The Learning Team
The Learning Team are a team of experienced teachers who are experts in pedagogy and leading learning. The team all have different roles, from supporting new colleagues to the profession, to developing and leading CPL. We all have different interests and specialisms, but our ultimate goal is to ensure that the learning at County is of the very highest quality - for every student, in every lesson.
This page will give you a little more information about the members of our team.
Ricky Cooper – Ricky is the Assistant Headteacher in charge of Learning and Teaching. He has been teaching for thirteen years and has been a middle leader or senior leader for ten of those. He has worked across four schools including one in mainland China and absolutely loves teaching Philosophy. In terms of Learning and Teaching, Ricky is a big believer that all professional development needs to be credible, evidence-based and immediately useful and actionable for colleagues. The single biggest impact area in terms of learning is the quality of teaching and therefore the quality of teachers. Our job in education is to ensure the best life chances for all students and Learning and Teaching is at the heart of that.
Jo Cole - Jo has taught History at County for over 10 years, and consistently achieves the top grades for her students. She has taken on a variety of roles at the school, including Head of History and Head of Upper School. Her interests now are making sure that all students at County get the very best in every lesson - and that starts with staff getting excellent training and support. Jo is particularly interested in the role of literacy in the classroom, and breaking down barriers to reading.
Caroline Gale - Caroline is the Director Of Music, Head of Creative Arts and member of SLT. She has a passion for connecting musical skills across all learning platforms and aspects of curricula. Her current focus in on active listening and the amazing benefits that this can bring to student learning.
Lindsay Ammar - Lindsay has held various roles at County and teaches Drama, English and Media Studies. In her role on the Learning Team she is responsible for coordinating the trainee teacher programme, which covers all aspects of arranging the trainees' placements whilst they are with us, and leading their Professional Studies.
Carol Smith - Carol has been Head of Geography at County for many years and is still passionate about this amazing subject! She has recently completed the NPQ Leading Literacy course and as a Lead Practitioner and a Head of Department is looking forward to applying her learning about the importance of all the different aspects of literacy in order to improve student outcomes at County.
Mark Grimmett - Mark Grimmett is a Mathematics and Business Studies teacher at Guildford County School, having taught there for seven years and currently Head of Year 12. Prior to teaching, Mark worked for an international investment bank for four years, gaining experience within quality assurance and governance. Having studied for a MA Education in Leading Innovation and Change, Mark feels it is important to always challenge oneself and continually strive for improvement. It is this mantra that has impacted his Lead Practitioner work on whole school Student Review focusing on students and staff exploring metacognitive and self-regulation strategies to improve learning. He strongly believes in creating the right learning mindset with both students and staff to motivate them to believe and achieve their own challenging aspirations – anything you set your mind to, you can achieve.
Joyce Kahwa - Joyce is an experienced Chemistry teacher who displays excellence in her classroom. She is responsible for supporting new staff at County, working with both experienced teachers and ECTs. Her expertise are in planning for challenge, pushing students to achieve their full potential and offering quality feedback that helps students to progress. Joyce leads by example with superb classroom practice.
