Meet the team
Mr & Mrs Nish
As Houseparents to De Mauley House, we are keen to share the family orientated ethos that we believe should be at the heart of the boarding house.
In our boarding house, we do put the child’s individual needs first. As a small school, we recognise that each and every child is different therefore enabling us to focus on how each child thrives. During your child’s stay in the castle we provide ample opportunity to socialise with friends, engage in sporting activities, practice their musical instrument, consolidate schoolwork in supervised prep sessions and enjoy the homely atmosphere. We look forward to meeting you and getting to know you better.
We seek to foster an appreciation of self within a loving family community so that they can start a journey of service to others. We want boarders to enjoy their boarding experience, to learn to be self-reliant yet work within a community. We hope that pupils will contribute positively to life during boarding time. For this to be achieved there must be a partnership between parent and school. Parents have access to the Houseparents at all reasonable times. We acknowledge that parents who spend some, if not all, time further afield or even abroad value regular contact. We offer an open-door policy and are always available to see a pupil. We operate a completely flexible approach to boarding. Parents may choose to board their children from one night a week to seven.
Mrs Jeffrey & Mrs Freebury
These House Tutors work in tandem with Mr and Mrs Nish to help run and support boarding both in the week and some weekends. Mrs Freebury is one of the first faces you’ll see as you come in the front door, as she is based in the office. Mrs Jeffrey is also a Prep 3 teacher and the Head of EAL so another familiar face around school.
Mrs Needles
Mrs Clare Needles is our Head of Housekeeping an incredibly integral part of our family. She, along with her team keep the boarding house spick and span, imagine Mr Muscle meets Mary Poppins and you have Clare!
Ms Townsend
Ms Townsend is someone that you will get to know not only in boarding but around the school, as she is the first port of call if you are hurt or unwell.
The Head, his wife and their children live in the Castle and are fully involved with the boarders. Also living in the house are two Gap Assistants who spends a lot of time in the house helping all the boarders.