Governors & Staff - Durston House

Open Morning

The next Open Morning is on Saturday 7 March 2026.

Find out more

What are you searching for?

Search the durston site by filling in the form below

Connect with Durston

Stay in touch with our admissions team, know when our Open Day is and be reminded when to submit your registration!

Name
Consent(Required)

Mr G Entwisle

Headmaster

BA (Hons) Loughborough

Giles Entwisle joined Durston House in September 2020. For the previous seven years Giles was Headmaster of Bede’s Preparatory School in Eastbourne, the prep school of Bede’s senior school. Before that he was Deputy Head at Highfield School in Liphook, Hampshire, and Housemaster at Holmewood House in Tunbridge Wells. In total he has taught at five different prep schools, all of them with strong reputations and high standards of teaching and pastoral care.

Giles began his career as a languages teacher, qualifying from Bristol University in 1992. He has an Honours degree in Modern European Studies from Loughborough University, and is married to Regina, a Spanish teacher. They have two children.

Miss L Vallely

Deputy Head

BEd (Hons) (University of Glasgow) QTS

Lauren was born and raised in Lanarkshire, which is a beautiful area of Scotland close to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Loch Lomond. She studied Primary Education at the University of Glasgow and graduated in 2009. Lauren moved from Scotland to ‘The Big Smoke’ in 2010 and has worked at many leading independent prep schools. Most recently as Deputy Head Pastoral at Wetherby Kensington and Deputy Head at Parsons Green Prep. Lauren enjoys painting using oils and acrylics and loves visiting art galleries. During her spare time she volunteers in a range of projects within the Kensington & Chelsea district, sometimes with her cockapoo Larry who is a trained therapy dog.

Ms D Finlayson

Head of Pre-Prep

BSc (Hons) (Middx) PGCE

Dawn has worked at Durston House since 2010, where she spent 3 years teaching in Year 1 and seven years as Head of Reception, before moving to Year 2 and becoming Head of Pre-Prep. Before her move to London, Dawn worked with 5-12 year olds in schools across Scotland, including the Highlands and the Lothians.

Dawn enjoys music, both as a performer and in the audience, and regularly plays her flute with the Durston School Orchestra. In the school holidays she can usually be found in a theatre or arena somewhere (not always in the UK!), enjoying some musical theatre or a pop or rock concert. Dawn has volunteered for many years with amateur dramatic groups, working backstage and front of house, and particularly enjoys preparing her pupils for performance opportunities throughout the year.

Mrs J Twyford

Bursar

Jenny was recruited as Bursar at Durston House in January 2005, having previously been the Bursar at a Prep School and an Adult Education College. Born in South Africa but brought up and educated in Ealing, she has run her own business and worked as a Finance Executive in the industrial chemical manufacturing industry. Jenny has two children and five grandchildren; is a keen tennis player, having played competitively in the Middlesex League, and continues to play regularly.

Mr D Stock

Assistant Head, Co-Curricular

BSc (Hons) (St Mary’s) PGCE

Dominic grew up in leafy Kent. He moved to London for his degree in Physical and Sport Education, at St Mary’s University, Twickenham. Starting Durston in 2011, he has held positions in Junior School, Middle and Upper School, mixing class teaching, History and PE/Games, before joining the Senior Management Team, as Director of Studies, in September 2018. Always a keen sportsman, Dominic enjoys playing both codes of rugby, having represented Harlequins Rugby League and now playing on the wing for Twickenham Rugby Football Club.

Mrs C Saigau

Assistant Head, Academic

BA (Romania) PGDip (Romania) MTeach (IoE London) QTS

Cristina was born and educated in Romania with a degree in Philology, and began her teaching career in England in 2000. Starting Durston in 2008 as a Year 1 teacher, in 2010 she joined the Junior School team as a Year 3 teacher, and in 2015 became Head of Latin. Outside of work Cristina enjoys city walks, travelling, and trips to the theatre.

Miss J Chisholm

Assistant Head, Studies Administration

BEd (Canada) QTS

Jennifer joined Durston House as Studies Manager in 2018. Born and raised in Canada, she has called London home since 2011. Jennifer has worked across a variety of school settings, most recently as a Year 3 and 4 Teacher and a member of the management team at a prep school in North London. She enjoys travelling extensively throughout Europe and is most at home in the mountains, having ski raced competitively as a child.

Mrs A Cannon

Assistant Head, Pastoral, & DDSL

BA (Hons) (Leeds) PGCE QTS (Roehampton) 

Amy has worked in Primary Education for over 10 years. Amy is a specialist within the EYFS and has also spent many years in management as Head of Year 1 in one of London’s top state training schools, ECT lead and ECT mentor for Ealing Council, as well as teaching Reception, Year 2 and teaching in another Pre-School. Amy joined the Senior Management Team in 2022 to support the merge of our Early Years department and introduced a Pre-School to Durston House. Amy has also had the experience of running her own successful company for many years, where her passion for helping local families and children became a huge focus of her life. Amy is half Spanish and has two sons who she adores. Amy’s main hobby is dancing. She has performed at some of the most prestigious top London Theatres and she has spent much of her life competing Nationally. Amy still enjoys training in dance two evenings a week (when she isn’t too tired!).

Mrs A Stiglingh

Head of EYFS (Reception)

MA (Joint Hons) (Edinburgh) QTS

Alex graduated from Edinburgh University in 2006 with a MA in Modern European Languages. Before embarking on a career in teaching, Alex worked in investor relations and financial communications in London for several years. Since joining Durston, Alex has worked in both Year 1 and Reception. At the weekend Alex can usually be found on the side of a rugby or football field cheering on her two young children. She enjoys long walks as well as spending time with friends and family.

  • Governors

    Ali Palmer

    Jon Grantham

    Nick Hudson

    William Key

    Lester Mak

    Mark Wilderspin

  • Heads of Department

    Mr M Angell BA (Hons) QTS (Chichester) MA (St Mary’s) — Head of PE / Games

    Mr R Bhalsod BA (Hons) (Westminster) — Head of IT, Computer Science and Digital Transformation

    Mr J Briggs BEd Science (Anglia Ruskin) — Head of Science

    Miss C Barnes BA (Hons) (London) MA (London) PGCE — Head of English

    Mr R Bester Higher HiDipED (Durban) — Head of Geography and Head of Year 7 & Year 8

    Ms C J Eng BSc (Hons) (UCL) PGCE (University of Cambridge) — Head of Art (Maternity Cover)

    Mrs A Gorard BA (Liverpool) PCGE — Head of Learning Support / SENCO

    Miss A Vedrenne BA (Hons) (London Metropolitan) PGCE — Head of French

    Mrs K Palamarchuk MA (Krakow) PGCE — Head of Music

    Mr D Rajah BA HDEd (Natal) QTS — Head of Mathematics

    Mrs C Saigau BA MA (Galati) MTeach (IOE London) QTS — Head of Latin

    Mr D Stock BSc (Hons) (St Mary’s) PGCE — Head of History

    Mrs E Williams PDT AdvCertEd (Cape Town) — Head of PSHME

    Mr L Williams BA (Rhodes) BA (Hons) (W. Cape) DipTch — Head of TPR

  • Teaching Staff

    Mrs D Adhami BEd (Hons) (West Midlands College) — Pre-Prep (Year 2)

    Mr E U Bassey BA (Hons) (Nsukka) MA (Lagos) DipMusEd — Music

    Miss C Barr BSc (Ireland) PGCE QTS — Junior School

    Miss S Baxter BA (Hons) PGCE (St Mary’s) — PE / Games

    Miss J Beaumont BA (Otago) QTS — Pre-Prep (Year 1)

    Mr A Bendas BA (Romania) QTS — PE / Games

    Mr W Coetzer BA (Hons) (Johannesburg) PGCE — Junior School

    Miss A Derliunaite BA (Hons) (St Mary’s) FDA Early Years’ — Pre School

    Miss S Easton BA (Hons) (London) — Pre-Prep (Year 2)

    Miss N Emmanuel — BA (Hons) (Reading) — Pre-Prep (Reception)

    Mrs K Figura BA (Hons) (Poland) MA PGDip QTS — Pre School

    Miss K Findlay BA (Hons) (University of Wellington) MA (Hons) Teaching and Learning (Christchurch) — English

    Miss J Gahir BSc (Hons) (St Mary’s) PGCE — Mathematics

    Mrs A Harridge BA (Hons) (USA) QTS MA (USA) — English and Head of Years 5 & 6

    Mrs K Katradis BA (Hons) PGCE (Southbank) QTS — Pre-Prep (Year 2)

    Mrs T Outten LLB (Hons) (Reading) PGCE — Junior School

    Mrs N Sharma BA (Hons) (London) PGCE — Mathematics and History

    Mrs H Sharp BA (Hons) (Oxford Brookes University) PGCE — Pre-Prep (Reception)

    Mrs I Sidhu BA (Hons) (Romania) QTS — Learning Support

    Dr C Slater BSc (Seattle Pacific University) PhD (Edinburgh) — Junior School

    Mr H Smith BA (Hons) (Oxford University) PGCE — French

    Miss S Smith – PE / Games — Teacher Training

    Mr R Terblanche BEd (University of South Africa) — Junior School

    Mr K Trott BA (London) PGCE — Pre-Prep (Year 1)

    Mrs L Winiecki PGCE (Roehampton) — Teacher of Science

    Mrs J Woolley BA (Hons) (Oxon) — Junior School

  • Administration Staff

    Miss G Budasz — School Secretary

    Mrs A Burrell — Main School Secretary

    Ms CF Dubois — Bursar’s Assistant – Finance

    Ms J Ellis — Pre-Prep Secretary

    Mrs C Ferns — Headmaster’s Secretary / Registrar

    Miss H Hammami — School Assistant (Main School)

    Mr P Khaunekar — IT Technician

    Mrs A Priya BTech (Electrical), Associate CIPD — HR Manager

    Mr H Ross MEng CEng MIET — Head of Communications

    Miss K Swanson — Senior School Assistant (Junior School)

    Mr A White BA (Hons) MA PGCE (Reading) — Librarian

  • Assistants

    Ms K Augustine — Pre-Prep Teaching Assistant

    Miss J Bariya — Pre-Prep Teaching Assistant

    Ms F Bezdany — Pre-School Teaching Assistant

    Mr D Charles — Gap Student

    Ms A Garvey — Learning Support Assistant

    Mrs R Kowalska-Klich — Pre-School Teaching Assistant

    Mrs A Latawiec — Pre-Prep Teaching Assistant

    Mrs R Namakerdi — Pre-School Teaching Assistant

    Miss M Reid — Pre-Prep Teaching Assistant

    Mr N Rule — School Assistant (Sport)

    Miss G Udiahan — Pre-Prep Teaching Assistant

  • Support Staff

    Mr M Liciu — Facilities Supervisor

    Mr J B O’Brien — Maintenance Assistant

    Mrs B Sandhu — Events Manager

    Mr B Sula — Facilities Assistant

     

  • After School Care

    Mrs N Brusnahan — After-School Care Supervisor (Pre-School/Pre-Prep)

    Mrs K Pomeroy — After-School Care Supervisor (Main School)

    Ms N DeJong — After-School Care Assistant (Pre-Prep/Pre-School)

    Mrs A Latawiec — After-School Care Supervisor (Junior School)

    Mrs M Lloyd — After-School Care Assistant (Pre-Prep/Pre-School)

    Mrs R Namakerdi — After-School Care Assistant (Pre-Prep/Pre-School)

  • Dining Room and Playground Assistants

    Mrs N Brusnahan

    Mrs M Lloyd

    Mrs K Pomeroy

    Mrs A Sarnecka

    Mrs A Swiekatowska

    Ms K Wojton

  • Visiting Music Teachers

    Mr M Allen  BMus (Hons) MMus (LCM) — Drums

    Mr F Brikcius  MgA (JAMU) — Cello

    Mr C Goodman  BMus (Hons) (RCM) — Clarinet, Alto Saxophone

    Mr M Hickman  BMus (Hons) — Piano

    Mrs A Pratley  BMus (Hons) — Violin

    Mr K Proudlove Dip Higher Ed Music — Guitar, Piano

    Mr M J Ross  DipLCM/ALCM — Electric Guitar

    Mrs Y Shon  MMus BMus (Seoul) — Piano, Voice

    Mr G Ubeda  Perf Dip (TCL) — Guitar

    Mr S Zakarian  BMus MMus (RAM) LRAM — Piano

Where next?

Join our team

Policies