David Cook – Master / History 

David Cook was previously Founding Headmaster at Repton School, Dubai, and, before that, was Head or Principal at Dulwich College in Thailand, Lewes Old Grammar School in England and Qatar Academy. David studied History at King’s College, London and Lincoln College, Oxford, before embarking on his teaching career at Westminster School in London, one of the leading academic schools in Britain, where  he met his wife, Debbie, who taught Economics there. He has had various historical works published and more recently collaborated with his wife on an acclaimed travel book on Malaysia and an as yet unpublished biography of Dr Mahathir, the former Malaysian prime minister. David has five children in the school.

Murray Fowler – Second Master / Geography

After a degree in Geography from King’s College, London, and training as a teacher in Oxford, Murray taught at two top schools – St.Edward’s, Oxford, and Charterhouse – before moving on to our prestigious partner school, Wellington College UK in 1991. During his 20 years there he was Head of Geography, Housemaster of a boys’ boarding house, and latterly both Deputy Director of the IB Diploma and CAS Coordinator, as well as Head of a Year 12 group of 220 pupils. His wife Claire teaches in the Nursery, having taught previously at Eagle House, Wellington College UK’s junior school. They have a son in the Sixth Form.

Steve Jacobi – Director of Studies / English

After reading English Literature at Cambridge University (St. Catharine’s College), Steve went on to a doctorate at London University, as well as an MA in Screenwriting. He has written for several of the UK’s top newspapers, and has had some of his writing broadcast. Before coming to China he was Head of English at Repton School, Dubai, and at University College School, London, and has also worked at Dulwich College, London, United World College and the Leys School, Cambridge.

Andy Griffiths – Director of ICT / Mathematics

Few jobs are more crucial, or more thankless, than ensuring that the school’s ICT systems run smoothly, and Andy approaches the challenge with impressive zeal. After a Computer Science & Mathematics degree from Coventry University, followed by a PGCE, his career has spanned schools in the UK, Brunei, the Philippines and Abu Dhabi. Thus he is not short of experience to apply here in China at Wellington. His intense interest in and enthusiasm for technology is abundantly obvious, and he is currently honing a team of pupils to compete in the Robotics Olympiad. His two children are in the Junior School.

Steve Griffiths – Director of Music

An immensely accomplished pianist, and very experienced in both school music and the production of major performing arts events, Wellington is lucky indeed to have someone of Steve’s calibre on the staff. As Head / Director of Music in no less than five schools, in the UK and the Middle East, before coming to Tianjin, he has for much of the last decade organized productions, concerts and recitals for the Qatar Foundation, of which Wicked and Oliver were two recent highlights. Together with his daughter Jane (who is on our team too) he also staged an audacious production of Oliver in Damascus just before coming to China.

Katherine Temple – French / EAL

With a degree in French Translation from Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, a PGCE (French) from Edinburgh University, and a Graduate Diploma (Russian) from St. Andrews, Katherine’s language credentials are impressive. Teaching until this year at George Heriot’s School in Edinburgh, some 350 years old and arguably Scotland’s leading independent school, she has also taught in Indonesia, and enjoyed a spell in the corporate world with Banque Paribas and Goldman Sachs. She has a son and daughter, both in the Junior School.

Terna Newall – Biology

No stranger to China, having taught English as a Second Language in both Tianjin and Weifang, Terna’s Biology BSc degree and her PGCE in Science were gained at university in Manchester, UK. Prior to coming back to Tianjin to work at Wellington College, she taught at Padworth College in Berkshire, not all that far from our parent school, where she was in sole charge of all Biology teaching, and also helped out in the residential summer schools that were run there.

Adam Shaw – Design Technology

With his PGCE in Design Technology and his degree in Industrial Design all from universities in the Manchester area, Adam is living proof of the notion of devotion to your roots. Hailing from north west England, despite exposure to the very different environments of Tianjin and Dubai (as Head of Design at Repton School), you will not find a more passionate and committed Manchester City supporter. He worked first in Stockport, before heading to the Gulf in 2008, gaining extensive IGCSE, A Level and IB experience along the way. He is a very successful College football coach and player, with a series of titles to his name, and is a keen cricketer too.

Georgina Chakos – Drama & Dance

With a wealth of international experience, both as a teacher and performer, Georgina has already made an impact on the Tianjin performing arts scene, her operatic skills lighting up a series of venues, including our own Seldon Theatre. Her degrees in Music and Telecommunications from Indiana University, and her English & Humanities PGCE with Nottingham University have equipped her well for a life of performance. She has taught and performed in the USA, Spain and Germany, and has recently appeared at the Chinese National Opera in Beijing, singing excerpts from Madame Butterfly. She has a son in the Senior School.

Nick Gillings – Physics / Maths

Nick’s BSc degree in Astrophysics from the University of London (Royal Holloway) involved plenty of both Maths and Physics, and was ultimately followed by teacher training at Sussex University, after which he taught for four years at Portsmouth High School in the UK, a top academic girls’ school. He taught English in Japan for four years, in China (Dalian) for three years, and speaks both languages. He has a Chinese wife, and a son in the Junior School.

Shane Hambling - EAL

Mr Hambling began his teaching career in Spain after completing his Teaching English as a Foreign Language Certificate. Wellington College International Tianjin is his first teaching post in Asia and makes a distinct change from his previous career in the corporate world. A keen sportsman, he has been involved with several after school sporting activities including table tennis and rounders. His broad interests include mountain biking, squash, hiking and playing the guitar.

Alex Lloyd – PE / Sport

Few of our staff have travelled further to be with us than Alex Lloyd. Following his PGCE at Exeter University, he worked in Brisbane, Australia as a swimming coach before heading to teach PE in the Falkland Islands, from where he joined us. Like any good PE teacher, he has practiced what he preaches, playing rugby for the Welsh Exiles and South West England, and also at club level for the Gloucester Under 21 squad. His partner Sarah Wenham is our swimming coach.

Yang Zhou – Mandarin

Holder of both a Bachelor and Master’s degree from Beijing Normal University, and four additional teaching certificates, Yang’s credentials are impressive. This is reflected in her work career, with time spent in South Korea, and three separate spells spanning eight years at Beijing’s very highly regarded High School affiliated to Renmin University (RDFZ), which shares a strong partnership with Wellington UK. She also spent nearly a year teaching at Wellington UK after it was awarded ‘Confucius Classroom’ status by Hanban, with whom she had just trained to teach Chinese as a second language, so she is familiar with the demands of the British system.

David Mackinnon - Mathematics

Bringing a youthful energy and enthusiasm to the Maths Department, David is another member of the teaching team for whom Tianjin is very familiar, having taught for two years at Teda International School. Wellington is his second appointment since qualifying as a Mathematics and Science teacher from Queen’s University, Ontario, in his native Canada, from where he also gained his BSc in Life Sciences. With a passion for activity outside the classroom too, he can often be seen rollerblading to work, and is keen to see pupils push themselves physically too.

Baoquan Wang – Mandarin

Impressively qualified, with two BA degrees in Economics and Political Science (both Beijing), and an MA in Sociology (London), Baoquan spent some time in the diplomatic service in Norway before heading into languages teaching. His PGCE from Sheffield University, in Mandarin and French, saw him spend six months on placement at no less that Eton College, arguably the world’s most famous school, and then a spell at Eltham College. As well as Mandarin and French, he is also quite proficient in Spanish, German and Japanese. He is familiar with Tianjin having spent over three years teaching English at the city’s Nankai University.

Peter Becko – Music

A highly accomplished player of all woodwind instruments, and with extensive experience of both individual and orchestral teaching, the benefit of Peter’s training at the Royal Academy of Music in London is there for all to see. Coming to us from Dubai, most recently at Repton School, he has also taught in Saudi Arabia, Scotland, for a decade in Spain, and also with the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra. Peter is a core part of the Wellington Instrumental programme, and leads our talented Wind Band, and has also initiated joint parent / pupil music lessons as part of our Saturday activities programme.