Our teachers and staff bring a dynamic and diverse set of skills, passion, education and experience to London Scandinavian School. Without them, our school wouldn’t be such a nurturing and thriving community of creative explorers and lifelong learners.

Teachers and Staff

  • Katie Howard

    HEADTEACHER & DESIGNATED SAFEGUARDING LEAD (DSL)

    Katie is the Headteacher at London Scandinavian School and has a background in both Healthcare and Education. Prior to training to become a teacher through the University of Nottingham, she worked as a Physiotherapist and Clinic Manager for several years within various settings, both in London and overseas. She has a varied experience in Primary School education across independent and international school settings, as well as state-run academies. She has a special interest in English and Literacy and, following the Scandinavian ethos at our school, exposing children to a broad-based curriculum through exploratory, project-based and child-initiated learning.

  • Karina Samura

    PRESCHOOL COORDINATOR & DEPUTY DSL

    Karina is our Preschool Coordinator from Denmark. She has been associated with our school since 2014 but started her career at The Royal Academy of Arts after studying Art History at Goldsmiths University. She then moved into education, training as an Early Years Practitioner. She has worked in both private international schools, as well as state-run schools. In the UK, she has worked in Preschools and Nurseries, as well as Reception classes. Whilst working at Garfield Primary School in London, she was introduced to ‘In the moment planning’ which is child-centred learning through play. She has continued this approach at our Preschool combined with a Scandinavian ethos.

  • Beata Somogyi

    PRIMARY TEACHER & SENCo

    Beata is one of the Primary Teachers. She is an experienced social educator, with over 16 years of invaluable experience in both the childcare and education sectors and in the media film industry. She has worked in both Nursery and International Secondary School settings, specialising as an Art and Design teacher in the latter. She has a special interest in social education, counselling and special educational needs and at present she is studying her Master’s Degree in Transpersonal Arts in Therapy to become Transpersonal Art Counsellor.

  • Cecilie Faerovik

    OFFICE & COMMS MANAGER

    Cecilie joins us from Denmark bringing her up to date knowledge of social media marketing, as well as experience working with children as a ski instructor and other customer service roles.

    With her fun personality and natural people skills she is a hit with children, parents and staff alike.

    There is no task too big or small that she can’t tackle and she does so with a smile on her face!

  • Nuria Prieto

    PRESCHOOL TEACHER

    Nuria is enthusiastic about providing the best experiences for children in nursery and early years settings. With a wealth of knowledge and experience in early years education she thrives on creating a stimulating, encouraging and safe atmosphere for each child's individual needs.

    Nuria believes that building trusting relationships with the parents, caregivers and families, and getting them involved as much as possible in the setting and their children’s learning, really helps the children grow in confidence within a strong, nurturing community.

  • Yolande Gunn

    PRESCHOOL TEACHER

    With over 7 years experience in children’s education, Yolande has experience in both her native Sweden and the UK. Yolande holds an early years teaching qualification and is undertaking her full teaching training to obtain her PGCE and QTS. Yolande is passionate about learning outside of the classroom and has great experience from working in forest schools previously.

  • Kristin Thomassen

    RECEPTION TEACHER

    Kristin is our new Reception Key Teacher. She has worked as a Primary School Teacher in Norway for many years before she moved to London. Before she came to us she worked at the Norwegian Kindergarten in Wimbledon, where she worked as an Educational leader and Deputy Head Teacher.

    She believes that children learn through exploring and being active. She has a special interest in literacy and outdoor learning. She believes that, especially young children, learn through working with topics where all subjects are integrated and where different personalities, interests and talents of each unique individual are nurtured.

  • Emily Hay

    PRIMARY TEACHER

    Emily joins us from another ISA school in Manchester and with a masters degree in education, she is passionate about delivering high quality and engaged lessons that are accessible to all children. Emily has a specialism in English but enjoys teaching all subjects in an imaginative and collaborative way where the children are the authors and architects of their own learning journeys.

    Emily has already embraced the Scandinavian way of doing things, initiating her own programme of outdoor learning at her former school!

  • Emma Sand

    PRESCHOOL ASSISTANT, DANISH & MUSIC TEACHER

    As a musician and Danish native Emma leads the school through all our multilingual, musical endeavours and will continue to teach both music and Danish in preschool and primary school.

    Emma has worked at London Scandinavian School for several years in preschool and has a very naturally calm and gentle demeanour that our children warm to instantly.

  • Molly Reynolds

    PRESCHOOL ASSISTANT

    Molly is one of our Preschool Assistants at London Scandinavian School. Having worked previously in many different Early Years settings, her practices and methods are well-rooted in prioritising each child’s personal development and wellbeing, alongside encouraging them to explore the world with an active imagination and plenty of fun!

  • Sultan Gun

    PRESCHOOL ASSISTANT

    Sultan has worked previously in different preschool settings and since joining London Scandinavian School has decided to undertake an apprencticeship to become an early years practitioner. She enjoys enouraging the children to be themselves and supporting them to discover their own unique interests.

Board of Governors

  • Peter Melbye

    CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS & TRUSTEE

    Peter is a technology leader with a career history of working in Education. As Vice President of Technology Architecture at Pearson, Peter worked with ministries of education across the world to design, develop and implement digital learning solutions in schools and higher education institutes. Peter is the present Chair of Governors and has been a Trustee of London Scandinavian School since 2014.

  • Alex Kahn

    TRUSTEE

    Alexander Kahn, is one of the founders of the school who is a Senior Global Marketing Leader with a digital background from the Tech, EduTech, Agency and iGaming industry. Currently working and living in Canada he has a background with some of the top digital companies in the world and has managed medium to large teams across all sized companies. Originally from Trondheim in Norway, he has since lived in Denmark, the UK (GCSE, College and University in the UK), Ireland, Spain, Bulgaria, Dubai, Australia and now Canada. Alex has a passion for education and food and is a co owner of a restaurant on Tåsinge, in Denmark

  • Christopher Seidenfaden

    TRUSTEE

    Christopher is an Executive Director at Italian investment bank Mediobanca, where he specializes in mid and smaller Italian companies in various sectors. Born in France of Danish parents, he grew up in Italy and studied at the Istituto Filippin, north of Venice, at Sorø Akademi in Denmark and took the IB exam at Vienna International School, Austria. He holds a BSc degree in Philosophy from UCL, University of London. He began his career as a business and financial journalist in Italy and worked for Standard & Poors, Robert Fleming, Schroders and Citigroup. He was a cofounder of UK-based Scandinavian design retailer Skandium and owns Ærø Bryggeri, a micro-brewery on the island of Ærø in Denmark.

  • Emily Bridges

    TRUSTEE

    Emily Bridges is a charted accountant and winner of the prestigious Tax Prize from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). After working in London-based accountancy firms, Emily founded re:accounts in 2009. Her thriving accountancy practice helps clients to save tax and maximise profits. Her specialist area is international tax, working with individuals and businesses operating globally. She also supports clients by ensuring their accounts are accurate, compliant and timely. Emily lives in Hertfordshire with her three sons and two dogs.

  • Jeanette Steinbeck

    GOVERNOR

    Jeanette completed her Bachelor's degree in Social Education back in 2007, and for 10 years, worked as an early years teacher. This experience has given her invaluable insights and a strong understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). This passion for early childhood education has led her to her current position as the Head of Early Childhood Education in Denmark, and a valued Board member of London Scandinavian School.

    Being a member of the Board of Governors serves as a constant reminder of the school's founding principles, which strive to combine the best practices from the Scandinavian and British education systems. Jeanette is fully committed to working collaboratively with the board and the school community to uphold these values and provide an exceptional learning environment for our children and contribute to the growth and success of the school.

  • Dr. Trevor Richards

    GOVERNOR

    Dr Trevor Richards is a fully qualified Educational Psychologist and Head of All Hallows Prep School, a 3-13 independent setting near Frome in Somerset.

    He is passionate about children’s development and emotional well-being. Before taking over the leadership of All Hallows, he was Deputy Head at the school and spent a number of years as the school’s psychologist, working with pupils to maximise their learning, happiness and development, whatever their difficulties or level of performance. He has worked with high performers, children grappling with relationships, anxiety or low self-esteem, as well as those that struggle academically.

    Away from school, he has acted as a consultant for Harlequins Rugby Foundation and the Social Mobility Business Partnership, as well as contributing to a Doctoral programme at Bristol University and teacher training courses.

  • Børge Andreassen

    GOVERNOR

    Børge is a partner and Managing Director of Prospectus, a leading global search firm focusing on the non-profit and philanthropy sectors. His experience includes building new practice areas and overseeing a wide range of board and C-suite appointments, as well as advising on leadership transitions and governance effectiveness across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and UK. From Norway. He is based in London and is one of the School's Governors.

  • Sandy Mathewson

    TRUSTEE

    Sandy is Head of Prep at The Glasgow Academy. He was Dania's second Headteacher from 2015-2017 during which managed the school's transfer to ISA. Sandy loved his time at Dania and it had a huge impact on him both personally and professionally and he remains a trustee to try and give something back.

    Sandy is also a Major in the Britsh Army (CCF) and he is Contingent Commander at his school. In his spare time he enjoys all forms of sport and walking his greyhound.

  • Erika Ewers

    PARENT GOVERNOR

    Erika Ewers is Program Manager of Operations at Open Society Foundations (OSF). Erika brings ten years of grantmaking and operational experience in social justice and human rights. Before OSF, Erika worked for large-scale institutional donors and with NGOs on the implementation side, and brings field experience from Malaysia, Israel, and Palestine. Erika holds a BA from the School of Oriental and African Studies and an MSc in Violence, Conflict, and Development from the same institution. Erika is a Swedish national based in London with two children at the school.

  • Carsten Jensen

    GOVERNOR

    Carsten is Danish born and started his working career with 10 years employment in the A.P. Moller/Maersk Group, during which he was stationed in Denmark, Saudi Arabia, India and Singapore. He came to England in 2000 and started his own business in 2001. Today he focuses on entrepreneurial business investments and is the owner and director of several companies based in the UK.

    Carsten joins the board of the London Scandinavian School as trustee/governor from September 2023. He presently lives in Orpington, Kent with his wife and daughter. Favourite pastimes include travelling, barbequing and spending good times with friends and family.

  • Steve Nye

    PARENT GOVERNOR

    Steve is the Sr Director of Customer Experience at Instructure. The company’s product, Canvas, is a Virtual Learning Environment used by higher ed and secondary schools globally, so Steve is no stranger to the world of education. He has spent over 25 years leading teams that create exceptional customer experiences, and his background can help strengthen the experience of both current and prospective parents.

    Steve is honoured to represent the parent community as the school makes decisions to ensure its long term health and its students’ success.

  • Janus Magnussen

    PARENT GOVERNOR

    Janus is a clinical project manager within the pharmaceutical industry and has much experience with education in general and personal experience as a substitute teacher in Denmark. Moreover, both his parents are teachers by education and have always been teaching in Danish primary schools, hence Janus has a deep appreciation for education's value and a nurturing learning environment's significance.

    Janus relocated to London with his wife, Amalie, primarily for work, but even more by the desire to provide Their children with an enriching cross-cultural learning experience.

    Janus is happy to be able to further develop the school's vision and to collaborate with the board and other parents in shaping the school's strategic leadership and making a tangible difference for all the children at LSS.