the not-for-profit and local government sectors. These include the Grammar School at Leeds and, latterly, Westminster City Council where her focus was on commercial, capital and strategic projects. Natalie relocated from London to Malvern with her young family in 2019 and joined Malvern College in April 2022.
Claire Ettinger - Director of Marketing and Admissions
Claire began her career working in media relations and communications in the UK, gaining a broad range of experience (mainly in Government and non-profit events) before taking a sabbatical (initially for a year) to follow her husband’s career to Thailand. Eighteen years later, and following 10+ years working in Marketing, Communications and Admissions in international education, most recently as the founding Head of Admissions and Marketing for Brighton College Prep School, Singapore, Claire relocated with her family back to the UK. She joined the Malvern College family as Director of Marketing and Admissions in April 2022. Her own daughters currently attend the College in Ellerslie House, and the family are having fun adapting to the shift from city to country living. While focused on creating and maintaining brand awareness, positive retention rates and growth for Malvern College, Claire’s real passion is storytelling and shining a light on the achievements, big and small, of Malvern College’s pupils, staff and alumni. In her downtime, you’ll mainly find her walking her Singapore rescue dog, Benny in the countryside around Malvern.
Academic and Pastoral Management
David Ibbotson – Chaplain
The Revd David Ibbotson joins Malvern this term as our College Chaplain. He was educated at Manchester University where he read Chemistry followed by a PGCE, and has taught at Monmouth School and Watford Grammar School before joining Lord Wandsworth College where he became Director of Studies for 15 years. After studying Theology at Sarum College in Salisbury he was ordained in 2012 and left teaching to undertake a curacy at Tewkesbury Abbey. He has since been School Chaplain at the Monmouth Schools and Eastbourne College before joining Malvern College in January 2019. He is a serving ISI inspector and continues to teach Chemistry.
Tom Tuthill - Director of Collaboration and Innovation
Tom was educated at Rugby School and Newcastle University, where he read Geography.
Tom came late to teaching after a decade of working in the Sports Television Production Industry. He travelled all over the world, working on events like the Rugby World Cup, The World Rally Championship and Grand Slam Tennis. He retrained with a PGCE at Buckingham University when he started his teaching career. At his first school he taught politics, was a Director of Sport and Head of Lower School. At Malvern Tom is the Housemaster of No.9 and teaches Politics and Global Perspectives.
Tom is a huge supporter of life outside the classroom and is responsible for the Super Curriculum at Malvern. His role as the Director of Collaboration and Innovation across the Malvern College Family of Schools is developing exciting opportunities for Malvern staff and pupils all over the world.
He lives in Malvern with his wife Claire, their three children and a golden Labrador called Cilla.
Anne Sharp – Senior HouseM, Housemistress House No.4
Anne was educated at St. George’s School, Harpenden in Hertfordshire before going on to study English Literature at Girton College, Cambridge. She did a Drama and English PGCE at Nottingham University before starting her first teaching job at a private day school for girls, King’s High in Warwick. The main bulk of her teaching career has been at Malvern College with the focus on the pastoral side. She is the Housemistress of No.4 and is currently in her second year of being the Senior Housem. Her four children have attended or are attending Malvern College and she promotes not just the family values in the boarding houses that makes Malvern such a happy place for the pupils but also values and promotes the arts, music and drama aspects of the school.
Barbara Swart – Head of Pupil Guidance
Barbara was educated in South Africa and graduated from the University of Cape Town. She taught at Hottentots Holland High School, Somerset West, from 1989 to 1990, Wynberg Girls’ High School, Cape Town, from 1991 to 1999, where she was Housemistress of Waterloo House and Diocesan College (Bishops), an Independent Boys’ School, Cape Town, from 2000 to 2008. At Bishops she became the first female “Housemaster” in the history of the school. Barbara and her family moved to the UK in 2009 and she taught at Ewell Castle in Surrey before joining Malvern College in September 2010. In her time at Malvern College she has been Deputy Housemistress of House 6, Housemistress of Ellerslie House, Head of the Foundation Year and has assisted with numerous girls’ sports. Barbara presently teaches Mathematics, runs girls’ tennis and is the Head of Pupil Guidance.
Jen Major– Head of Sixth Form
Jen Major was educated at Mayfield School in Sussex, before graduating with a Geography degree from Southampton University in 2002. She completed her PGCE and started her teaching career at Wycombe Abbey, before continuing in various girls’ schools as Head of Geography and latterly as the Head of Sixth Form at St George’s, Ascot. After receiving an RAF Scholarship when she left school, Jen continued her interest in flying with the University Air Squadron and has enjoyed helping with the RAF section of the CCF. Jen has also been an assistant Housemistress, netball coach and been involved with trips to Peru and Iceland during her career so far.
Jen loves her current role overseeing the academic progress and pastoral care of Malvern’s Sixth Formers and truly believes they are the best years of school life! She lives her husband Justin, the Housemaster of No. 2, her two daughters and a silly sausage dog called Worsley.
Laura Shales - Head of Foundation Year
Laura grew up in Cheshire and completed a BSc (Hons) degree in Design and Technology for Industry at Manchester Metropolitan University before moving on to complete her MSc in Industrial Design at the University of Salford. After completing university Laura worked as a designer for a furniture and interior design company in their corporate and bespoke division before moving to education. Upon completing her Post Graduate Certificate in Education, Laura worked in the state school sector teaching Design Technology and Engineering, before joining Malvern College in 2011. Since joining Malvern College Laura has worked in the Design and Technology department and is Subject Lead for Graphic Products and Product Design. Prior taking on the role of Head of Foundation Year, Laura worked as Foundation Year tutor since 2012. Laura also works at the Assistant to the Teaching and Learning mentor supporting and guiding staff with their teaching practice.
Jens Akehurst - IB Co-ordinator
Jennifer Akehurst graduated from Wadham College, Oxford in 2011 with a BA in Modern Languages (French and Spanish). After working briefly in the charity sector, she completed a PGCE at King’s College, London and started her teaching career at Lancing College, where she taught languages and was a Deputy Housemistress. She then taught at Colegio Peruano Británico in Lima, Peru before returning to the UK to complete an MSc in Education at Bristol University and work at Colston’s School in Bristol. Jennifer joined Malvern in 2017 as Head of Spanish and has also held the role of Head of MFL. She is also a tutor in House 3.
Tom Newman - Senior Admissions Advisor
Tom Newman graduated from the University of Exeter in Chemistry and later completed his PGCE at Hughes Hall, Cambridge. He taught at three other well known public schools before arriving at Malvern College in 2007 to run No.5 for ten years. In his latter years in the House, he was appointed the Senior Housemaster. For four years he was master i/c cricket running a tour to South Africa in 2010 and was also master i/c rackets for ten years. In 2017 he joined the pastoral team and worked for two years as the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead before moving into the role of Senior Admissions Advisor in 2019. Tom is a very keen sportsman and is passionate about holistic education and pastoral care. He is married to Jennie and they have three children, two of whom are currently at the College.
John Cox – Head of Professional Teaching & Learning Mentor / ISI Inspection Co-ordinator
John was educated at Keynsham Grammar School (later Wellsway School) and graduated from Loughborough University with a BSc in Sports Science and PGCE in 1981. John joined Malvern in 2001 as Director of PE & Sport, a post he had held until becoming Director of Boys’ Sport and Professional Teaching and Learning Mentor in 2008 and more recently the role as outlined above.
John’s subject specialism is Physical Education and Sports Science teaching the 11-18 age range including GCSE, A Level & IB, and John also teaches A Level Psychology. His first teaching post was at Prince Henry’s High School (1981-2001) a maintained school where he progressed from PE teacher to Head of PE. John is also a school-based and visiting tutor for the University of Buckingham PGCE + QTS course and Induction Tutor for NQTs with IStip as well as an ISI Team Inspector.
John’s extra-curricular interest and expertise is in sport – but specifically Golf.
Lauren Pruden-Lawson - Head of GCSE
Lauren grew up in Worcester and was educated at King’s School Worcester where she then moved to study Biological Science at Oxford University. Before moving into education, Lauren worked in Scotland for professional Ice Hockey and Basketball Teams in Community Development. She then moved further afield to the Hunter Valley, Australia where she worked in marketing and events for a winery.
Lauren moved from Merchant Taylors Northwood where she was on Senior Leadership as Head of Middle School. Lauren is also a trained Graydin facilitator. Graydin is a coaching company that aims to unlock a person’s potential and maximise their performance. It is about helping them on their journey through school; with coaching, we hope to improve self-reflection, wellbeing & academic outcomes. Coaching offers a flexible communication toolkit that Lauren is using to train teachers and support pupils.
Our Prep School
Andrew Nuttall - Headmaster, The Downs Malvern
Andy joined The Downs Malvern in May 2022. Before taking over the Headship at The Downs, he was Deputy Head at Windlesham House School in Sussex. Andy graduated from Imperial College London with a degree in Zoology, completed his PGCE at Bath University and also holds an MEd in Educational Leadership and Management from Buckingham University. Before joining Windlesham House, Andy taught at Cheam School and spent four years at The Banda School in Nairobi, where he met his wife Polly. Andy’s leisure time is focussed on the outdoors: he is a keen cross country runner, enjoys fly fishing, looking after the family’s chickens and quail and gardening with his two young children, to list a few of his interests.