New Staff Members at St Julian's

It is with great pleasure that we welcome new staff members to St. Julian's Schol. We wish them the very best.

Welcome to our community!

LEADERSHIP TEAM 

Paul Slocombe
Interim Head
Paul is British and joins St Julian’s as our new Interim Head, having relocated to Portugal from California, the US. Paul is a very experienced educationist and has had an extensive and distinguished career in teaching and school leadership positions in England, Eastern Europe and the United States. Paul has spent the last 30 years as Head or Deputy Head leading five different schools in three different countries. Paul’s most recent leadership role was as Director of the American School of Budapest for 6 years. Paul has a BA (Hons), Double Major in Chemistry and Educational Psychology and a Master of Science in Chemistry and Science Education, both qualifications obtained from the University of Warwick.


Adela Metaxa
Bursar and Director of Operations & Finance
Adela is passionate about education and has been employed for the past four years as the CFO and Deputy Head of School for Business and Operations at the Swiss International School in Qatar. With a background in Finance and Economics, Adela pursued her post-graduate studies in France and in her native Romania and worked in finance and banking before embracing a role in education. Adela will be relocating to Portugal with her family and is excited at the prospect of returning to Europe and joining a school with a long and strong heritage and quality education.

STUDENT SUPPORT TEAM

Mariana Mangerão
Counsellor 
Mariana is Portuguese and is joining St Julian’s Student Support Services Team as a Counsellor. Mariana has collaborated with St Julian’s as a part-time Psychologist for the last 5 years and has over 9 years’ experience working in schools with students aged 3-18, and 13 years’ experience as a clinical psychologist in private settings, working with teenagers and adults. Mariana has a BA in Psychology from the University of Porto and an Executive Masters in Applied Positive Psychology from ISCSP, University of Lisbon. 

SECONDARY

Sian Coughlin
English Teacher
Sian is British and joins the Secondary section’s English department. Sian has 9 years of teaching experience across schools in the UK and Asia and joins St Julian’s from the British International School of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam where, in addition to teaching English, Sian was responsible for both Extended Essay and MUN coordination. Sian has a BA in English Literature from the University of Cardiff and a PGCE in Secondary English from the University of Bristol. 

Szofia Dialkova
German Teacher (maternity cover)
Sophie is Austrian and joins the Secondary section’s German department and Modern Foreign Languages faculty (maternity cover). Sophie has 8 years of teaching experience across schools in the UK and Dubai, in addition to being an experienced Yoga teacher. Sophie holds a Magistra Philosophiae (MA/ BA Hons) in Translation English / Hungarian from Karl-Franzens University of Graz, Austria.

Catarina Lopes
Science Technician
Catarina is Portuguese and joins the Secondary section’s Science as Lab Technician. Catarina has a BSc in Genetics and Biotechnology, and an MSc in Molecular Genetics and Biomedicine. With a strong research background in Molecular Biology and experience in addressing science practical classes, she joins St. Julian’s from PaRK International School in Lisbon where she worked as a lab technician and also as a lab manager. There she created and equipped all of the school’s laboratories, established the school’s science health and safety policy, planned exciting experiments and excelled in creative science. Catarina is looking forward to meeting students in the labs.

Ellena Netcher
Science Teacher and University Advisor
Elle is British and joins the Secondary section’s Science and Student Futures teams. Elle has 12 years of teaching experience in the UK and in Asia and joins St Julian’s from Garden International School in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where she was the Head of Coordinated Science and Higher Education & Careers Coordinator. Elle has a BSc (Hons) in Psychology from the University of the West of England, Bristol, and a PGCE in Physics plus a PGCE in Secondary Science from Nottingham Trent University, in addition to an NPQ for Middle Leadership from UCL. 

Keith Netcher
Chemistry Teacher
Keith is British and joins the Secondary section’s Chemistry department and Science faculty. Keith has 18 years of teaching and faculty leadership experience in the UK and in Asia and joins St Julian’s with his wife Ellena from Garden International School in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he was the Head of Chemistry. Keith has a BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Science and a PGCE in Secondary Education from Nottingham Trent University.

PRIMARY 

Alex Marlor 
Year 3 Class Teacher
Alex is British and joins the Primary section’s Year 3 team. Alex has 7 years of teaching experience across schools in the UK and in Asia and joins St Julian’s from the British International School of Kuala Lumpur, where he taught the English National Curriculum to Years 3 and 4. Alex has a BA (Hons) in Sociology from the University of Liverpool and a PGCE in Primary Education with QTS from the University of Cumbria. 

Katie O’Donnell
Year 6 Class Teacher
Katie is British and joins the Primary section’s Year 6 team. Katie has 8 years of teaching experience across schools in the UK and Asia and joins St Julian’s from the British International School of Kuala Lumpur, where she taught the English National Curriculum to Years 5 and 6. Katie has a BA (Hons) in Primary Education with QTS from Manchester Metropolitan University.

Liz Bruce-Lomba
Primary TA
Liz has dual British-Portuguese nationality and joins the Primary section as a Classroom Assistant. Liz has 2 years’ educational experience and prior to this 20+ years’ experience working as a general practitioner both in Portugal (for the SNS) and in the UK (for the NHS). Liz joins St Julian’s from local international school OIS, where she worked as a Substitute Teacher and Teaching Assistant. Liz obtained her PGCEi, focusing on Primary Education, from the University of Nottingham.

SUPPORT STAFF

Nina Costa
Primary School Administrative Assistant
Nina is half Portuguese, half Chilean and was born in the United States. She joins us again in the Primary office after working in St Julian's School from 2016 to 2020. Nina attended an international school in Portugal and completed her Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Public Relations from the European University in Barcelona.

Sandra Oliveira
School Life Assistant
Sandra hails from São Sebastião, Setúbal and joins us as part of the School Life Team. Sandra has experience in Business Administration. Her professional career has been very diverse and multicultural, and she has spent the last ten years working abroad at sea in the cruise ship industry. Sandra has had the opportunity to visit over 30 countries worldwide.

Antónia Paiva
Chefe dos Serviços Administrativos, Secção Portuguesa
Antónia was born in Cape Verde and is joining the Portuguese Section. She has a background in Humanities and education in Multimedia Development products. She has worked as a translator, project manager and as director’s secretary for several years.

Paula Santos
School Life Assistant
Paula is from Portugal and joins the School Life Team. She has a degree in history from the NOVA University of Lisbon with a diploma in secondary school education.  As a member of the St. Julian´s Auxiliary Team, she has worked as a cover teacher and exam invigilator for the last two years.  Paula has nine years of office management and administrative experience at the Embassy of Portugal in Tokyo, in addition to ten years of experience as a Portuguese history and language teacher in Japanese universities and history teacher in Portugal.