Leadership team
Thames British School Madrid
Lea Gabbitas
Headteacher
Qualifications:
BSc (Hons) Mathematics and Statistics, PGCE, IPML
Professional background:
Early on in my teaching career, I spent five years teaching in Primary where 4 of those were in Early years. For the rest of the time, I have dedicated my teaching to the secondary school, teaching all ages and holding many different types of responsibility posts such as Head of Key stage 4 and also Head of Sixth form. I have worked in a large international school and now in a small, family orientated school here at Thames where I am delighted to work with other like-minded professionals who share the same educational philosophies and ensure the emotional and academic success of each child is the focal point of everything we do and strive for.
Alex Martinez
Head of Primary
Qualifications:
BA Hons Linguistics (Lancaster University), PGCE (London Metropolitan University)
Professional background:
Having completed my PGCE in London, I returned to Madrid to work at a British School, firstly as a Primary teacher and English and Humanities Coordinator, and then as Head of Phase. After eleven years at the school, I moved to Shanghai, where I worked for four years as the Assistant Head of Primary, overseeing a department of nearly a thousand students. Throughout my teaching career, I have taught all of the age groups in Primary, from Nursery to Year 6. I am very excited to have joined Thames British School as Head of Primary on my return to Madrid, and ensuring the high standards in teaching and learning as well as the well-being of the pupils are maintained and developed further.
Daniel English
Head of Secondary
Qualifications:
BA Honours Degree in Graphic Design, PGCE (Resistant Materials)
Professional background:
I have spent the first 8 years of my teaching career teaching at two secondary schools in Coventry, England. Whilst there, I was mostly a teacher of art and design however I have taught a variety of creative subjects such as resistant materials, product design, photography, fashion and textiles. My passion is art but my teaching qualification is actually in resistant materials. Just before coming out to Madrid, I was the Head of Art at a large Secondary school in England for four years.
I have lived in Madrid for nearly four years now and have worked at Thames British School for the same amount of time. I love Madrid and its culture, I feel very happy and settled here. I also really enjoy working at Thames, with such enthusiastic and interesting people.
Marisha Mahon
Deputy Head of Secondary
Qualifications:
MSc Human Biology (1st Class), PGDipEd Educational Leadership
Professional background:
For the first two years of my teaching career I was based in a large secondary school in the West Midlands, England. In 2017, I moved to Madrid and joined a small group of teachers for the opening of our secondary school. I enjoyed the contrast of a small, tight-knit school compared to my previous one. As Head of Science here, I have had the opportunity to watch the school grow over the last five years; opening a sixth form where I teach Biology and Psychology. Alongside all things science-related, I enjoy cooking, reading and various crafts such as candle making in my spare time. I also like to travel and explore different places and cultures, however I am always keen to return home to Madrid and my cat.
Nathan Thompson
Deputy Head of Secondary
Qualifications:
BSc(Hons) Chemistry, PGCE (Science), PhD Materials Science and Engineering
Blurb: Before secondary teaching, I enjoyed several years researching and teaching at the University of Sheffield in the UK. I soon became a secondary science teacher to share my academic and industrial experience with the next generation of scientists, with the aim that they are well prepared and inspired to solve the world's most challenging questions in the future.
More recently, I joined Thames British School in Madrid for the well rounded, cross-curricular education that this school provides its students. It really is a pleasure to teach here with such an inspiring team that has such a variety of experience to offer.
Sarah Jones
Deputy Head of Primary
Qualifications:
BA (Joint Hons) English and Theatre Studies (UCW Aberystwyth), PGCE (Leeds University)
I began teaching English Literature and Drama at Secondary Schools and a Sixth Form College in the UK. Subsequently, I taught in Turkey for three years followed by a seven year stint in a Community Secondary School in Botswana, where I was head of English and Humanities. Upon returning to the UK, I moved to Primary where I spent twenty years working in Years 4 to 6 and utilising my expertise in English to support children, colleagues and other local schools to improve their Reading and Writing outcomes. I am very much enjoying the family atmosphere at Thames and working with such great pupils and colleagues. I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to the further development of teaching and learning at Thames and to help ensure that every pupil feels valued.
Gareth Finn
IBDP Coordinator
Qualifications:
BA (Hons) English Language and Literature, MA Teaching and Learning, PGCE
Professional background:
I came into teaching after having worked in local journalism, literature publishing and social enterprise work connected to the health benefits of shared reading.
I taught for 7 years in Liverpool, assuming responsibility for Key Stage 3, eventually moving to Buenos Aires Argentina to lead a department. From there I moved to Barcelona to take up a whole school role and then to Dublin as a Vice Principal before coming to Thames Madrid to lead the school on its journey to IBDP authorisation.
I am excited to join the fantastic team at Thames, as the school begins this next step. I am committed to an evidence-based approach to teaching and learning alongside teacher professional development. I am also a passionate advocate of the importance of reading for pleasure in schools.
Learn more
We are always delighted to hear from prospective parents that are considering our international school for their children’s education. Please do not hesitate to call us on the phone number above or select from the options below:
Note: As an international school we conduct admissions placement all throughout the year. Applications for the academic year 2023-2024 are for children in Nursery (2.5 years old) through to A Level.
