Meet our academic leadership team

Members of our academic team in Wellington College Hangzhou have rich teaching backgrounds with an average teaching experience of over ten years each, they lead a team of outstanding educators recruited from within China and around the world. We are committed to supporting and challenging our academic staff to be innovative in their work through a series of proven and robust professional learning programmes. Over 60% of the Chinese staff have a master’s degree with over 50% of them having overseas learning experience. More than 90% of expatriate staff on campus come from the UK, USA, Canada and other native English-speaking countries. In WCIH alone, over 85% are expatriate staff. We deliver training and comprehensive teaching assessments across schools in Wellington College’s global family and utilise the valuable resources it provides to ensure that our teachers continue to harness their work as educators, informed by the very highest quality research and practices from around the world.   

All academic SLT members at Wellington College Hangzhou have substantial teaching experiences and will steer our teachers and academic staff according to our core values. Embracing the holistic approach to education that underpins the Wellington ethos, empowers our pupils to realise academic excellence and lead a flourishing life. We aim to create a caring, international community that develops well-rounded individuals with strong values and the skills to thrive within an ever-changing world. We are delighted to introduce our academic leadership team to you.  

Kathryn Richardson
Master of Wellington College Hangzhou 

 Ms Kathryn Richardson, Master of Wellington College Hangzhou, has been in Education for 21 years. She taught in London schools, where she quickly progressed into leadership positions. In September 2014, Kathryn moved to Dubai as a Deputy Headteacher in a British curriculum international school., In 2016, she was promoted to the Head of Primary at their newly opened sister school. Kathryn has a bachelor’s degree in Education, specialising in maths and science. In addition to this, she has a master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Management and is a qualified facilitator for the National Qualifications of Middle and Senior Leadership. Kathryn has a passion for school improvement and strongly believes in ensuring every child reaches their true potential. Kathryn has redesigned school curriculums to be creative, personalised to each individual pupil, and provide challenge for all.

Hatty Leung
Head of Sixth Form

After completing her degree in Mathematics MA (Hons) at the University of Edinburgh, she began her career in education in 2005 through the prestigious graduate programme Teach First. Here, she knew she had found her calling; inspiring students to enjoy and be curious about the wonders of mathematics. Her talent for classroom practice was formalised with her admission to the Outstanding Teacher Programme in North London. As her career progressed, Hatty became School Director of Mathematics, where she led a dynamic team to great success through its first set of public examinations. By creating academic challenges and a system of support for her students and staff, she ensured that students met and exceeded their targets. Looking for change and adventure, Hatty began working at Kellett School, The British International School in Hong Kong in 2012. As Deputy Head of Sixth Form, she was an integral member of the founding Sixth Form team, where she oversaw pastoral care and closely monitored the academic progress of students while helping them on their paths to higher education. She has supported applicants to reach a wide variety of destinations, including Oxford and Cambridge and Russell Group universities.

Hatty is proud and delighted to be in a profession where she inspires young minds to share her love of learning while facilitating the pursuit of their life interests. She believes that a successful education should feed a student’s innate curiosity to allow them to flourish into well-rounded, independent individuals who are fully prepared to thrive in higher education and beyond.

Hatty believes that in Wellington College Hangzhou’s Sixth Form, students will receive world class pastoral care, exciting academic challenge and ample opportunity to develop as individuals.  Furthermore, she believes that empowering our students with an excellent education will enable them to succeed in their lives.
 

Stewart Brown
Head of Junior High and Senior School
 

Stewart is a proud educator who approaches his work with a deeply ingrained philosophy of high expectations for all, whilst being steadfast and tenacious in the pursuit of excellence. Stewart is from the UK, he studied Biochemistry with Management BSc. (Hons) at Imperial College London and then Strategy and Governance MA at Nottingham University. Stewart entered the teaching profession through Teach First in London, as a pioneer on the first year of the programme in 2003. He taught Biology and Chemistry in challenging but exciting schools in South East London, before leading the Science Faculty at the flagship City Academy. Stewart left the UK in 2007 and headed to Hong Kong, where he worked as a Science lead at the top performing school in a large international foundation. In 2011 he helped build from the ground up what is now one of the highest achieving British international schools in the world.

Stewart’s own credibility stems from him being an outstanding teacher in his own classroom, and a leader with a consistent track record of high success. Stewart strives to build happy and collaborative teams, his enthusiasm and passion for learning are infectious. Stewart has a breadth of experience in education where he has served as an examiner, mentor, project lead, consultant and the founder of a country wide collaborative network - all roles or functions in the education industry with intent to raise standards and performance. In recognition of his commitment to, and ongoing positive impact upon the teaching profession, Stewart has been awarded Fellowship to the Chartered College of Teaching; the highest professional body for teaching in the UK. Stewart believes that his purpose as a leader is to put an academic agenda at the forefront of all decisions being made in the construction of an exceptional international education. He knows that this agenda can only be successful when fully supported by world class wrap-around pastoral care, with a keen focus on positive education which empowers students to be the masters of their own wellbeing.
 

Nina Li
Deputy Head of Junior High and Senior School

Nina Li is proudly Britishand Chinese holding both Chinese and British teaching qualifications having graduated from Shanghai Teachers’ University in China and Goldsmiths College, University of London in the UK. She has over 20 years of teaching experience, having worked in selective schools in Shanghai, outstanding state schools in London, and prestigious British International Schools in Singapore, Malaysia and China. Nina was also a member of the curriculum development team for an education group. She has been awarded various titles within the schools, such as "Most Popular Teacher", "Best Performing Teacher", and has won several awards in international Chinese teaching competitions held by Confucius Classroom worldwide. Outside of school, she is a teachers’ trainer for exam board: Cambridge Assessment International Education. She often runs workshops and offers training to teachers around the world.

Nina's teaching philosophy comes from her own experience as a pupil, parent, and teacher. She believes that (i) emphasis on skills in order for knowledge to be applied (ii) a safe, fun and enjoyable atmosphere in order for pupils to develop freely and fully (iii) pupils must learn to take responsibility for their own learning, emphasising learning strategies and logical thinking.
 

Matthew Coleman
Head of Primary School 
 

Matthew previously taught and led in world class schools in Dubai and the UK.  He is proud to have a diverse range of experiences working as a teacher, head of maths and English, principal, inspector and teacher trainer.  Matthew qualified as a teacher in the UK after studying sports science.  His interest in school growth led him to gain a National Professional Qualification for Headship.

Matthew’s priority is to ensure the highest quality standards for children, both educationally and holistically, in a happy and safe environment.  In addition to this, it is important to him that the environment and culture is one of growth and respect, where voice and opinions are valued, and where a happy and professional environment for staff, students and parents underpins the success of standards. 

Matthew believes this is a time of great possibility and teachers are doing extraordinary things.  As teaching and learning is the core purpose of any school, it is his belief that creativity should be harnessed and teachers and students should be enabled, feeling free to work collaboratively to innovate and shape schools around what they believe to be an education, where children flourish, making powerful connections between learning and its bigger cause – building the best future for us all. Matthew is a passionate teacher and leader and likes to lead through his actions. Trust, integrity and collaboration are key to his practice and he believes that curiosity drives innovation.