Staff

I have been associated with St. Andrew's Infant school since 2008 when I first started working at the school as Kingfisher Class teacher, and then becoming the Headteacher at the school in 2011. I became the Headteacher at Potters Gate Primary School in April 2015 and it is so exciting to be working with both schools currently.

When I am not working at Potters Gate Primary or St. Andrew's I like to spend time walking with my lovely Working Cocker Spaniel, Chester and out in my garden. I have chickens which help with my other passion which is cooking. When I find quiet time I like to knit and read.

Having lived in Farnham for over 20 years I feel very fortunate to live in such a wonderful town. Since 2009 I have been teaching in Farnham schools and now have the privilege of working with wonderful colleagues and children at both Potters Gate and St Andrew's.

I have three daughters and two gorgeous dachshunds. As a family we love travelling, walking, cooking and generally just being together!

I am the Year 2 Class Teacher here at St Andrews and also the St Andrew's Senior Lead. With over 20 years of teaching experience and three children of my own, I am passionate about providing an inspiring curriculum which enables all children to reach their full potential. I absolutely love working in a small nurturing environment with a great team of people, who feel like a family.

Farnham has been my home for over 35 years and I love being part of the local community. I have been fortunate to have attended and taught in some of the best schools in the area. My own schooling started in Seale village school which had many similarities to St. Andrew's. Teaching runs in my family so it was inevitable that I decided this was the career for me. I first started teaching in a primary school in Dorking but after a few years there I decided I wanted to be back teaching in Farnham. I spent over 15 years in a small village infant school just off the Hog's Back. I have many happy memories of my time there such as teaching Maypole dancing to the children and putting on productions and events for the parents and the local community.

I am thoroughly enjoying my role as SENDCo and Assistant Head at Potters Gate and am very excited to be part of the St. Andrew's team in these roles.

Hello, my name is Jo Farncombe and I started working at Potters Gate in September 2015. I love working here as it is such a positive and happy environment and we are very lucky to have such fun, kind and inquisitive children.

I have lived in Farnham for nearly thirty years and I actually came to Potters Gate as a child myself! I have great memories of competing in Sports Day on the field and playing the part of an orphan in the production of Oliver at the end of Year Six! Autumn is my favourite time of year, I love going on walks in the countryside and curling up with a book in front of the log burner.

Potters Gate is a very special school where the well-being and development of the children is central to everything we do. I have been teaching here since 2014 and thoroughly enjoy being part of a very creative, passionate team who strive to inspire the children every day.

I have lived in Farnham for sixteen years, and I love the town and its surrounding countryside. My family includes my husband, my two teenage children and a cheeky Cairn Terrier called Toffee. At the weekend, I love to go running around the North Downs and spending quality time with my friends and family.

I have been very lucky to have lived and worked Farnham for over 20 years. With six children life is joyfully chaotic and has little space for a peaceful moment, but I thrive on the challenges that this brings. My family have enjoyed the rich opportunities that Farnham offers and have been involved in many of the clubs and organisations in the town. We try to support our community whenever we can, especially through our commitment to scouting in Farnham. My approach to teaching supports my belief that each child deserves a holistic and enriched learning experience, allowing them to develop as well rounded happy children with a passion for lifelong learning. Working with everyone at Potters Gate School has been a pleasure and I look forward to the future with excitement.

I joined Potters Gate and St. Andrews in 2019 and feel incredibly lucky to be part of the school team. It is wonderful to teach in such a caring school where the wellbeing of each child is the centre of everything we do.

I have lived in Farnham for over 10 years with my husband and three boys. Weekends are mainly spent on sports pitches but we love to get outdoors and enjoy the surrounding countryside with our family and friends.

I am the Year 4 Class Teacher in Stingrays at Potters Gate, as well as Head of Year 4. I am also Assistant Headteacher. I have worked in St. Andrews and Potters Gate for nearly 10 years now, and love the ethos of both schools, as well as the teams I am fortunate enough to work with. In my spare time, I enjoy crafting as well as being outside, going for walks and playing netball!

I have been part of the St. Andrew's and Potters Gate team since 2011 when I joined St. Andrew's as a class teacher before having my children. Now my own child is a pupil at St. Andrew's and so I have been able to continue being part of this lovely school community.

I joined Potters Gate School in April 2020 and feel privileged to be part of this wonderful school where each child is nurtured and given such enriching learning experiences. I am very excited to be back teaching in such a happy and friendly school.

Outside of school I enjoy spending time with my two young children who keep me very busy, in my spare time I love to be outside with my family, read and play the piano.

Since 2015 I have been a part of the Potters Gate and St Andrew's schools' teaching team. My passion is to enable all of our wonderful children to have a love of learning that provides them with the opportunity to be kind, inquisitive and meet their academic and social potential. I am dedicated to provide an inspiring and enriching curriculum and be a part of a positive whole school community.

Outside of school I enjoy the seasons when walking in the countryside with my family. I also coach a youth football team, participate in and watch sports and have a passion for cooking and eating with friends and family.

I started working at St. Andrews as a teaching assistant in 2007 after volunteering as a parent helper when my children attended the school. My children are now adults, but I'm still here at St. Andrews, happy to be a part of the team that gave them and so many other children a great start to their learning

I started working at Potters Gate in 2016 once our youngest child started school, in Breakfast Club and as midday supervisor, before becoming a Teaching Assistant in Reception. Over the proceeding few years I was able to provide support and guidance to children across all school years, before returning to Reception after qualifying as a Higher Level Teaching Assistant. Prior to September 2023 I provided cover for classes and school visits at St Andrews, so the children and staff are very familiar to me and it was a pleasure to be asked to work here Full Time. I am thoroughly enjoying being part of the lovely St Andrews team.

I started my teaching career in Cambridgeshire before relocating with my family to Farnham in 2020. I feel incredibly lucky to be part of the Potters Gate and St Andrew's school community where I love being part of so many children's learning journeys. The children constantly surprise me with their amazing insight, skill and ability to think about the world around them. They make every day different and fun.

When I am not teaching, I enjoy walking with my dog. He is a greyhound so can run a lot faster than me! I also like gardening, reading lots of books, going to concerts and spending time with my two daughters.

I have been teaching at Potters Gate since 2015, having had roles in both key stages and at St. Andrew's since having my two children.

I have really enjoyed having the experience across the two schools working with lots of lovely people.

I live in Church Crookham with my husband and two children, but have strong links with Farnham where my family still live. As a family, we love to be out and about, exploring the local area, baking and enjoying spending time together!

My name is Julie Wilson and I love being out in nature. I am fascinated by the natural world and every moment I spend in it I find out something new!

I love looking out for bats in the evenings and looking up the names of different fungi and insects that I see. I also like eating lots of cake, watching films with my family and writing stories for children. I am a Forest School leader in school and so my classroom is in the field, where we like to make crafts, play outside and make mud pies! I love it!

I've been a member of the Potters Gate School community for over 10 years, first as a parent, then lunchtime and care club staff before joining the classroom. I've had the pleasure of working across all of ks1 and now part of the fantastic Forest School team as Forest School Leader.

I love being creative and have recently started baking sourdough, spending time in nature and can often be found by a body of water! It's even better if I have my family or a good book with me.

One of my favourite sayings is 'There's no such thing as bad weather only unsuitable clothing'.

I joined Potters Gate and St Andrews in September 2021 as the schools Home School Link Worker and part of the Safeguarding team as one of the DSL's. Before that I worked at the Waverley Family Centre and Potters Gate Sure Start Children's Centre as an outreach worker for over 10 years. I love working at both schools and feel passionately about helping families in times of need and making sure each child is happy and ready for school each day.

In my spare time I love to spend time in my garden growing flowers and vegetables on my vegetable patch!

I started working at Potters Gate & St Andrews in 2016 and feel very lucky to be part of such caring and nurturing schools. My background and qualification is in Humanistic Counselling with a particular interest in Attachment Theory. Since joining the schools, I have further trained as an ELSA, Nurture Practitioner, Family Links Parenting Puzzle Facilitator, Mental Health First Aider and gained a Children's Counselling CPD diploma.

As part of the Pastoral Team, I believe that a child's emotional wellbeing is paramount to their ability to learn and thrive in school. My role is to ensure the children at our schools receive the emotional support they may need and work with parents and staff for a holistic approach.

In my spare time, I enjoy going to the theatre, being with family and friends, cooking and spending time in London or Brighton.

I spent many years as a KS1 teacher in Surrey and Hampshire, but after starting my own family I came to Potters Gate as a Special Needs Assistant. Both of my daughters had their primary education here! I have worked with children 1 to 1, helped to run the school's Nurture Group and am now working as an ELSA. I really enjoy helping, talking to and working with children - it is simply an amazing thing to do and makes every day different! I am also the librarian at PG because I have an absolute passion for reading, especially children's books.

When I am not at school, you will find me walking my Romanian rescue dog, spending time with family and friends and of course reading!

'Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else's shoes for a while." Malorie Blackman

I am the new Speech and Communication TA, delivering interventions to children across both schools. I am a trained speech therapist on the team who has also got experience of working with neurodivergent children with social interaction and communication needs. I also work in the pastoral team supporting children's wellbeing.

I've had links with St Andrews since 2008, when I was childminding children attending the school. From there, I started work as a Teaching Assistant at Potters Gate, where both my children attended. I qualified as a Nurture Practitioner at the Potters Gate, as well as supporting the SENCO with administrative duties. I moved across to St Andrew's as Office Manager in March 2022 - what a delightful place to work.

01252 715619

My name is Melvin Antonio, I am from the Philippines and have lived since 2005 in England and am now a British Citizen. I have worked at St. Andrew's School since 2006. I work in the mornings at Potters Gate and late afternoons as a Caretaker at St. Andrew's School.

In between my two shifts I work as a gardener. I love eating a bagel in the mornings before coming to work, I also eat a lot of fruit, especially mangos, apples and grapes whilst watching the news on my computer at home.

In the Philippines I studied and qualified as a B.S. in Criminology.

Hello, my name is Audrey Sturch. I started work at St. Andrew's School in April 2001 as a Midday Supervisor, I am now a Senior Midday Supervisor since 2006.

Four of my five sons went to St. Andrew's School and loved it.

I love coming into school at lunch time and working with my team and all the children. I am always there to help them with first aid and other problems. The children always make me SMILE.

My name is Riffat Nazir. I work as a Midday Supervisor at St. Andrew's School since September 2016.

I love working here because I like this school very much. I have two children, one of them used to go to St. Andrew's School and loved it.

In my free time, l love cooking, reading books and spending time with my family.