Our People

Mrs Lucas has many years teaching and leadership experience at senior level across both the maintained and independent sectors. This has given her an extensive knowledge and understanding of how the very best teaching fosters a deep love of learning, first-rate results and happy children.

As Head of History at St Marylebone School, Head of 6th Form at City of London School for Girls and Deputy Head Pastoral at South Hampstead, she developed a real insight into the power that the best single sex schools have to unleash girls' full potential and become confident, grounded and purposeful young women. More recently, she has taken on the responsibility of Vice Principal Academic at a new Academy which opened 6 years ago sponsored by UCL university, a school committed to research-led practice in the classroom and developing partnerships across the educational spectrum. In all the schools Mrs Lucas has worked at, she has remained true to the moral imperative of ensuring the very best for all pupils so they can go out into the world to lead interesting and fulfilling lives.

She lives in Camden with her husband and two teenage children and actively supports a number of charities, particularly those that support young people living in London who might face inequality of opportunity.

Paul studied Classics at The Queen’s College Oxford and completed a doctoral thesis on ancient Greek and Roman Comedy before taking a PGCE qualification and entering the teaching profession. Formerly Head of Classics at three schools, including The Godolphin & Latymer School, he joined St Helen’s in September 2014 as Deputy Head Development before becoming Academic Deputy Head in January 2017. In addition to his responsibilities for all aspects of academic life of the School, Paul leads the co-curricular programme at St Helen’s, coordinates educational visits, and is responsible for the professional development of teaching staff.

Paul is passionate about developing and improving learning and teaching, and about empowering students to become independent and successful learners who can fulfil their potential, within and beyond the classroom.

An experienced Senior Leader and teacher of Mathematics, Neelam was appointed as the Pastoral Deputy Head from September 2019. She has oversight of safeguarding, pastoral provision and pupil welfare across the School, working closely with the Heads of Section in Senior School and the Head of the Prep School.

Before taking up her role at St Helen’s, Neelam was Vice-Principal (Pastoral) at King Edward VI High School for Girls in Birmingham and Assistant Head at Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith. She studied Mathematics, obtaining a First-Class degree and a Master’s from the University of Warwick.

Outside of school, Neelam has been involved in delivering training for NQTs across Birmingham and enjoys playing badminton, cooking and singing.

Allison joined St Helen’s in September 2015 as Head of Academic Extension before becoming Director of Communications in April 2017. She is responsible for overseeing the School’s internal and external communications giving her an involvement in all aspects of school life. Allison is also a teacher of Religious Studies and Philosophy and studied Theology and Religious Studies at Clare College Cambridge. She taught previously at Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls, Queen Anne’s School and St James Senior Girls’ School.

Allison is passionate about equipping young people with the intellectual tools to construct and articulate logical arguments and the confidence to evaluate and interrogate received wisdom.

Liz joined St Helen’s as Interim Head of Prep in January 2022.

She enjoys the opportunities provided in the Nursery and Prep School to nurture girls from the earliest stage of their formal education and helping them prepare to move on to the Senior School at the end of Year 6.

Liz views being the Head of Prep as both a privilege and responsibility, valuing the importance of ensuring each girl develops their confidence and character during their time in Prep School.

Before joining St Helen’s, Liz was Head of Junior School at St Margaret’s Bushey, and prior to that was at Bancroft’s Prep School in Essex.

Having studied Physiology and Pharmacology at King’s College London, she then completed a PGCE and began her teaching career 25 years ago.

When not at school Liz enjoys, music, crafts, cooking and walking her beagle.

Maria has 25 years’ experience in senior strategic and operational leadership roles within large, multi-site, public and private sector healthcare organisations in the UK and the Middle East, working closely with stakeholders to develop and deliver high quality services and facilities.

Following a successful early career in the NHS and completing her MBA in 2007, Maria moved to the private sector as an Executive Hospital Director and in 2010 joined a Government tertiary maternity hospital in Abu Dhabi as its Director of Operations delivering a successful programme of service re-organisation.

On returning to the UK in 2012, Maria joined Moorfields Eye Hospital as Managing Director of its private patient unit, completing a major capital investment programme and doubling its financial surplus for reinvestment back into the hospital’s NHS services.

Maria joins St Helen’s from her role as General Manager of a leading criminal barristers chambers in Fleet Street.

Maria is as an independent member of the Lord Chancellor’s London Magistrates’ Recruitment Advisory Committee, is married and lives in North London.

Karl was appointed as Director of Studies in September 2017. This was a new role within the School so he is frequently asked what his job entails and he best summarises it as looking after and developing the academic curriculum studied by all the girls at St Helen’s School. This entails the shape of the curriculum studied, the subjects within that, the teaching and learning of those subjects and the data generated by and for those subjects and how this is used to inform the teachers and improve their practice accordingly.

Karl remains a Maths teacher and came here from 12 years as Head of Maths at Mill Hill School. He has always liked to be involved in as many things around the School as possible and so because he runs ‘quite a lot’ and coaches athletics outside of St Helen’s, he helps the PE department in their Cross Country and Athletics training and racing. He also leads a very successful Royal Navy section of the CCF that St Helen’s runs jointly with Merchant Taylors' School.

An experienced Senior Leader with a focus on Sixth Form, Rachel Williams was appointed as Head of Sixth Form in September 2020. She has worked in a range of secondary schools as Head of Modern Languages and Assistant Head and Director of Sixth Form at Beaconsfield High School.

She holds a degree in Classics and Modern Languages from Keble College, Oxford, specialising in 19th century French literature.

Rachel is passionate about the student experience in both academic and co-curricular areas and has extensive Pastoral experience from Year 7 upwards.

In her spare time, she enjoys reading, long country walks with her family and gardening.

Rebecca has been working at St Helen’s since 2009. Initially appointed as teacher of History of Art and History, Rebecca has gradually taken on more responsibility and became Head of Upper School in September 2018. In this capacity, she is responsible for the pastoral care of all girls in Years 10 and 11, and her day-to-day task sheet can include everything from delivering assemblies, to organising mentoring breakfasts. She is committed to empowering all students to achieve their best outcomes in their GCSEs whilst maintaining their happiness and wellbeing.

Before entering the teaching profession, Rebecca studied the History of Art at both the Courtauld Institute of Art and Columbia University, where she completed her Master of Philosophy degree. With a passion for gardening, she has recently helped to establish a School allotment plot to teach students from across the St Helen’s community about growing their own food.

Carolyn is a graduate in History and Politics. Studying historical issues is a lifelong passion and holiday travels provide opportunities to explore the culture and history of different countries. She currently teaches A Level Tudor History at A Level and has published textbooks on Tudor themes for A level study.

She is keen to ensure that girls understand how political processes affect our day to day lives and is very supportive of the Senior School Eco-Team and suggests the message ‘think global, act local’ is what we always aim to do in our school community. Mrs Hill loves the great outdoors, most of her holidays involve wildlife watching, and a favourite destination is the highlands and islands of Scotland.

Glenn began his career as an Equity Analyst at JP Morgan before transferring to teaching Religion & Philosophy at two state schools. He joined St Helen’s in September 2014 as Head of Religion, Philosophy & Ethics. Appointed Director of Teaching and Learning in September 2020, Glenn created the HIP Scholars Programme, a unique and prestigious course of learning that identifies students with high intellectual potential and provides personalised support for them through mentoring supervisions.

Excited by the latest developments in evidenced informed pedagogy, Glenn works with the school’s Lead Practitioners to help support staff professional development. He also leads on key school initiatives such as Teaching to the Top, Metacognition, and Literacy.Currently completing a PhD at Pembroke College Cambridge on the pedagogy of controversy, Glenn has written numerous academic and popular articles on topics including conspiracy theories, ethics in literature, and dialogic assessment. Glenn holds Master’s degrees in Religious Education from UCL’s Institute of Education and in International Relations from LSE.

He is married with five children and is also a trustee of the Jewish Community Academy Trust, which is responsible for four primary schools in the state sector.

Elizabeth grew up in the north east attending the girls school, Teesside High, before embarking on her journey at the University of Hertfordshire where she gained her B.Ed in Linguistics and French.

She began her teaching career in Longwood Infant and Nursery, moving to Goodwyn School in Mill Hill where she studied part time on her M.Ed. Edge Grove furthered her experience before having the opportunity to join the St Helen’s team as Deputy Head of the then Junior School. She has seen many changes in her time at St Helen’s but the values and ethos have remained strong. She enjoys reading and learning in order to develop her own teaching and believes passionately about instilling confidence in the young girls she teaches.

When not teaching she takes the opportunity to help out whenever possible at her son’s cub and scout pack. Recently, she decided to join her sons at the local archery club and during the holidays, she carries out science experiments and teaches her boys to knit, use the sewing machine and to cook. Along with her love of Dr Martens she just loves to up-cycle.

Debbie started her relationship with St Helen’s at the age of 4 when she joined as a pupil in the kindergarten. After fourteen happy years as a ‘girl in green’, she embarked on the first stage of her teaching career at the University of Warwick where she graduated with a B.Ed (Hons) in Physical Education and English.

Looking to widen her experiences, she then worked in London for various companies (ranging from a software house to a property market analysis company) for a number of years before deciding to return to teaching. She undertook supply work teaching PE in many of the North London Independent Girls Schools including Haberdashers, South Hampstead and St Albans, to name a few. In 2004 Debbie returned to St Helen’s to cover a maternity vacancy and has spent much of her time teaching in KS1 and EYFS. She firmly believes that the most effective learning is when girls are happy and relaxed. Debbie has enjoyed many different roles on her way to becoming the Deputy Head of Prep, Logistics and she is currently responsible for the organisation of Prep School events, assessments and cover.

Debbie likes to spend her free time in her favourite spot in Cornwall or cycling. She has two sons – her passion for teaching has rubbed off on her eldest son who is training to be a primary school teacher too, while her youngest son is a freelance drummer and she can often be found watching as he performs with one of his many bands.

Sudeep is a graduate from the University of Surrey, with a BA QTS specialising in Theology and Religious Studies. She joined St Helen’s in 2009 as Maths Coordinator after having worked in a Church of England school in Maida Vale and a well-established local state school.

Being an advocate of well-being, she has a real passion in ensuring the pastoral needs of pupils are met and truly believes pupils flourish when they are happy and in a nurturing environment. Through her own journey of mindfulness, Sudeep has developed the use of mindfulness techniques within the Prep School.

Currently, Sudeep is part of both the Senior Leadership and Prep Leadership Teams and is leading the whole school on developing Character Education and Pupil Coaching within the Prep School.

Outside of school, she enjoys yoga, travelling abroad and spending time with friends and family organising memorable events so they can spend quality time together.

Jackie Brinicombe joins St Helen’s School as its new Assistant Business Director, having started out as a nurse, specialising in ITU, she chose to pursue a career in the non-clinical side of healthcare.

She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing with over 25 years’ experience as a senior marketing, business development and operations professional in the healthcare sector with BMI Healthcare, Moorfields Eye Hospital and more recently the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. Jackie also has experience of working in the further education sector for an Academy Trust.

Her experience and expertise include:

-Executive leadership of organisational teams to deliver integrated marketing and business development strategies at local, regional and corporate level and improving user experiences through redesign of infrastructure, facilities and service delivery;

-Devising and implementing international strategies to secure new business from key overseas organisations;

-Leading re-brand projects to ensure coherence in reputation across single and multiple organisations.

Jackie lives in Bedfordshire with her husband.