Our Teachers

Derek Pinchbeck
Head of School
PGCE in Primary, Master of Arts in Education

Derek has been teaching for over 30 years. Having begun his teaching career at an inner city school in the UK. He has been involved in international education since 1993. As well as Hong Kong Derek has worked in the Dominican Republic, Papua New Guinea, Brunei, Italy, China and Singapore. In addition to his teaching and leadership roles in schools Derek is a global consultant for the IB and has presented at a number of international education conferences. Derek strongly believes that the purpose of education is to empower children to think and act creatively and ethically to improve the world for themselves and others. Derek enjoys spending time with his family, exploring the walking trails of Hong Kong, golfing very badly and playing squash.

Lynn Craig
Director of Wellbeing
PGDE

Lynn was born in Edinburgh, Scotland where she obtained a BSc in Applied Sports Science from Edinburgh University. After graduating she worked as a Sports Development Officer and then as an Active Schools Coordinator, promoting physical activity and healthy living in primary schools. Lynn returned to Edinburgh University to complete her PGDE and spent the first 8 years of her teaching career in Edinburgh. Eight years ago Lynn moved to Hong Kong with her husband and two children (now three) where she has been working in an international primary school. She has a passion for sport and exercise and enjoys playing, touch rugby, running, hiking and more recently she has started playing social netball.

Charlie Beard
Director of Learning
BA (Hons) Theatre and Performance Studies, PGCE (Primary) | United Kingdom

Charlie grew up in the UK. She obtained a BA in Theatre and Performance Studies at The University Of Warwick before completing a PGCE (Primary) at the University Of London. She has taught at schools in London, Cairo and Hong Kong, as a class teacher, supply teacher and teacher/librarian. She recently gained her NPQSL (a UK based qualification in Senior Leadership) Charlie has performed in plays and choirs and she has organised a variety of performances in schools. She has two daughters and a rescue dog to keep her busy but she finds time for reading, piloxing and yoga.

Irene teRaa
Director of Inclusion
PGDE (Special Education), BA, CYC Dip, TESOL Cert | Canada

Fiona Cao
Chinese Teacher and Chinese Lead Teacher
BA/BEd (Chinese Language and Literature),BA(English Studies) | China

Fiona was born and grew up in China. She has a BA/BEd (Hons) degree in Chinese Language and Literature as well as a second BA degree in English Studies before moving to Hong Kong. After graduating with her Master degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and before joining ICHK HLY, she has been working as a Chinese teacher at different IB schools in Hong Kong since 2011. She loves being a Chinese teacher and enjoys using different teaching strategies to motivate and inspire her students. Her favourite hobby is drawing. She also likes Chinese calligraphy, reading, jogging and traveling.

Kate Chang is a passionate Chinese teacher and early childhood educator. She grew up in the wild grassland of Inner Mongolian and loves nature.  After obtaining the Master degree of International Language Education from HKUST and PGDE in Early Childhood Education.  She has an extraordinary performance in play-based learning. She is also dedicated to helping students develop their own learning habits. Kate is an outgoing and caring individual. In her spare time, she likes to watch movies and hang out with friends.

Sherry Gao
Chinese Teacher
Master in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language

Sherry was born and grew up in Nanjing, China. She has a BA/BEd (Hons) degree in Chinese Language and Literature in Jiangsu University as well as a MA degree in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language in PolyU. Sherry enjoys working with children and has worked for various International Schools in Hong Kong since 2017. During her spare time, she enjoys playing piano and drawing.

Julie was born and grew up in China. She gained her Master degree from the Education University of Hong Kong and before joining ICHK HLY, she has been working as a homeroom teacher at an IB school for seven years. Julie has wide experience in teaching children from different ages and backgrounds, from primary to middle schools. She is a passionate educator who enjoys creating fun and engaging teaching activities. In her spare time, she enjoys Chinese painting, reading, movies and travel.

Kerry Xu
Chinese Teacher
China

Master of Arts in Chinese Linguistics & Language Acquisition

Kerry Xu is a registered teacher both in HK and Mainland China.She was born and grew up in Mainland China. In addition to having a Bachelor’s degree of Arts in Chinese Language and Literature, a Master degree of Arts in Chinese Linguistics and Language Acquisition, she has over 10 years teaching experience in Mainland China,Overseas and HK at Kindergarten, elementary and middle school levels, as well as in activities outside of the traditional classroom. She has a diverse background with much to offer.

Candice Zhang
Chinese Teacher
BA, Certificate of TCFL, PSC | China

Candice was born and raised in China, she gained her BA in Teaching English as a Second Language from Hong Kong Baptist University as well as certificate of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language. Candice is a passionate educator and she has wide experience in teaching children from different ages and background that she has taught in a local primary school, ICHK secondary and Montessori pre-school. During her spare time, she loves singing and she also sang a theme song for a published mini-movie.

Holly Ayonote
Reception (RH) Teacher
PGDE Early Childhood | Hong Kong

Holly was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Sai Kung. After several years studying in the UK Holly returned to Hong Kong in 2009 and completed her PGDE (Early Childhood) at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. She has been teaching early years ever since and joined ICHK HLY in 2015. Holly is a strong believer in the power of learning through play, she has a passion for creating open and engaging environments for children to explore and interact with. In her free time Holly enjoys swimming and spending time with her family.

Glenn Bogador
Y5B Teacher
PGCE, BA Communication, Digital Animation and Creative Media | Hong Kong

Glenn grew up in the Philippines and relocated to Hong Kong in his early teens. After spending his early days as a rockstar, he decided to retrain and become an educator. In 2004, he started his career in education at an international school where he met his wife, Heather. Glenn is a true lifelong learner and continues to learn and grow as an educator. He loves spending time with his two kids, Ciana and Matteo. In his spare time, he enjoys writing and playing heavy metal music with his band, playing golf with his friends and singing STYX tunes in the shower.

Rachel Chan
Y4C Teacher
MBA, PGDE | United Kingdom

Rachel is a passionate educator who is committed to child-centred learning. She aims to inspire and encourage all students to develop  their self-motivation and independence. She has been teaching and learning at ICHK since 2012 and worked with a broad spectrum of children, from nursery to Year 6. She believes that children work best when they are happy and secure, in this sense, wellbeing is at the heart of their personal education. She develops active, creative, multidisciplinary learning experiences to help children to become independent inquirers and life-long learners. Having two children of her own in primary and secondary school helps Rachel to appreciate and understand child development at its different stages.

Doris Cheung
Y2C Teacher

Bachelor of Education

Doris was born in Hong Kong and raised in Bangkok, Thailand. She later moved back to her homeland, obtaining a Bachelor of Education from The Education University of Hong Kong with a double minor in international education and psychology. She has previously completed a short-term internship in ICHK HLY. Doris is a keen believer in living and learning despite one’s age. She hopes to help students develop a love for learning no matter what their interests and passions are. She firmly believes students who truly enjoy learning will learn the best. Doris enjoys numerous active indoor and outdoor activities in her spare time with good company. She also enjoys taking her time to make delicious meals for her loved ones!

Rachel Czirok-Carman
Y3C Teacher

PGCE in Primary, BA (Hons) in Religious Studies and Theology

Rachel grew up in Wales, in the UK. She completed a BA in Theology and Religious Studies before completing her PGCE. Rachel is an enthusiastic and nurturing teacher who seeks to inspire learners to develop a love for learning and have FUN! Her passion for developing authentic learning experiences encourages the exploration, team building and critical thinking skills of learners. She enjoys taking learning outside of the classroom and making use of outdoor environments. Rachel enjoys exploring new places, hiking, reading, eating delicious food and spending time with her husband, dog and cat. Her secret hobbies include gaming and collecting Pokémon cards. ‘Gotta Catch ‘Em All!’

Vivian was born and brought up in China. She is an experienced educator with two Master’s degrees in both Chinese and English Language Teaching. Vivian has been teaching in Shanghai and Shenzhen for years before joining ICHK HLY, where she fell in love with teaching young children and was trained as an early childhood educator. Vivian believes that every child is unique and she is passionate about creating nurturing and inspiring environments for all children to learn and thrive. Vivian loves to know people from different cultural backgrounds and she enjoys playing guitar, reading, hiking and travelling in her spare time.

Angel Fan
Reception (RF) Teacher and Principal

PGDE in Early Childhood Education, BA in Psychology

Angel was born in Hong Kong and raised in Canada. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Human Resource Management at the University of Waterloo. She then later found her passion in teaching young children and obtained her PGDE (Early Childhood) at the Education University of Hong Kong. She loves to create meaningful and hands-on activities to cultivate children’s curiosity to learn and to have fun! Angel enjoys travelling and going on food adventures with her family and friends.  

June Gibbard
Y3G Teacher
BA (Hons) Accountancy, PGCE (Primary) | United Kingdom

June was born in Hong Kong and grew up in the UK. She worked as a management accountant for six years before retraining as a teacher 20 years ago. During her time at ICHK HLY she has led the development of Maths in the school and acted as Phase Leader. She completed her Kids Yoga Teacher Training in 2018 and Forest Schools Level 3 qualification in 2019. Outside of school she enjoys cooking, hiking, yoga and learning to play the piano.

Sue Keelty
Y1K Teacher
Bacherlor of Teaching and Learning (Early Childhood) | New Zealand

Sue is an experienced teacher from New Zealand who has spent more than thirty years teaching, many of them at ICHK Hong Lok Yuen. Sue is committed to a play-based approach which involves both child-initiated and teacher-supported learning. She encourages children’s learning and inquiry through interactions that aim to stretch children’s thinking to higher levels. Out of school Sue enjoys spending time with her family, reading and travelling.

Angela Lloyd
Y1L Teacher
PGDE (Early Childhood Studies) | United Kingdom

Angela was born and brought up in the U.K. She moved to Hong Kong ten years ago and accidently fell into the love of teaching. Whilst working full-time she successfully graduated with a PGDE in early childhood studies from the University of Hong Kong. Angela’s seven years of experience at ICHK Hong Lok Yuen has incorporated a miscellany of roles; starting as a resource assistant, working across the school as an assistant teacher and class teacher. Angela has a passion for creativity, incorporating fun and invigorating ideas in and out of the classroom. In her spare time, Angela enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, travelling to new places and taking photos of interesting things.

Kate Mahon
Y6M Teacher
BSc, PGDE | New Zealand

Kate Mahon grew up in New Zealand and has worked in education for 8 years. She taught at Primary and Middle Schools in New Zealand, before moving to Hong Kong in 2016. Kate is a passionate primary practitioner with a special interest in wellbeing. She enjoys hiking, travelling, and sitting down with a cup of tea and a good book.

Carol Newlands
Y4N Teacher

M.A., B.A., PGDE (Primary), TESOL

Carol originally trained and worked as a primary teacher in the UK before moving to Hong Kong to teach 11 years ago.  She has a strong background in Music (playing, theory, writing) and understands the advantages this skill-set adds to her everyday teaching practice.

Ms Newlands regularly participates in outdoor sports and is keen to correlate her lessons with the ICHK Forest Schools initiative.  She is a member of Hong Kong Kayak and hash harriers running clubs.

Alex Ranck
Y2R Teacher
United States

MA in Elementary Inclusive Education with Gifted Extension

Alex grew up in Hong Kong but left for her tertiary education in the United States.  She received a master’s degree in Childhood Education and Gifted Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and has multiple years of teaching experience in New York City. Alex returned to Hong Kong in 2020 to be closer to family.  She enjoys rediscovering the things she already loved about Hong Kong as well as experiencing new ones.  Alex is passionate about learning new things and always strives to guide her students in this same endeavour whether it is in the classroom or in other environments.

Lynda Sze
Nursery (NS) Teacher & Kindergarten Leader
NNEB, Yoga Kids certified | United Kingdom

Lynda is an experienced teacher, who has spent more than 20 years teaching Early Childhood, many of them at ICHK Hong Lok Yuen. She is passionate about helping children to discover their individuality and is enthusiastic about learning through play. Lynda is committed to providing a quality environment filled with stimulating experiences designed for the children to develop to their full potential. This year is very exciting for Lynda and the Kindergarten team who will be  strengthening and designing their play based learning spaces for the children. In her spare time she enjoys reading,spending time with family and friends, cooking and travelling when she can!

Chloe Wei
Y5W Teacher
United States

PGCE, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Chloe grew up in Hong Kong and graduated with the IBDP, then studied Psychology in sunny Southern California and finished the PGCE with University of Sunderland. She has a passion for creative, innovative and project-based learning, and as an avid visual artist and comic artist, she has enjoyed teaching students to apply their passions and interests alongside building academic confidence and competence. As a life-long learner, she always looks forward to learning as much from the students’ passions and skills as much as they learn from her.

Grace Yung
Y6Y Teacher
MA Special Education (Applied Behavior Analysis), Bachelor of Education

Grace Yung was born in Canada and grew up in Hong Kong. She has a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of British Columbia and a master’s degree in special education from Columbia University. She is also a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA). Grace worked at The Harbour School for five and a half years in which she taught Grades 1, 2, 4 and 6. Grace spends most of her time rediscovering Hong Kong now as a mum with two young children. Her hobbies include field hockey, basketball, and singing along to the karaoke machine!

Ho Mei Chau
Outdoor Learning Leader
MEd, BA (Hons), PGDE (Primary) | Hong Kong

Ho Mei was born in the UK and grew up in Hong Kong attending primary school at ICHK. His parents were strong advocates for green living so his passion for nature and the outdoors was instilled from an early age. At ICHK he has been an EAL assistant, class teacher and Learning and Teaching Coordinator. In 2017 he established ICHK’s Outdoor Learning programme and has pioneered the school’s vision of being a leader in Outdoor Education ever since. Ho Mei enjoys woodworking, photography and music, and he has two children who currently attend the school.

Nobleto Gabasan
Music Teacher
BM Mus Ed; Kodaly Certificate | Philippines

Nobel is a gifted musician who obtained his Music Education degree in Manila before undertaking further studies in the USA. Nobel is a certified Kodaly Teacher and also received certificates for First Steps in Music and Conversational Solfege. He also holds training in Dalcroze Eurhythmics. He completed his Master of Arts in Music at the Hong Kong Baptist University. Nobel’s knowledge, experience and passion for music benefit our students tremendously. As he always says, “we teach music, not to make our students musicians someday, but for them to become musical, and develop their human sensitivity.”

Kate Kam
School Counsellor

Kate grew up and received her education in Hong Kong with a Bachelor of Education and Master of Arts in Guidance and Counselling. She always appreciates working with children and young people. She has embarked on a continuous journey of discovery and transformation for herself, worked at different positions and roles in the education field ranging from primary school to university, from NGO to commercial setting. Kate enjoys both indoor and outdoor activities. But her favourite is always dancing. She dreamed about being a ballerina when she was three and she is still trying to achieve it in her thirties!

Susanna Lynam
Library Teacher and Specialist Lead Teacher
BEd, BA(English and History) | Australia

Susanna Lynam comes from Australia and is married to Glen Lynam with four children. She has over 16 years teaching experience, working in both primary and secondary school settings. She has also worked for 6 years as an Assistant Nurse and 6 years as the Director of Member Care for an International NGO which has given her a passion for engaging the students in real-world issues and encouraging them to think, ask questions and make a difference. She loves the outdoors, sports, music, singing, reading, traveling, art and engaging in anything creative and adventurous!

Nina Shek
EAL Leader
MA (Hons) Sociology, PGCE (Primary), MEd, Cert.TESOL | United Kingdom

Nina leads the EAL programme which supports students in developing their English language skills and access to the curriculum. Nina was born and educated in Scotland where her parents settled after emigrating from Hong Kong.  She taught in Osaka, Japan for two years on the government native English teacher programme before joining ICHK Kindergarten & Primary and the world of international education. Her experience living in Japan and growing up as a bilingual Chinese/English learner has given her first-hand insight into adapting to different languages and cultures, as well as the experiences of our EAL students and their families. Nina is a qualified “ESL in the Mainstream” teacher trainer and has delivered courses for staff from ICHK Kindergarten & Primary and other schools.

Dean Squire
PE & Outdoor Learning Teacher
United Kingdom

BEd Primary Education 

Dean is originally from Devon in the UK, where he studied B’Ed Primary Education with a Physical Education specialism at the University of Plymouth. In 2020, he left England to play rugby for Hong Kong Scottish. Following this, he moved to South London and worked as a supply teacher and a Year 5 teacher. Through rugby, he then returned to Hong Kong in 2022 and worked as a lead coach for the company Rugby Tots HK. Dean is passionate about all sports and exercise, and aims to inspire others, develop similar values and develop on their physical literacy journey. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, being outdoors and swimming in the sea.

Jenny Tang
Visual Art Teacher

PGCE

Jenny was born and raised in the UK where she completed her BA Honors Surface Design degree at the University of the Arts London. After relocating to Hong Kong she completed her PGCE with Sunderland University and this will be her ninth year at ICHK. She brings creativity and passion to her teaching and enjoys engaging children in a fun and expressive learning environment. As an educator she feels it is important for a child to develop their own individuality, and is fully committed to helping and supporting the children in exploring their various capabilities through play based learning. In her spare time she enjoys travelling and exploring new cultures, hiking with her husband and singing badly at karaoke.

Sean Taylor
PE Teacher
United Kingdom

PGCE, BA (Hons) Sports Coaching

Sean grew up in a seaside town in the northwest of England, where he played all sports and joined as many sports clubs as possible (Football, Rugby, Tennis and Golf). After graduating from UCLAN with a Sports Coaching degree, he worked for 5 years as a sports coach going in and out of a variety of schools to teach PE and ECAs. Sean moved to Hong Kong 3 years ago playing rugby for Hong Kong Scottish and working in a local kindergarten, before moving to an outdoor activities company here in Hong Kong. During that time Sean graduated University of Sunderland with a PGCE and is starting his first year as a qualified teacher. Sean is looking forward to hopefully inspiring the students to love living an active lifestyle and enjoy playing games with their friends and peers.