PEOPLE & CAREERS

Damian Henderson MA (Cantab.) joined King William’s College and The Buchan School in September 2023, relocating to the Isle of Man with his wife Caroline and their three children, Chloe, Theodore and Madeleine. Damian has an impressive academic and teaching record. Following his time at Cambridge University, he joined Eton College in 2001 to teach, in his words, “the two R’s” – Russian and rugby. Damian moved to Cranleigh School in Surrey in 2010 to become Assistant Director of Studies and Head of Modern Languages and then to The Stephen Perse Foundation in Cambridge in the role of IB Coordinator. Damian has spent the last eight years as Deputy Head (Academic) at Taunton School in Somerset.

Janet grew up in Oldham in Greater Manchester and attended The Hulme Grammar School for Girls. Growing up Janet was interested in Music, Dance and Drama and was a member of the youth orchestra, theatre workshop and Hulme singers and sang with the church choir, Oldham International choir and Oldham Ladies choir under Dr Eileen Bentley. Janet was also a member of the Local Amateur Dramatics Society and appeared in a number of musicals. Janet travelled for a short time and delivered English tuition in Hong Kong. She returned to the UK to complete a teaching degree at Manchester Metropolitan University. Janet joined The Buchan School in 2002 as the Head of Pre-Prep and became Deputy Head in 2005 and Acting Head in 2016. She was appointed as Head of the Buchan in 2017. Janet enjoys spending time with her family and friends, both in the Isle of Man and in the UK, and likes to visit family members and cities around the UK.

janet.billingsley-evans@kwc.im

Mike originally hails from Bristol and went to school there. He then went on to study English Literature at Cardiff University. He embarked on his PGCE at the University of the West of England two years after graduating. In the same year, he met his Manx wife Ella and made his firs trip to the Isle of Man. After five years of teaching in the state sector just outside Bristol, in 2004 Mike took an English teaching position at Tanglin Trust School, a British International school in Singapore. The plan was to spend two to four years in Singapore, but Mike became Head of English after three years and settled into life in the tropics. Tanglin was an exciting place to be, with the number on roll more than doubling over the period of seven years, and in 2010, the school introduced the IB Diploma to run alongside A Levels. He joined Tanglin’s Senior Leadership Team in 2014 and has since fulfilled a range of academic roles. Most recently, he was Head of Upper School, looking after the academic, co-curricular and pastoral programme for the 400 students in Years 10 and 11. Outside of education, Mike loves to cook, enjoys sport and unwinds by reading and writing. He also loves music and has sung and played guitar in a number of choirs and bands over the years.

mike.roberts@kwc.im

As Deputy Head Pastoral, Stuart’s main concern is the oversight of the welfare of all students at the College. Stuart joined the School in January 2017, having previously worked at Rossall School in Lancashire, where he was a boarding housemaster for 15 years, Assistant Director of Music and a Mathematics teacher. However, Stuart is no stranger to the Isle of Man and has visited numerous times to play the organ in various venues around the Island. Stuart spent his early life in Lancaster and was lucky enough to be encouraged to take advantage of the considerable musical opportunities there, eventually settling on learning to play the organ. Whilst at Lancaster Royal Grammar School, he was a recital prize winner at the Oundle International Organ Festival and was a finalist in the National Young Organist of the Year competition, held at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. Stuart went on to read music at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, University of London where he was appointed organ scholar, studying with Prof Lionel Pike, Roger Judd and Jeremy Filsell. He also held the post of organist at Windsor Parish Church. His accomplishments garnered him a scholarship to study at Tulane University in New Orleans in the US. Studying with Wieslaw Rentowski, he also sang in the Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral Choir and was honoured to perform in their recital series. Stuart went on to hold positions at Chelmsford Cathedral and Felsted School. He is much in demand as a recitalist and accompanist and has performed in France, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Malta, Portugal, USA and Bermuda, in addition to his UK commitments. Stuart is always willing to meet with students and parents.

stuart.corrie@kwc.im 

Moira is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. Prior to moving into the Independent School sector, Moira gained over 20 years management experience in varying organisations including wholesale and retail companies, managing large teams within periods of significant growth. Moira’s most recent commercial position was Finance Director for an importer and wholesaler of branded goods operating across the UK and Western Europe. As Head of Finance, Bursar and Clerk to the Governors at Kilgraston School in Perthshire, Scotland from August 2019, Moira guided the School through the challenges of a global pandemic. Married with one teenage daughter, her interests include dancing (Scottish Highland, Ballet and Tap), walking and reading. Moira also formerly played drums with Tayside Police and Dysart and Dundonald Pipebands in Scotland.

bursar@kwc.im

As King William’s College and The Buchan School’s Head of External Relations, Kara manages the marketing, pupil recruitment and admissions, development and alumni relations. This is a wide-ranging remit, but ties together all aspects of the School’s communication and relationships with students, alumni, parents, Governors and Trustees and the wider community. Kara works to build on the School’s existing legacy, developing strategy that will keep the School at the forefront of independent education. Educated at Castle Rushen High School in the Isle of Man, Kara went on to read Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire. A Chartered Marketer, Kara joined the School in 2016 and has extensive marketing and PR experience, having previously worked as the Group Marketing Manager for an international fiduciary services provider, an Account Manager for a leading Isle of Man marketing, PR and advertising agency and as a Senior Reporter at Isle of Man Newspapers.

kara.clague@kwc.im