Our Staff

Ms Lowdermilk has been at The Lyceum since 2000, first as a parent of 3 children who attended the school and then as a Assistant Teacher. She has worked with children across all age groups on the academic curriculum as well as in art, music, drama and physical education. From January 2019 – July 2020, Ms Lowdermilk worked on Learning Enrichment Activities for both gifted and SEND children.

Ms Lowdermilk received an International Diploma in Montessori Theory and Methodology (Early Childhood Course) from the Montessori Centre International (London, 2009). She has an M.A. in Modern Art from The Courtauld Institute of Art (London, 1996), an M.A. and Ph.D. in the Economics of Developing Countries from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts, University (USA, 1991) and a B.A. in International Relations and Economics from Brown University (USA, 1982).

Ms Lowdermilk was born in Pakistan and grew up there as well as spending time with her family in India and Egypt. She returned to the United States to finish high school and to attend University. Prior to moving to the UK, Ms Lowdermilk worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development as Food Security Adviser for Africa. She travelled and worked extensively in Africa advising governments on nutrition and food policy. Moving to the UK in 1993 was a life and career changing event. While living in London and raising a family, Ms Lowdermilk’s interest in childhood development and the learning process prompted her to re-train as a Montessori teacher and to work in the field of education.

Miss Rothery is one of our Year 1 teachers. She recently graduated from The University of Chester with a Primary PGCE. Prior to that, she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in Business Management. Miss Rothery relocated from Cheshire to Fulham this year to pursue her teaching career with all the opportunities London has to offer. She has experience in both Key Stage 1 and 2 and is currently undertaking additional training and CPD opportunities from 3 different organisations.

Miss Rothery enjoys spending time with her friends and family and loves to meet new people. She is passionate about sport and healthy eating. She wishes to bring even more awareness of the benefits of healthy eating to all the children she teaches. In her spare time, she enjoys experimenting with new, healthy recipes.

Miss Graden previously taught at a state school in Hoxton before joining The Lyceum in September 2021. Growing up and studying in Canada, she gained a BA (Hons) degree in French and Linguistics, at which time she also supported the University’s French Department as a Teaching Assistant. During her summers throughout university, she would often be found coaching youth sports and working in children’s recreational programming, specifically supporting children with special needs.

Following a year abroad studying in the south of France, Miss Graden decided to relocate to London to pursue her PGCE at London South Bank University. As a lifelong lover of learning, with a passion for working with children and young people, becoming a teacher has always felt like her calling.

In her free time, Miss Graden loves travelling to new places (26 countries and counting!) and snuggling up with her greyhound. As a hiking and camping enthusiast, she plans to hike Mount Kilimanjaro with her partner in the near future.

Ms Knox has been working with young children since 1998. Originally from Lithuania, she moved to England in 1995 to join her new family. In her country, Ms Knox studied and gained a degree in Economics and Computer Programming at Vilnius University. After moving to London, Ms Knox embarked on a career change to work with children. Within 2 years, she completed Levels 2 and 3 in Childcare and Education. Since then, she has been working with children of all primary school ages.

Ms Knox has been part of Minerva/Dukes since 2002 and joined The Lyceum School in September 2019. Apart from her native language, Lithuanian, she speaks Russian and English and has been learning French over the last few years.

Mrs Ufland is a Year 2 Teacher and the Art Coordinator at The Lyceum. She gained her Primary PGCE in 2017 and has since taught in the EYFS and KS1. Mrs Ufland has worked in both the state and private sector prior to joining The Lyceum in 2019.

She completed her BA (Hons) in Textile Design at the Manchester Metropolitan University, subsequently deciding to pursue a career in Education. She is a passionate teacher who is particularly fond of using creative and interactive methods to engage students. Mrs Ufland has always been a keen artist, spending many hours completing sketch books and paintings as a child. In her spare time, she enjoys painting abstract canvases, spending time with her family, and travelling.

Mr Fernandez graduated with a five-year BA in English Philology from the University of Seville and an MA in Secondary Education from the Valencian International University. Currently, he is studying a part-time PhD in Primary Education at the UNED University with a direct focus on creating a more broad, inclusive, and diverse connected curriculum through the study of significant individuals.

In his spare time, he plays volleyball and badminton. He also enjoys cooking and aims to learn how to cook every country’s national dish.

Ms Moreno is from southern Spain, where she originally studied nursing. She has spent half of her life in the UK and is happily settled with her partner and 2 sons.

She has accumulated a wealth of experience in education, especially within Early Years. She began by volunteering in nurseries and schools, specifically interested in supporting children with SEN. She also volunteered for different charities within the local community, focusing on hard to reach families. Having worked in education for over 20 years, Ms Moreno has gained many qualifications, most recently obtaining a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership in the Children and Young People’s Workforce.

Ms Moreno enjoys spending time with family and friends and has a passion for cooking healthy Mediterranean food. She also enjoys developing new skills which allow her to channel her creativity, such as sewing, singing and painting.

Mr Welch is originally from the South of England and has worked in some amazing schools and countries over the last eight years, including London, Amsterdam and Berlin.

He loves creativity and encourages this with all his pupils and this is one thing which attracted him to The Lyceum. With a degree in Music and a love of sport (especially rugby) he hopes to bring his skills and experience to all the children at The Lyceum.

Over the last year he has been travelling and volunteering where possible in six different countries in Central and South America.

Miss Cortez has been working in education for the past seven years. She graduated in English Language and Literature from the University of São Paulo and qualified as a primary school teacher at Nottingham University. During her undergraduate years, Miss Cortez worked across both Key Stage 1 and 2 at the Independent British school of São Paulo (St Paul’s School), a practice she has continued developing since moving to London in 2018 and joining The Lyceum.

An avid reader, Miss Cortez had learnt how to read before the age of 4 and has taught herself different languages – such as English and Spanish. Being born and bred in a multicultural environment has nurtured her curiosity, respect, and passion for learning.

Having trained at Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, graduating with Teaching Qualifications from the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance (ISTD) in Ballet, Tap and Modern, Miss Haynes has worked in a variety of roles across the Entertainment Industry. Over the last 20 years this included Choreographer, Dancer and Children’s Entertainer. This culminated in 2019 where she had the pleasure of working in a 5 star resort in Egypt, being responsible for 42 Entertainers and producing West End quality shows with professional singers and dancers.

Mr Lopez was born and raised in Jerez, Spain. From a young age, he loved sports including football, tennis and athletics. Mr Lopez became champion in the long jump in Andalusia (a southern region of Spain) in 2005 with 6.12 metres when he was 17 years old; he then went to compete at the National Competition in Madrid but unfortunately wasn’t so lucky this time.

Naturally, Mr Lopez chose to study sports at university and combine this with his other passion – teaching. He gained a BA in Education, specialising in PE. A few years later, wanting to improve his English, Mr Lopez decided to leave Spain and move to England. He has been teaching Spanish in the UK since 2014 and Sports since 2017.

Mrs McGovern has been working in music education for 15 years. After graduating from the Royal College of Music London, where she studied the oboe, she moved to Russia to complete postgraduate studies at the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire in Moscow. Whilst in Moscow, she performed with orchestras and taught English in a nursery. It was during her time in Moscow that she became interested in music education after being inspired by the ability and musicianship of very young Russian children and wondering how the Russian method could be applied to music education here in the UK.

Mrs McGovern moved back to London in 2011 and the same year married her wonderful husband, a professional saxophone player, who had flown out to Russia and got down on one knee to propose in the snowy subzero temperatures! Since then, she has worked as a peripatetic teacher delivering lessons on the oboe and recorder in a number of prep schools while freelancing with orchestras and running her own chamber music ensemble ‘The Gelachter Trio’ who have been featured on Classic FM, BBC Radio 3 and in BBC Music Magazine.

She is very excited to join The Lyceum team and hopes to instil in the children a lifelong love of music. Outside of school the majority of Mrs McGovern’s time is spent home educating her four children but she also enjoys running, weightlifting classes and helping at her local church by working with the young children, playing piano for Sunday school and helping with the deaf ministry, having recently completed her Level 2 British Sign Language qualification.

Tanya Sultana completed her PGCE in Secondary English in July 2016. Her first post as a teacher was at Chingford Foundation School in East London, teaching students from Years 7 to 11, with particular focus on students undertaking their English GCSEs. Whilst there, Ms Sultana also worked closely with students with special educational needs, specifically children who were diagnosed within the autism spectrum. After three wonderful years at the school, Ms Sultana decided to challenge herself by moving her attention to Early Years. She began this journey by initially accepting a short-term contract at The Lyceum and, after a refreshing and delightful experience, she accepted a permanent post within the Early Years team.

Ms Sultana, a proud Londoner, has studied in the city throughout her life, having graduated with a BA (Hons) in English Literature at the University of Westminster, before embarking on her PGCE at the University of East London. Despite her fondness for the city she grew up in, Ms Sultana loves exploring different parts of the world, having been on a number of adventures around the globe.

Miss Leach has been at The Lyceum since September 2009. She grew up in London but has always been interested in the great outdoors. For many years, Miss Leach was a member of the Scouting movement, dedicating her spare time to volunteering. She ran her own Beaver and Cub groups, often taking the children on adventures to learn basic life skills and this is what encouraged her to pursue a career in childcare.

Before joining The Lyceum, she studied for three years at Bromley College in Kent, gaining both Level 2 and 3 in Childcare and Education. Miss Leach works in Early Years and is also our Head First Aider at The Lyceum. Each year, Miss Leach works with the Year 6 children in the Summer Term, running a course to complete their Young First Aider qualification.