Staff Profiles
Year 3 – Year 4
At St Christopher’s, our dedicated and well-qualified team of staff put your children at the heart of everything we do.
Year 3 – Year 4
Rebecca Allan
Year 3 RA
Maths Leader
Becca is from York, a historic town in the north of England. She studied at York St John University for three years and qualified in 2012 with a BA (Hons) in Primary Education with QTS. From there she took a teaching post at a village school in Harrogate and worked there as a class teacher and as part of the senior leadership team for eight years. She has worked at SCIPS for the past three years in Year 5 and is now enjoying being part of the Year 3 team. Becca has enjoyed travelling all over South East Asia over the past three years and loves nothing more than being by the ocean, whether it’s reading on the beach, kayaking or snorkelling.
Hazel Garbes
Year 3 HG
Hazel is from Kaikōura, a small coastal town in the South Island of New Zealand. She moved to the city of Christchurch in 2015 to attend the University of Canterbury where she attained a Bachelor of Teaching and Learning (primary). Since graduating, Hazel has taught at St Anne’s Catholic School. Over her 6 and a half years at St Anne’s, she taught students from 6-13 years of age.
Hazel is passionate about all things learning and is looking forward to experiencing how SCIPs does play! Hazel is an avid reader and a keen nature enthusiast. She spends her summers camping, fishing and exploring the outdoors. This year, Hazel spent two months travelling throughout Europe; exploring National Parks, heritage sites and vibrant cities. She is very excited to start her next chapter in Penang, teaching at SCIPs and exploring South East Asia and the treasures it provides.
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Samuel Blythe
Year 3 SB
Sam has been teaching for ten years and is coming to SCIPS from Bristol in the UK. He qualified at the University of Worcester and has taught in the UK, Qatar and Egypt. With in those schools, he has led history, PSHE, on-line learning and Assessment.
Sam is moving to SCIPS with his wife Francesca, who will also be teaching at the school, their 5 year old son, who will be attending the school, and his 2 year old son who will be joining next year. He is mostly looking forward to getting to know the other teachers and families of the school and forming lifelong friendships within the Community.
Travel and adventure are how Sam likes to spend his free time and he is hoping to explore Malaysia extensively, as well as use it as a hub to visit lots of other places in Southeast Asia. He would most like to see Orangutans in Borneo and Komodo Dragons in Indonesia.
Jordan Brown
Year 4 JB
Jordan is originally from the UK and possesses a bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge. During his undergraduate study, he specialised in the Biological Sciences with a specific focus on Biochemistry. He qualified as a teacher through the Institute of Education, achieving distinctions on his research projects and dissertations written in the field of Primary Education. Prior to his arrival at SCIPS, he taught at Epsom College in Malaysia and NLCS Jeju, where he helped invigorate the school’s extracurricular opportunities and develop their Science curriculum.. Outside of school, Jordan enjoys cycling, running and baking. He is particularly fond of the warm, welcoming culture in Malaysia, as well as the endless amounts of delicious food! He looks forward to living in Penang and joining the community at SCIPS.
Sarah van Dillen
Year 4 SV
Sarah is from the capital city of Aotearoa New Zealand, Wellington and has been teaching for three years. This will be her first full year teaching at SCIPS. Sarah studied at the University of Auckland gaining a Bachelor of Education specialising in Primary. Between leaving teaching in New Zealand and arriving in Malaysia, Sarah travelled for a year around Europe visiting family in the Netherlands, being an au pair in London and visiting multiple countries and historic sites.
In her spare time, Sarah enjoys reading, swimming, baking and travelling. She has enjoyed her first six months in her teaching role and has loved exploring her new home of Penang. Sarah is very happy to welcome her Year 4 class and she looks forward to an exciting year ahead.
Francesca Blythe
Year 4 FB
Francesca has been teaching for over 12 years and is making the move to Penang from Bristol – a wonderful city in the Southwest of England. She studied at the University of the West of England and earned a BA (Hons) in Primary Education. When first qualifying Francesca taught for two years, before taking a year out to travel and volunteer in India. On her return, she taught for a further 3 years in North Somerset, before deciding the take the plunge and follow her dreams to teach internationally with her husband, moving to Qatar and then Egypt.
Francesca is passionate about creating a warm and nurturing environment in her classroom and helping pupils to become resilient life-long learners.
Francesca loves spending time in the great outdoors, doing yoga and cooking. Francesca is married to Sam, also a teacher at SCIPS, and she has two sons – Nathan and Jacob and a wonderful dog – Ralf. She loves travelling and exploring the world and cannot wait to join the wonderful community of SCIPS.