Senior Management Team
David Craggs has been Headmaster at Gad’s Hill since September 2000. He developed his early teaching experience at a 1500+ comprehensive school in North Tyneside then travelled south to teach Design & Technology to GCSE & A Level at King’s School Rochester. There he developed his career and experience and became Housemaster responsible for senior boarding. A graduate of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, he completed a PGCE (Secondary) at Newcastle Polytechnic and, later, a MA in Educational Management at Christ Church College Canterbury. David is a Fellow of the College of Preceptors and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Before his career in education David was, for several years, a Police Officer, first in Northumbria, based in Sunderland (and where he met his wife Lizzie) and then later in the Royal Hong Kong Police. David also spent some time working in a variety of sales and management posts within a number of companies including J Sainsbury PLC. While at university David joined the Territorial Army, gained a commission and served in the 6th Battalion Royal Regiment of Fusiliers as a Platoon Commander attached to W Company based in Berwick-Upon-Tweed. On moving to Kent he transferred to 5th Battalion, The Queen’s Regiment where he served as the Battalion Intelligence Officer at Canterbury. After ten years military service David left the Territorial Army and has since, for the past 22 years, served as a Special Constable with Kent Police working in his spare time within the community at a variety of police stations including Rochester, Walderslade, Gravesend, Bluewater and Northfleet. He is currently attached to the Tactical Operations Department and works with the Roads Policing Unit responsible for the county’s strategic roads network.
David and Lizzie have been married for 27 years and have three children.
Paul attended Norwich School, in Norfolk, and subsequently studied French and Russian at the University of Bristol. During his degree, he had his first teaching experience, as an English teacher in the Alexander Nevskii School, in Moscow.
On graduating, Paul gained his PGCE in Modern Languages, also at Bristol, and worked in schools in Wiltshire and East Anglia before moving to Bexley Grammar School in 2006, where he taught French, German and Russian to A-level and International Baccalaureate standard.
He joined Gad’s Hill as Head of French in 2010, and took his current position as Head of Senior School in Autumn 2015.
He has been married to Emma since 2009 and they have two children.
Fiona was born and grew up in Glasgow, Scotland. She attended Craigholme School for Girls, top independent school for the west of Scotland, and went on to study Environmental Science and Education at Southampton University.
She worked at Richmond Infant School, Gillingham for six years before joining Gad’s Hill ten years ago as the Year 2 teacher. Five years ago she started in her current role as Head of Kindergarten and Junior School.
Shirley spent her formative years in Consett, County Durham, where she attended the local Grammar school before embarking upon an Honours Zoology degree at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne. Although interested in teaching, she decided to widen her horizons and spent the next two years as a Medical Laboratory Scientific Officer in the Pathology department at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in the City of London. However a teaching career was still an attractive option, so the next year she completed a PGCE in Biology and Integrated Sciences at Hull University.
Shirley joined Gad’s in August 2011. Prior to that she had taught in five schools, both state and independent, single sex boys’ and girls’ as well as co-educational establishments, in Southend, Snaresbrook, Aylesbury and latterly two schools in Bedford. Shirley has a broad teaching experience, having taught all three sciences to GCSE, Maths at KS3 and both Biology and Psychology at A level. Her career has seen her progress from subject teacher to Head of Department, Head of House and Head of Science in a school of 1200.
Shirley is now happily settled in Kent with husband Shaun, who joined the Gad’s team as a governor in November 2013.
Stephanie graduated from the University of Wales, Swansea in 2006 with a BA (Hons) in Geography. After working as a pharmaceutical dispenser she completed her teaching qualification after being offered a place on the Graduate Teacher Programme with Maidstone Grammar School for Girls. She completed her NQT year at Sandwich Technology School, teaching Project Based Learning, and started at Gad’s as Head of Geography in 2010 where she has since undertaken a variety of roles. Stephanie took up the role of Director of Studies in January 2017. Stephanie has a MA in Education, specialising in Leadership and Management for Learning, which she passed with distinction at Canterbury Christchurch University. She continues to be a post-graduate student at Canterbury and is in the final thesis stage of a Doctorate in Education.
Stephanie has been involved in several charities, most recently leading a soup kitchen for a number of years. She plays flute and piccolo for the Folkestone Symphony Orchestra. Stephanie has been married to James since 2007.
Having worked for NatWest Markets in London, and then as a Teaching Assistant for six years while her children were at primary school, Glynda completed a degree in Special Educational Needs and Inclusive Education as a mature student at the University of East London.
Glynda went on to study for a PGCE at Canterbury Christchurch University before teaching at Brookfield Junior School and then Borough Green Primary School.
She has taught at Gad’s since 2015 but has felt very much a part of the Gad’s community for much longer as her own daughter was a pupil from 2007 until 2015.
Victoria attended Fort Pitt Grammar School and went on to study Early Childhood Studies at Canterbury Christ Church University. After a year working in a nursery, Victoria went on to obtain a PGCE in Primary Education.
Victoria began her teaching career at Darenth Primary School where she taught for 3 years before joining the Gad’s Hill teaching team in 2015. She has taught across the primary range.
Victoria believes that a solid educational and behavioral foundation, and a love of learning are some of the most valuable things we can provide for our children. Her aim is to ensure this happens against a background of happiness in a safe and encouraging environment. Great importance is put on teaching staff working in conjunction with parents to develop well-rounded confident children who are able to achieve a wide range of educational, social and wider goals with notable success.
