Townley Meet the Team Pastoral Meet the Team

Meet the Pastoral Team

Miss H Mitchem
Deputy Headteacher (Pastoral)

As Deputy Headteacher (pastoral), I am extremely proud of the provision offered at Townley and am committed to ensuring our pastoral vision is realised and highly effective. I am extremely fortunate that I am able to work with such highly experienced Learning Managers, Assistant Learning Managers and House Tutors, all of whom help drive our exceptional standards of pastoral care.

As an outward facing leader, I have facilitated innovative national and international partnerships,  harnessing experts in their field to help drive standards and address national priorities. I have managed and hosted the Wellbeing Inspire Conferences, attracting a national audience from trainee teachers to senior leaders, higher education representatives, educational researchers, charitable organisations, mental health campaigners and highly distinguished keynote speakers, providing attendees the opportunity to engage with a range of ideas whilst also encouraging networking opportunities and platforms for discussion and implementation.

Driven by a strong desire to improve the mental health and wellbeing of our student and staff community, I managed a strategic partnership with the International Positive Education Network, which afforded opportunities to enhance provision at Townley and underpin aspects of our pastoral care with the PERMA  model ; our focus on Character Education and Positive Psychology was so highly recognised that in 2019 we represented Townley Grammar as the only UK school at the Positive Education Network Appreciative Enquiry Summit where 1,200 researchers, educators, practitioners and psychologists planned collectively in a strengths-based and task focused design-and-build process.

Miss S Singh
Year 7 Learning Manager

I am the Senior Learning Manager for Key Stage 3. I joined the Science department as a Biology teacher at Townley Grammar School in 2015 and soon after became the Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator for 2 years, before being appointed to the pastoral team as a Learning Manager in 2017, and then Senior Learning Manager in 2020.Through my own experiences in education, and knowledge from my Masters qualification in Transformational Leadership I aim to ensure that students in Key stage 3 are given opportunities to develop both leadership attributes and positive character traits for success at Townley and beyond. As Year 7 Learning manager, I have a particular focus on supporting student transition and wellbeing through bespoke Character and Wellbeing activities and initiatives, as they adjust to life in secondary school. The pastoral team are often one of the first ports of call for students requiring additional support either academically or in terms of their social or emotional wellbeing, and for this reason I have kept my practice well informed, completing qualifications in 'Understanding Children and Young Person Mental Health' as well as being a trained safeguarding officer and Youth Mental Health First aider. In 2018 I worked alongside the Diana Award to establish our first cohort of in-school Anti-bullying ambassadors,  which has been an ongoing successful initiative and leadership opportunity for students and staff to be involved in. I am currently completing National Professional Qualifications in Leading Behaviour and Culture to further develop research led initiatives to support and develop students within my pastoral role.  In my own time, I enjoy creative activities and outlets such as art and music and support students to develop their own wider curricular abilities through running a weekly guitar club. I thoroughly enjoy working at Townley Grammar School and am often inspired by our students! I very much look forward to meeting each new cohort and am available if your daughter in Key stage 3 ever needs any support in her Townley journey.

Miss E Magee
Year 8 Learning Manager

Miss Magee joined Townley in 2019, having previously worked as a Music Subject Lead at Harris Academy Beckenham. She has been teaching for over 10 years, is a Brampton Primary Governor and has taught KS3 Drama, Religious Studies, Citizenship and Music. Miss Magee belongs to several choirs outside school, is currently studying for Grade 6 Piano/Theory and plays the Clarinet & Saxophone too. She has been to 50 countries so far, (watch this space…) infusing herself with new cultures, traditions and experiences. Solo travel is very important to her well-being and she loves all forms of Dancing and Swimming too.

Mrs J Greener
Year 9 Learning Manager

Mrs Greener has worked at Townley Grammar within the Physical Education department for over ten years and is also the Learning Manager for Year 9.

Mrs Greener has recently completed the Level 2 Autism course and has been selected to be a Governor for an SEN secondary school within the Borough.

When not working, Mrs Greener loves to exercise, be it rowing, swimming or a Saturday morning Parkrun.

Miss E Groom
Year 10 Learning Manager

I have been part of the pastoral team for four years now and have experience in both KS3 and KS4. I have a real passion for building positive relationships with students and do my best every day to ensure they are safe and happy in school. As part of my role as a Learning Manager, I am a Mental Health First Aider and a Designated Safeguarding Officer and work very closely with all other members of the team. 

Aside from my role as a Learning Manager, I am also a teacher of French and Spanish and feel very strongly about the importance of language learning. As a former Townley student and someone who has no family that speak either of these languages, my journey of language learning began when I was in Year 7, and I truly believe that all students have the capability to become confident speakers of other languages. 

In my free time, I love travelling and learning about other cultures and I also enjoy running. I very much look forward to working with you and your child during their time at our school. 

Ms L Drew
Year 11 Learning Manager

I am the Senior Learning Manager for Key Stage 4, including being the Line Manager for Year 11.
I have worked as a teacher within Bexley Borough for over twenty years, with the majority of these being part of the pastoral provision within the schools. I joined Townley in September 2021, becoming the Line Manager for Year 10 in January 2022. 
During my teaching career, I have held various positions of responsibility including Assistant Vice Principal, responsible for data across the school and Line Manager to the Heads of Years.  I am trained as a Designated Safeguarding Lead and have completed by first aid training.  Since joining Townley I have also undertaken courses in Mental Health First Aid, Understanding Autism and have achieved a certificate in Self Harm and Suicide Prevention. 
My approach with students is that my door is always open, whether students need support, wish to ask questions or need to talk through situations.
 

Miss O Orukpe
Year 13 Learning Manager 

I am passionate about serving young people and have worked in educational services for over 10 years. With an MSci in Mathematics, an award-winning entrepreneur, and a keen interest in financial literacy, I have supported young people through business mentoring/coaching, accelerator programmes and more.

Throughout the past 6 years at Townley to date, I have worked as a maths teacher, learning manager in the sixth form, as well as a member of the senior leadership team with a particular focus on student leadership and careers.

My passion for teaching and pastoral provision stems from a desire to see every young person reach and even exceed their own, unique potential, not only in academia, but also in wellbeing, extracurricular and wider endeavours. 

I feel privileged to work alongside esteemed professionals in raising the next generation of leaders and change-makers and have also mentored Oxbridge applicants in the areas of Maths, Law and Engineering both in and outside of school.

As a designated safeguarding officer, I ensure students are provided with the utmost care in line with the school's number one priority in ensuring safety of all our students.

As a member of the equity staff group, I play an active role in ensuring that representation within the school continues to progress and support the school's vision in creating a more inclusive community for our students and stakeholders.

Ms V Papen
Sixth Form Learning Manager

I currently work as a sixth-form learning manager, research lead and MFL teacher at Townley Grammar. Being from Germany, I taught language GCSE courses in adult education during my master's studies in Education before training as a teacher in the UK and leading the German department at Townley Grammar. I have been a Learning Manager for several years at KS4 and KS5 and have seen first-hand the importance of safeguarding and pastoral provision within a school setting. Thus, I am a designated safeguarding officer and trained as a first & mental health first aider. 

Next to my full-time role at Townley Grammar, I lead study days at the British Film Institute and complete examinations for AQA. Before moving to the UK, I volunteered to deliver refugee language integration courses and pastoral provision at the Volkshochschule for four years. Moreover, since 2022, I have been volunteering as the safeguarding governor link at a local primary school.

I look forward to working collaboratively with students, parents, colleagues, senior managers, and the governors to implement Townley's expectations and develop and deliver new standards that support our goals and statutory responsibilities.

Ms Kopycinska
Deputy Learning Manager for KS4

I have been working at Townley grammar school as a Computer Science teacher since 2015. In September 2022, I was appointed as a Deputy Learning Manager for KS4 and work closely with Miss Groom, Ms Drew and Mrs Fitzgearld. I have always been interested in psychology and the connection between the mind, body, and our emotions. I have recently completed a Life Coaching Certificate Course with Kain Ramsay and I am also a certified Mental Health First Aider. As a Computer Science teacher, I am very passionate about technology and its advances, however, I am also very aware of the risks that young people face nowadays. Therefore, I have taken a special interest in young people’s mental health and the connection between technology and the causes of poor mental well-being. 

Mrs M Fitzgerald
Assistant Learning Manager

I am the Assistant Learning Manager for Key Stage 4. I started working at Townley Grammar School in 2005, the 17 years here have flown past.

I work full time as a member of Associate Staff and I am available at any point during the school day to support students with any issues or queries they may have or to simply have a chat, my door is always open. I am based in the Key Stage 4 office along with the Year 10 and 11 Learning Managers.

Mrs E Johal
Assistant Learning Manager

I have worked here at Townley for eight years; I originally started my Townley journey in the Sixth Form dealing with attendance/pastoral care and moved into KS3 in 2019. I currently work alongside the Learning Managers for years 7, 8 & 9 and will be a constant for your children during their time in KS3. My role at Townley as an Assistant Learning Manager varies from day to day, from supporting the Learning Managers  to assisting with assemblies or helping students pastorally. Over my time at Townley I have attended a number of training courses to be able to help support the students in school and in 2020 I became a Mental Health First Aider. The best part of my job is getting to know your children, and as a mum of two I know how important it is to have a support network at school for our children should they need someone to talk to. My door is always open, and I hope that all of your children feel comfortable enough to come and see me should they ever need to.