Welcoming New Staff!

We'd like to extend the warmest welcome to the newest members of The Hammond faculty! Below are a few words from each of them to help you get to know them a little better.

Mrs Emma Coupe, Pastoral Support Manager for Lower School

Hello! My name is Emma Coupe and I joined the Hammond family in August 2020. I am the new Pastoral Support Manager for all lower school pupils. I am passionate about keeping young people safe and also providing the right support at the right time. Prior to coming to the Hammond, I have nearly twenty years of experience of working with children and young people in a variety of settings, including child protection, with children in care, youth offending teams and Local Authority teams and within schools. I am a qualified social worker and am working towards a qualification in mental health. I have a passion for supporting children’s emotional health and wellbeing- particularly in light of such challenging times. 

I am really looking forward to working in partnership with parents and getting to know all of  your amazingly talented children. The Hammond is an vibrant and unique place to be!

My family and I live locally and enjoy walks by the river and holidays near the beach. I am also     a parent of a child that attends the school and so have an understanding of what it’s like from a parents perspective. 

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me via email on: Emma.coupe@thehammondschool.co.uk. 

Mrs Linda Simon-Harding, SENDCo and English Teacher.

I qualified as a teacher in 2006 and prior to working at The Hammond School I have worked in a variety of schools, both nationally and internationally. I have gained a wealth of experience in SEND through working in special schools and through my SENDCo roles in mainstream primary and international secondary settings. My undergraduate degree is in English and I am a passionate reader and theatre goer; an exciting aspect of working at The Hammond is to see some fabulous plays come to life on the stage, which I am greatly looking forward to! 

I gained a post graduate degree in SEND in 2011 and am currently studying part-time towards an MA at Chester University to qualify as a Dyslexia Specialist Teacher and a Dyslexia Assessor and Psychometric Testing Practitioner. 

Until lockdown put it on hold, I also worked for Cunard and P&O cruise ships, working on board magnificent cruise liners during school holidays as a member of the Youth Team and thoroughly enjoyed this experience; something I am eager to get back to as soon as possible. Whilst living and working abroad, I have been fortunate to explore far flung places and follow my passion of adventure and travel and continue to strive to do this in places closer to home, particularly in Wales where I now live.

In my spare time I am a keen netball player and whilst this is on pause, I have developed a love/hate relationship with running (weather dependent!). My beautiful, but equally crazy, Welsh Collie also keeps me active come rain or shine.

Alex Rigsby, Curriculum Lead for Humanities and Year 7 Form Tutor

My name is Alex Rigsby and I am the new Curriculum Lead for Humanities and the Year 7 form tutor. Before I came to the Hammond I was at Neston High School for four years. In my free time I enjoy getting out into the countryside for walks (So far I have completed Snowdon and Ben Macdui- Scafell Pike next!) cycling and keeping fit in the gym.

Although I do not have much of a background in performance (unless you include a one off, but incredible staff pantomime) I have previously worked in Disney World which was an amazing experience! I’m looking forward to seeing all that the Hammond has to offer and getting to know each of the students individually – after less than two weeks in post I can already tell that this is going to be an incredible place to be that is truly like no other.

Helen Donovan, Teacher of Geography

Prior to training as a teacher and joining The Hammond I worked for a High Temperature Insulation company (exciting stuff!) in a variety of roles encompassing sales, marketing and project management. 

In my free time you are most likely to find me out walking with my dogs Euan and Paddy. 

One of my proudest achievements is that I once climbed Snowdon in the dark for charity despite being horrendously afraid of heights. I had thought if it was dark I wouldn't be able to see how high it was so wouldn't be as afraid but it turns its still just as scary! oh and sheep are really scary in the pitch black. 

Suzanne Davies and my role at The Hammond is Accounts Assistant in the Finance Department.

I Previously worked at an Animal Nutritionist in Whitchurch which I loved mainly due to the people I worked with , they say never work with Animals or children so I obviously didn’t listen by coming to The Hammond , but they were right !!

My home town is Leicester where my family still are so I try to go as often as I can , but because of covid and Leicester constantly being in lockdown it has been very tricky this year .

As a child I lived in Christchurch , New Zealand for 5 years which was such a fantastic place to be brought up as a child . I did return when I was 18 ( many years ago ) to re live my childhood and it brought back many happy memories . One day I hope to return