Tony studied Chemistry at Queen Mary University, preferring the noise and bright lights of London to the silence and darker skies of rural northern England, where he grew up with three main passions: chemistry, English literature and music. After receiving his BSc he chose a change of direction, working in the finance and private investigation sectors and writing articles for music magazines, before finally entering teaching with the aim of opening doors and broadening horizons for children, the way that his teachers did for him.

He was awarded his PGCE from the University of East Anglia, before returning to London to teach Science at the prestigious Notting Hill and Ealing High School. Tony was appointed Head of Science at ECP in 2006, expanding the department and redeveloping the laboratories over the following years. He subsequently assumed responsibility for examinations and academic administration, and is currently responsible for curriculum and assessment, leading the Heads of Faculty team, and supporting the Headmaster in his role of Senior Deputy Head.

He is a firm believer in using data to create individual expectations for each student, and regularly speaks at conferences and presents webinars to share his expertise and ideas. In 2020 he was awarded the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) by the Institute of Education, London. When away from his desk his main interests are music (especially Czech jazz and English rock), current affairs, gardening, cricket and fine dining.

Nigel is British, having lived mostly in northern England, spending almost a decade in London, but he has also spent time working in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, USA, France and Switzerland. Nigel studied for a BSc in Physics at the University of Leeds, completed his Master’s degree in Environmental Technology at Imperial College, London and finished his Doctorate in Transport and Environment at the University of Leeds. As a teacher, he has taught in both the independent and state sectors, starting his career at Friesland School in Derbyshire, then moving to Derby High School as Head of Sixth Form and latterly to the North London Collegiate School in Jeju, South Korea. Nigel was also a Fulbright Exchange Teacher to Upper Merion High School in Pennsylvania. Before becoming a teacher he worked as a Transport Management Consultant for British Rail and as an Environmental Engineer at the Centre for Alternative Technology. Nigel is passionate about two things in school: relationships and academic aspirations. He supports teachers in being curious, innovative and reflective practitioners, knowing that students taught by such teachers become equally skilled.

Outside of work, Nigel is a very keen cyclist and is now focussing on longer distance rides as his legs don’t go round as fast as they used to! He rode to Ljubljana a couple of summers ago, managed 320km in one day and, with his 16 year old son, took up extreme downhill mountain biking last year – against the advice of all the sensible people in his life. He enjoys family holidays with a difference such as off-roading in Iceland and Scandinavia, rail tours to Eastern Europe, paragliding in the Alps or dog sledding in Sweden. Despite studying Czech moderately intensively, he is making painfully slow progress but Nigel feels strongly that working hard is more important than the ease of success.

Two of his four children have graduated from the ECP. His eldest daughter is a doctor of medicine and his youngest son is at a residential college in the UK. Despite living here alone, Nigel travels regularly to the UK to see his grown-up kids and in particular to take his youngest (but not so young now) son mountain biking. However, when that’s not possible he tries to spend time in the Czech mountains and has a particular affection for the timeless beauty of Šumava, especially a quiet, remote valley on the German border, where he has a small apartment to occasionally escape the hustle and bustle of life in Prague.