Martin Hughes - Principal
Bachelor of Arts (Hons, Oxon), PGCE

Martin Hughes is a highly experienced Principal from the UK who still feels as enthusiastically and passionately about education as when he started over 30 years ago as a primary teacher.
He has a strong academic background, gaining a scholarship to Oxford University where he was also Proxime to the University prize for his undergraduate thesis. Mr. Hughes still maintains his passion for learning “It is good for adults to remember how it feels to be a learner. It helps us to be more effective and sympathetic as teachers”.
Mr. Hughes believes children learn best when they feel confident and secure in their environment and when they are encouraged to take risks in their learning – only then will they really attempt to think for themselves. He believes that teachers need to work from what each child already knows in and set up “hands on” learning experiences to maximise their potential.
“Our children need to be equipped for the future. Change is rapid; many of the jobs children will undertake do not even exist now. We need to equip them with skills and knowledge so they can respond flexibly and confidently to the exciting challenges in the wider world. Children should be enabled to become independent and creative and lifelong learners. This is central to the International Baccalaureate’s philosophy of education.”
Mr. Hughes has been a Principal for 20 years in three different schools in the UK and has had successful experiences in improving schools. “The key to school improvement is seeing learning from the child’s viewpoint – only then can you design learning experiences to attain each individual’s potential.”
He was founding Principal at Wuxi EtonHouse, a job he absolutely loved. He supported Xi’an EtonHouse and was Acting Principal in Suzhou during this time. He joined Suzhou EtonHouse in June 2009.

Early Years

Primary Years

Middle School

Specialist Subject Teacher

Jacqueline Patrick - Deputy Principal and PYP Coordinator
MA Tch; BA Sociology Sydney University

acqui gained her degrees in Sydney, where she spent four years teaching in both public schools and teaching centres prior to coming to China. Now about to commence her 7th year at Suzhou EtonHouse and a “Foundation” member of staff, Jacqui has seen the school grow from just seven students to over 150 in her time here. She has a deep understanding of various curricula and successfully guided the school to its full accreditation for the IB PYP.

Simon Angus - MYP Coordinator
BSc. BEd., MEd.

Simon joined EtonHouse in 2008 as the Math’s and Science teacher, and as Middle Years Coordinator where he has taken the lead in developing our middle years programme. Previously he had come from Wesley College in Melbourne, Australia, where he taught Mathematics and Physics for five years and worked as a curriculum leader. Simon believes in allowing students to reach deeper understandings in their knowledge through activities and experiences that promote quality thinking. He believes that students who engage in experiences that encourage curiosity, open-mindedness, scepticism and strategy, not only reach higher levels of understanding but foster a love of learning that will stay with them for life. Simon also believes in the importance of integrating technology into the classroom.

Early Years

Lesley Eichel - Nursery Teacher
Certificate in Childcare and Creche Work, T.E.F.L Diploma

Lesley originally comes from the UK but during the last 13 years has lived in Beijing, Germany, the Czech Republic and has been here in Suzhou for 4 years. She taught in local bi-lingual pre-schools in Beijing and Germany and at an International School in Prague in the Nursery class. Lesley has a very "hands on” approach to teaching and ensures that all children in her care feel included, secure and valued. She believes children learn best by doing and creates a learning environment where all children can develop physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially encouraging them to become independent and confident learners. Lesley really enjoys teaching in a linguistically diverse classroom and has a wealth of experience teaching young children whose first language is not English; "there is always so much to learn from each other".

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Annie Wang - Reception Teacher
BA (Hons) Education-Early Childhood Studies (UK)

Annie has lived and trained in the UK for the last 8 years. She graduated from Roehampton University in London England and has had three years teaching experience in a private pre-school setting. She deeply believes that children have a natural ability to learn through exploration and experimentation. A meaningful learning experience involves children practising, making mistakes and learning from hands-on experiences. These experiences happen naturally and are encouraged in a loving, interactive environment. Therefore, Annie believes that her role is to support and guide children in their learning. She is looking forward to doing this in partnership with parents and other care-givers. .

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Ruhiyyih Bagley - Early Years Coordinator and Y1 teacher

Ruhiyyih is a specialist trained in Early Childhood and Child Psychology and Development. She gained her degrees in the United States at National Louis University in Chicago. She is currently pursuing a masters degree in teaching English To Young Learners through the University of York in England. She has been working in Early Years Classrooms for over 12 years, including the past 6 years in Teda, Tianjin China. Ruhiyyih is a “Third Culture Kid” herself as she was raised in South America and learned English as a Third language. Therefore, she feels tremendous empathy for her EAL students. In addition, Ruhiyyih has extensive experience with Exceptional Needs Students and children suffering from Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Prior to her arrival at EtonHouse, Miss Bagley was a teacher as well as the Vice President of Shine Home. This is a centre for handicapped children and youth located in Tanggu, Tianjin and cares for 40 children. She has been extensively involved in service and development work both in China and the US focusing on the educational needs of poor, minority and disabled children and youth. Ruhiyyih is glad to be in an environment in which both educational values as well as character development are honoure.

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Fredda McNally - Year 1 Teacher
BA-BEd - Acadia University, MEd Mt. St. Vincent University (Nova Scotia, Canada)

Fredda has had many years experience teaching in Canada. She has taught children from Early to Middle Years, but most of her experience has been with 5-6 year old students. In the past few years she taught Reading Recovery to young children with reading challenges. Fredda believes in fostering a love of learning in her students. As a facilitator, she encourages children to learn to be responsible for their own learning. Fredda is in China for the first time and she is thrilled to be at EtonHouse.

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Naomi Messam - Year 2 Teacher
BA (Hons) English and Education Studies. Primary P.G.C.E. (UK) T.E.F.L. Diploma

Naomi studied her BA and teaching degrees in Lincoln, England and completed her TEFL Diploma here in Suzhou. She has taught children aged from 4 to 12 years old in British schools. Naomi has also worked at a special needs camp in America where she was an executive arts and crafts director and worked with children aged 4 to 16 years old. Naomi’s ethos for teaching is that every child has the right to learn and that a teacher’s role is to ensure that lessons are fun, exciting and informative. Naomi’s interests are reading, meeting new people and traveling.

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Bruce Needs - Year 3 Teacher

Bruce is an Australian with a Bachelor of Education (Primary K-6) from the University of Canberra (1992).
Prior to that he was in the military (RAAF) and also taught Outdoor Adventure Sports (children and adults) in the UK and Australia.
Bruce taught Primary students (K-6) at various levels and locations with the New South Wales Department of Education and Training (N.S.W. DET, Australia) from 1993 to 2004. In 2005 he worked with Singaporean students for M.A.S.C. (Morris Allen Study Centres) in Singapore. In 2006-08 he was employed by Uniworld International School in Hanoi, Vietnam (Class Teacher) and at Danang, Vietnam (Teaching Principal).
Bruce is very enthusiastic about guiding young children towards success and confidence while empowering them to take responsibility for their own learning.

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Jamie Watson - Year 4 Teacher
BSc. (UK) Dip.Ed. (NZ)

Jamie gained his degree in the United Kingdom before returning to his homeland New Zealand, where he trained as a primary school teacher. Jamie has taught mainly at the middle primary level where he also helped establish Environmental Education programmes, coordinated the PE programme, and coached school soccer teams. His subject strengths are Maths, PE, Science and Technology, as well as History and Geography. Jamie believes children learn best by doing. He gears his programmes to ensure every student achieves success, wants to learn, enjoys learning and can see the progress they have made. He encourages his students to use their initiative, persevere, take pride in their achievements, and not only to answer the questions but to question the answers. His interests include sports, reading, travel, puzzles and cooking. He joined Suzhou EtonHouse in 2008.

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Camille Lindo - Year 5 Teacher
Credit Diploma, Moneague College, BSc in Applied and Professional Services, Nova Southeastern University, Florida

Camille is a teacher from the island of Jamaica with nine years of teaching experience. She was trained at the Moneague College and then at Nova Southeastern University where she received a first class honours degree in teaching. Camille’s experience includes working with children with learning disabilities, developing coping strategies for dyslexic children, working with slow learners and working with the Jamaica Environment Trust to create green areas and foster good recycling habits in schools. She has worked in elementary classrooms throughout Jamaica and in therapy centres, along with assisting children with ADHD. She also worked as a massage technician in a few North Coast resorts in Jamaica as a hobby.

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Andrew Willis - Year 6 Teacher
BA(Hons), PGCE, NPQH

Mr Willis was born in Chesterfield, England and now lives in Jersey in the Channel Islands. He has taught for eighteen years and has been Principal at St John’s School in Jersey for the past three years. He is married to Janet and they have two daughters, Lucy & Rosie who are both Chinese. They are in China for one year to experience life and culture and to learn from the great staff & students at EtonHouse. Mr Willis’s educational philosophy is based on strong language and mathematical skills and knowledge together with inspiring creativity of thought, a love of learning and great curiosity. He loves being part of a class community that is supportive, challenging and fun and he is very proud to be the class teacher of the Sharks.

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Glenda Ray - Middle Years English and Humanities Teacher
B.A. (English) Indiana University, Teaching License - Indiana

Glenda originally comes from the United States and has been in the classroom since 2001. She joined EtonHouse in 2008. She has taught in the United States, Turkey, and China and has worked in both upper primary and the Middle Years programme. She has taught under IBMYP systems at previous schools and is enjoying developing the English and Humanities strands of EtonHouse’s Middle Years Programme. During her time in California, she attended many training sessions on how to meet the needs of ESL students which has been a definite asset while teaching abroad. She honestly loves the creativity involved with teaching and wants to share that with professional colleagues and students. Glenda’s priority is making learning fun for her students, collaborating with colleagues and using a variety of classroom activities in order to keep her students interested and help them retain their knowledge. Aside from teaching, Glenda’s interests are reading, writing, dancing, and extensive travel. She wants to be a lifelong learner and sees these as exciting ways to fulfil that goal.

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Tory Mills - Middle Years Maths and Science Teacher
BEd., B.App.Sci., (Distinction) QUT

Tory joined EtonHouse in 2009 after having seven years teaching experience in Australia. He has been significantly involved with curricular, extra-curricular and pastoral care programmes. Recently, he has worked as a team member in the Australian School Innovation in Science, Technology and Mathematics (ASISTM) project to develop curriculum materials. Previously, in his role as year 10 co-ordinator at Canterbury College, he was the leader of six staff and 150 students in pastoral pursuits. Tory is an energetic teacher with a passion for science, teaching and developing life-long learning skills in his students. Through his innovation and enthusiasm, he develops a creative and energised classroom atmosphere, while maintaining discipline. Tory places a high emphasis on his students being active in the classroom. He sees great value in practical based learning, peer collaboration and investigation, as these forms of learning allow students with a range of strengths to experience success. His hobbies are largely sporting based. He has coached rugby union and cricket at schools and these are high on his list of favourite sports. He regularly plays tennis (poorly) and touch football. He has also played indoor netball and loves travelling and camping. Playing with his children now takes up a lot of his spare time, but he would not swap this for anything. Tory is accompanied by his wife, Andy and 2 young children.

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Irawan Gani - Middle Years English and Humanities Teacher
B.A. (English) Indiana University, Teaching License - Indiana

Irawan Gani is an experienced teacher from Singapore who has been teaching and instructing since 1997 in Singapore, Australia and China. He obtained his teaching credentials in Nanyang Technology University Singapore and read Literature and Creative Writing at Edith Cowan University (ECU), Perth, Australia.
In Singapore he taught and instructed in public schools as well as running Creative Writing classes for both teenagers and adults in private institutions. In Perth, he was part of the Peter Cowan Writers' Centre team in ECU promoting all kinds of creative writing workshops.
In the classroom, Irawan believes in learning with a sense of humour and purpose. He maintains that although we now live in a more protective environment, it is important that we preserve the sense of fun and adventure. Without it, our natural development is impeded. Fortunately, educational institutions can offer that in a safe environment and nurture creativity.
On top of that, he loves playing badminton, football, golf and tennis. Irawan is also a music and writing enthusiast in his spare time.

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Brendan O'Flaherty – EAL Coorinator
BA MA Cert Ed CAFEP

Brendan obtained his qualifications from the Universities of Liverpool and Leeds in the UK and at the University of Lille in France and has wide experience of teaching at both primary and upper school level. He has taught in the UK, France and China. His main area of expertise is language and before taking up his present post he was Head of the Modern Languages faculty in a large International School in Shanghai. His interests include sport, photography, travel, cooking and reading. He is looking forward to helping develop the understanding of EAL at EtonHouse.

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Janet Willis - Art Teacher
BA PGCE

Janet is an experienced classroom teacher, having worked for 20 years in primary classrooms. During this time, she has also co-ordinated a Visual Art programme in the four schools in which she worked in Liverpool, UK and Jersey, Channel Islands. She has co-written Art Schemes of work and provided inset training and support for colleagues over a number of years.
In the classroom, Janet focuses on engaging the pupils through a stimulating environment and a personal enthusiasm for Visual Art. She strongly believes that pupils of all ages should be encouraged to value the processes of making art as well as being proud of the final product. She feels that it essential for pupils to handle a wide range of media and is always delighted when they discover a new way of working with it! She also introduces the pupils to the work of a variety of artists to encourage them to ask about how art is made and to express their own preferences.
Outside the classroom, Janet uses textiles to express her own creativity and is a member of a group in Jersey who exhibit their work annually.

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Ryan Diedericks - Physical Education Coorinator and EAL Teacher
B.Ed – Potchefstroom College of Education, M.Ed - Potchefstroom College of Education, T.E.F.L Diploma – Toronto Benns Institute

Ryan has nine years teaching experience in International Schools. With degrees in Physical Education, Educational Administration and a TEFL Diploma, Ryan is a highly qualified teacher. He has taught in both Primary and the Middle Years programmes and looks forward to developing the PE and EAL programmes of EtonHouse in Suzhou. Sports, athletics, and a healthy lifestyle have always been a huge part of Ryan’s life, and he believes that some of the most important life skills can be taught through health, physical activity and athletics. He grew up playing many different kinds of sports from the age of six all the way through high school and university. He enjoys anything that involves physical activity coupled with any activity done outdoors. Most weekends you can find him exploring his surroundings with family and friends and supporting his favourite football team. He is joined in China by his wife and their 6 year old daughter.

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Jodie Yemm - Music Coordinator
B.Mus., B.Mus. Ed. (Melbourne University) Certificate of Music Pedagogy (Hungary) A.Mus.A. (Piano and Flute)

Jodie is a highly experienced classroom music, choral and instrumental teacher, with a strong background in drama, who graduated from the University of Melbourne, Australia. She then completed post-graduate studies at the Kodaly Pedagogical Institute of Music in Hungary on a full scholarship. Jodie speaks fluent French, English and she also has conversational level of German. After teaching at Scotch College in Melbourne, Jodie spent seven years on the island of Guadeloupe in the French West Indies, where she helped to set up a music school with her French husband, who is also a musician. She taught music classes, flute and piano in addition to establishing a choral programme involving 100 children ranging from 6 – 18 years of age. Jodie’s most recent position, before joining EtonHouse in 2008, was as Head of Junior School Music at Caulfield Grammar School in Melbourne, where she taught children from Pre-School to Secondary School over a period of 9 years. Jodie is passionate about music education and believes that every child has the right to a good, quality music programme. Jodie has also worked with the Australian Youth Choir as a conductor, accompanist and teacher. Jodie is accompanied by her husband, Gabriel and 3 daughters.

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Kerryn McCall – Librarian
Kerryn is a qualified Registered Nurse with many years experience with children.

She studied and received her TEFL Certificate in 2007 and has worked in the EAL Department within EtonHouse for the past 3 years. Kerryn is from Australia. This year she has moved into the library and can bring her love of books to the fore. Kerryn believes that reading is a life skill that needs to be encouraged in all children from a very early age.

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Yi Wang - Mandarin Coordinator
Dip Mandarin Ms

Yi is a Senior Chinese Teacher. She graduated from Nanjing Normal University, gained her degrees in Suzhou University. She passed the Standard of? Mandarin Proficiency Test, and participated in teaching training in the New Zealand Auckland Institute of Education.
She has 20 years of experience in teaching Chinese in Suzhou public schools and Seattle Washington International School. She was a Teaching Director and Vice President in Suzhou public schools, and has 10 years of experience in the management of education, teaching, and teacher training.
Yi is a passionate and professional Mandarin teacher. She is eager to help children succeed in their Mandarin learning. An efficient teaching approach is used to make Mandarin learning easy and fun. She has a good rapport with her students and their parents.?? Her ability to connect with her students and her talent at teaching simple concepts, as well as more advanced topics, are very good.? She also enjoys teaching Chinese culture to the students, and making the students more interested in understanding and learning about Chinese culture.

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Molly Mo - Mandarin Teacher
Dip Mandarin Ms

Molly graduated from Nan Tong Teachers University majoring in English. Molly aims to create a stimulating learning environment to help children to explore new experiences in the classroom and the world around them. Molly believes that each child is special and unique and she enjoys the journey in helping children to learn. She also thinks that in being a teacher, her role is to facilitate children and help them to grow and to achieve a higher level of learning.

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April Chen
Dip Mandarin

April graduated from Xuzhou Teachers Normal University majoring in Chinese. She has had 2 years experience teaching in a local middle school. She has taught Mandarin at EtonHouse since 2006. She has taught across many age groups. She always strives to give the students an enthusiastic and easy environment and tries to develop them as lifelong learners.

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Wendy Hu (Early Year Mandarin, Music and Movement teacher)
Dip Early Childhood Ed. Secondary School Music Ed. & Ballet Teacher Certificate

Wendy has been a teacher since 1998 and graduated from Hanchuan Teachers College and Wuhan Music College. She has a passion for teaching children, especially young children, whom she believes to be our future as the next generation. Wendy is a talented musician, specialising in Chinese Zither. Her gift for music is valued at EtonHouse, for the children love singing, dancing and learning rhythms. She believes that serving as a teacher requires patience and a warm heart.

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