Headteacher's Welcome
In Sark School we pride ourselves on the special and unique environment we create for our whole school community. We recognise that everyone in our school family must work together to create a safe, nurturing and creative learning environment. No one person is more important than the other. We are so fortunate to have the beauty of Sark Island all around us and we are an intricate part of our island community and environment. The whole island is an extended resource intrinsically woven into our curriculum. We are proud of our enrichment programme which encourages islanders to work with the children imparting local knowledge to our younger generation.
Our curriculum is designed to reach all members of our mixed age classes. Our classes are small allowing the class teachers to create an individual curriculum for each of our pupils from preschool to year 8. The academic achievements are recognised in our termly assessments. These standardised scores allow us to see where we place in comparison to other children the same age. We are happy that our children are achieving expected or beyond the average targets.
Our core values of Be kind, Be curious and Be you are visible throughout the school. We value the whole and individual person within our learning environment. We strive to encourage all children to reach their true potential.
We always welcome visitors and love to show off our little school. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions.
Michelle Brady, Head Teacher
Staff
Ms Michelle Brady
Miss Rosie Swanson
Mr Simon Smith
Class 1
Head Teacher
Before moving to Sark in September 2022, Mrs Brady was working as Head of Learning Support at Elizabeth College Junior School and prior to that she was SENCO at Vale Primary School. She is passionate about making education inclusive for all and loves to see pupils excel in across the curriculum areas. She has worked in London schools and also in Scotland. Her other passions include theatre and nature. She has worked, prior to teaching, in theatre mainly as a lighting designer and operator. This is now something her eldest son continues to do. She enjoys sea swimming and walking. Her youngest son is a keen swimmer and rugby player. Her passion for creativity spills into the classroom and believes that the ability to engage a pupil in their learning and their learning environment is paramount to their development.
Mrs Charlie Turner
Class 2
Class 3
Safeguarding Lead
Miss Swanson recently completed her PGCE training at University of Cumbria with an environmental and experiential learning specialism and is so excited to promote outdoor learning at Sark school. Prior to teaching she worked in business development and account management roles for a variety of London based environmental and social housing charities for over a decade. Between London and Sark, Miss Swanson lived as a continuous cruiser on a narrowboat before lovingly renovating a fisherman’s cottage in Morecambe. As a lover of the great outdoors she is most happy when hiking, camping, scrambling, running, sea swimming or practising yoga in the wild. Other passions include live music, improvised theatre, vegetarian cooking and playing with her pet dog, Otter.
Mr Smith was very pleased to join the School in September 2023. He has worked in schools for around 18 years and has taught in colleges, secondary schools, MOD schools and primary schools in England and Cyprus. As well as having an enthusiasm for all learning in general, his favourite subject specialisms include Science, Music, Maths, Reading/Literacy and Art. His work roles previous to classroom teaching include musician, peripatetic teacher, laboratiry technician and admin assistant. Out of school, his hobbies include playing guitar and piano, science, nature and reading.
Ms Juliet Turner-Cross
Mrs Kathryn Adams
EYFS Practitioner
Intervention Support
Enrichment Coordinator
Teaching Assistant.
Cover Teacher and Administrator
Miss Jones works across the school as an HLTA, and loves supporting all of the age groups we have here at Sark School. She also provides one-to-one and group intervention support to the children. Also coordinating Sark School's extremely successful enrichment programme, which aims to broaden the children's experiences both inside and outside of the curriculum.
She enjoys reading, music and drama, as well as being a qualified First Aider and successfully gaining her NWSMP swimming qualification.
When she isn't working, Miss Jones loves spending time outside exploring the island, and supporting our community as a Constable.
Juliet Turner-Cross is a TA and Lunchtime Supervisor at Sark School. In the UK she worked at Chichester Montessori Nursery School and was a qualified Foster Mum. She moved to Sark in July 2022 but has been visiting family here for the last 20 years. Her hobbies are Baking, Gardening, History and Music.
"Working at Sark School is always a joy, from the children to the staff it always brightens my day."
After graduating from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Kathryn began her teaching career at Yeovil College in Somerset. Here she gained her PGCE and taught for 15 years. Her career continued at Exeter College in Devon before she returned to Somerset where she became a Programme Manager of Production Arts at Bridgwater College. After a brief break, Kathryn returned to teaching at The Royal High School for Girls in Bath. Kathryn has been teaching for 25 years and came to Sark with her partner and 2 dogs seeking an adventure. She is currently the cover teacher and adminstrator at Sark School and a volunteer for Sark Fire Service.