Leadership
Rebecca Ross-Wood
Rebecca joined Ark Conway in 2012, initially as a class teacher and then leading the school since 2018. In her time at the school she has introduced initiatives such as the MindUp curriculum, designed to develop the well-being of all pupils, as well as creating the Conway Well-Being team. Beyond Ark Conway, she has supported the development of teachers through co-facilitating Ark programmes for Middle Leaders and for Newly Qualified Teachers.
Rebecca completed her PGCE at the Institute of Education in central London and has also received the National Professional Qualification for Headship. She is passionate about providing children with the chance to learn the skills and knowledge required to achieve excellence both academically and beyond the curriculum. Before teaching, Rebecca graduated from the University of Durham with a degree in Natural Sciences.
Rebecca enjoys both dancing and acting. She has competed in the finals of Miss Dance of Great Britain and performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Dublin International Theatre Festival.
Daniel Upfield
James Elliott
James joined Ark Conway in 2018 having taught in Bath for five years previously. During his time at Conway James has led on various subjects including: PE, History, Science and Maths. In 2021 James, joined the Senior leadership team as Interim Assistant-Principal before becoming Head of School in the Summer of 2022. James has loved the start of headship and cannot wait to achieve great things with the pupils, staff and wider community at Conway.
In his spare time, James is a big sports follower and enjoys playing football at the weekends. He follows Rugby and Cricket closely too.
Hannah Bridges
Elyshia White
Elyshia studied Primary Education at the University West of England. She started her teaching career in a special needs school, working with children who had language, behaviour and physical constraints. She then taught in various mainstream schools in North Somerset and Bristol across KS1 and KS2 classes before moving to London. In a range of London schools based in Stockwell, Wandsworth and Acton, Elyshia led on several subject areas including PSHE and wellbeing, school council, History and Geography, before developing middle leadership skills as a KS2 manager for Year 3 to 6. Elyshia joined the Ark Network of schools initially working at Ark Priory Academy where she taught year 5 and year 3 cohorts as a class teacher before beginning the SENCO role at Ark Conway Academy.
In her spare time, Elyshia enjoys being outdoors with her cocker spaniel dog, attending agility classes and exploring new areas on walks, as well as cooking and reading.
Paulette Williams
Teachers
Mila Muzard-Clark
Mila graduated from the University of the West of England with a First Class Honors BSc in Psychology. She then joined Conway in 2020 as a Year 6 co-teacher, before completing her teacher training in Year 3 last year.
In her time outside of work, Mila enjoys keeping fit through running and cycling and is excited to get the pupils at Conway interested in this through her role as P.E lead.
Aisha Mckenzie
Since joining Conway in 2018, Aisha has worked in multiple roles. She is a passionate and well-rounded teacher that has taught in KS1 and KS2. Through her holistic approach to learning, she is always innovating her teaching practice to include more opportunities for students to explore their interests, increase their cultural capital. Prior to her time at Conway, she worked as an EAL teacher in Tokyo. She is looking forward to her year in Year 1 and as Ark Conway’s Religious Education and Art & Design lead.
Camilla Barlow
Camilla graduated from the University of Manchester in 2015 with a BA in Linguistics before spending three years teaching at the British School of Madagascar. After returning to the UK in 2018, Camilla completed an MA in Comparative Education at UCL and joined Ark Conway as a Learning Support Assistant. Since then, Camilla has worked as a Co-teacher and completed her teacher training at Conway. In her spare time Camilla enjoys hiking and is a keen rugby player.
Adam Claessens
Adam graduated from Goldsmiths, University of London in 2018 with a First Class Honours BSc in Psychology. After graduating, he spent six months teaching after-school clubs in schools around London, providing fun science-based activities to children of all ages. He then joined Ark Conway in February 2019 after realising his passion for working with and teaching younger children.
Adam is a lover of music and books. He plays both drums and guitar and has played many concerts and festivals up and down the country with different bands over the last decade. He is also an avid reader, and will happily chat to anyone about whatever book he is currently reading, or any recommendations other people can give to him! As well as this, he has been self-teaching German for the last year, and is beginning to become more confident in speaking and understanding the language.
Tessa Markewich
Tessa graduated from Harvard University with an A.B. in History & Literature and a Master’s in Education. After University, she went on to teach for one year in Denver, Colorado and two years in Boston, Massachusetts. Excited for a new adventure, she then moved to London to join Ark Conway, where she has taught Years 4 and 5. In her spare time, she enjoys dancing, bike riding, reading and making homemade pasta.
Katie Williams
Katie graduated from the University of Exeter in 2020 with a First Class degree in Psychology. Soon after, Katie joined Ark Conway as a full time 1:1 intervention mentor, whilst also completing a full-time Masters at UCL in Psychology of Education. Katie has since completed her Ark Teacher Training to become a qualified teacher, working closely with the 2021-22 Year 6 cohort, and is now thrilled to be teaching Year 6 at Ark Conway this year.
Her past experiences involve coaching children in sports such as gymnastics and cheerleading at an elite level, often travelling abroad for international competitions. This role was influenced by her enjoyment of sports, and past successes as an international Cheerleader. In her spare time, Katie enjoys reading, cooking and learning to play the piano.
Graduate Co-Teachers
Lauren Boswell
Anushree Kelkar
Hal Keelin
Hal graduated from Sussex University with a First Class Honours in History in 2020. He has just completed his Masters with Kings College London in World History and Cultures. Though it should be no surprise to hear that Hal’s favourite subject since he was a child is History, he is also passionate about English, Geography and P.E. He has a variety of experience in teaching that includes working in Nursery Forest Schools across London as well as in after-school football clubs in his native Brighton. He is extremely excited by the challenge of Co-Teaching with Ms Markewich in Year Five.
In his spare time Hal loves to read, write travel and nature articles, and complete long-distance hiking routes such as the South Downs and West Highland Way.
1:1 Learning Support Assistants
Sashika Amaraweera
Sashika is from Sri Lanka. She worked as a qualified IT instructor for several years after accomplishing her BCS global degree and ECDL expert level in Sri Lanka. After moving to the UK, she started working as a specialist teaching assistant in a variety of schools across London. Sashika has been working as a LSA at Ark Conway since 2016. This year she will be working with the Year 3 and Year 4 teams, focusing on SEN children giving best possible education in order for them to achieve their full potential. Also, she works with mainstream children as she has successfully completed Team Teach and Ruth Muskin Phonics trainings. Children love her handwriting lessons and IT lessons as she shares her knowledge with an engaging manner.
Sashika really enjoys what she does and practices positivity and team spirit in order to model excellency in every possible way. She has conducted Arts and Crafts clubs and teaches mindful art lessons in order to practice creativity and mindfulness in the first place. During her leisure time, she loves spending time outdoors and visiting beautiful places as she loves being happy, calm and positive.
Kelly-Jo O'Connor
Before joining Ark Conway in September 2018, Kelly had been working as an Office Manager/Finance Assistant within a creative agency for 8 years. Having always wanted to work with children, Kelly was particularly passionate about Ark Conway as her son had attended the school and she enjoyed being a part of the school community over the years.
In her spare time Kelly enjoys musical theatre, reading and spending quality time with friends and family.
Carol Kelly
Carol joined Ark Conway in 2017. She specialises in working 1:1 with SEN pupils. Carol is passionate about her role and she works relentlessly to ensure that our SEN pupils receive all the support they require to fully integrate during the school day. Carol also works as part of the After School Care team which enables her to interact and build relationships with all pupils at Ark Conway. In her spare time Carol enjoys listening to music. Her favourite singer is Bruce Springsteen.
Tracy Walster
Tracy joined Ark Conway in 2017 working in the After School care team. In 2018 she began an additional role as a 1:1 LSA. Tracy enjoys both her roles. The after school care provides an opportunity for her to develop a personal relationship with the pupils at Conway and the 1:1 role an opportunity to be influencial in academic development of individual children. In her spare time Tracy enjoys walking, gardening, cooking and spending time with family and friends.
Operations Team
Saira Shah
Saira joined Ark Conway Primary in March 2018, Prior to this she worked as a corporate receptionist for a broadcasting company. As a mother to a young child Saira understands the importance of education. Her position might be outside the classroom, but she believes we all play an important role to teach children to succeed both academically and socially. Saira is responsible for managing the entire process for pupil admissions. Saira thoroughly enjoys her role as it allows her to build great relationships with parents and children prior to the children joining Conway. In her spare time, Saira enjoys going to the theatre, watching films and spending time with her family and friends.
Monique Cohen-Pepper
Carlos Smith
Hans Henryk Ludwig
Hans Henryk Ludwig joined Ark Conway in May 2018 as Chef Manager. He trained as a Chef in Germany in 1986 and acquired a degree in hotel management in 1994. Henryk has been working in the UK for the last 23 years in Hotels, the German Embassy and one of the largest contract caterers, BaxterStorey. He is enjoying his new adventure within a school environment, producing exciting, nutritious school meals that pupils enjoy!
Catherine Morris
Catherine has been working at Ark Conway since 2012. She has worked in catering for over 30 years within various sectors, her favourite being education. In addition to food preparation in the kitchen, Catherine also serves food to the children at lunch time. Catherine really enjoys her role as it provides her with an opportunity to get to know each child, their likes and dislikes in terms of food and enables her to accomodate them accordingly. In her spare time Catherine enjoys cooking for friends and family. She particularly enjoys baking bread and making cakes.
Deqo Farah
Morita Braithwaite
Before joining the Ark Conway team, Morita volunteered in the Old Oak Children's Centre as a toy library assistant and worked with the children at a cook and play session once a week.
Morita is a mother of two, and both children have enjoyed their primary school years at Ark Conway. In her spare time, Morita enjoys singing and is part of a gospel choir called Singology based in Ealing. Travelling is also part of Morita's passion. She enjoys learning about different cultures and lifestyles.
Deborah Smith
Prior to joining Ark Conway Primary, Debbie worked at Ark Bentworth Primary for three and a half years. She also worked as a cash office/banking assistant but says that working within the school environment is by far the more rewarding job. She would like to train as a teaching assistant in the future. Debbie is a mother of five who enjoys walking and the quality time she spends around her family.