Ms Marina Elwes, 1W Class Teacher and Year 1 Leader
Marina graduated from the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, with a BSc (Hons) in International Business Management. She initially moved to London to manage an office for an estate agency.
Having had an interest in teaching since her gap year when she taught at a school in Uganda, Marina moved to Hampshire, UK, to work as a Residential Boarding Tutor and Sports Coach at Highfield and Brookham School. Today, Marina still enjoys coaching sport where possible and is currently playing for a netball team in Hong Kong.
In 2018, Marina completed her PGCE at Exeter University with a specialism in Primary Science. She then moved to Winchester, working at Bishop’s Waltham Junior School, where she taught Year 4 and took up the positions of Geography Curriculum Coordinator and Education Visits Coordinator. Marina moved to Harrow International School Hong Kong in 2020 and taught in Year 2 for two years before moving to lead Year 1. She has a particular interest in nature and animals and is now leading the first Lower School horse riding CCA.
Mrs Hannah Russell, 2W Class Teacher and Year 2 Leader
Hannah graduated from Edge Hill University with a BA (Hons) with QTS in English before starting her teaching career in Suffolk where she was an upper Key Stage 2 teacher for 6 years. She led Science across the school and the British Council Connecting Classrooms programme. As part of this, she led the school through two successful teacher exchanges with a school in Ethiopia.
In 2015, Hannah moved to Dubai where she taught as a Lower Key Stage 2 teacher for 3 years. She went on to join the teaching and learning team where she developed her leadership skills and developed responsive planning strategies and child-led teaching approaches across the Primary School.
Hannah joined Harrow International School in 2018 as Year 3 Leader and teacher with a passion for ensuring learning is accessed by all whilst setting high expectations to ensure quality outcomes. She has a particular interest in the power of verbal feedback, English and promoting regular reading.
Ms Hannah Davies, 3W Class Teacher and Year 3 Leader
Mr Theo De Vies, 4W Class Teacher and Year 4 Leader
Mr De Vies has worked at Harrow Hong Kong since August 2016 and has held a number of leadership positions within the lower school.
Mr De Vies graduated from the University of Leicester with a BA (Hons) degree in English Literature & History in 2010. He then moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he worked as a Lower School Teaching Assistant at the British School of Kuala Lumpur. Mr De Vies completed his PGCE at Nottingham Trent University and then worked at Derby High School for three years before moving to Hong Kong.
Mr De Vies is a keen sportsman and has enjoyed being part of rugby and football teams while in Hong Kong. He captained the University of Leicester First XV rugby team and also enjoys playing squash in his spare time. While in Hong Kong, Mr De Vies has enjoyed travelling around Asia and the rest of the world yet he still loves visiting his family in Sunderland and Loughborough whenever he has the chance.
Mr De Vies lives in one of Harrow’s Prep School boarding houses (Nightingale House) with his wife who is in her third year as House Mistress.
Ms Lauren Pitt, 5W Class Teacher and Year 5 Leader
Ms Pitt has worked at Harrow Hong Kong since August 2021, where she is a Year 5 class teacher and Year Leader.
Ms Pitt graduated from Bath Spa University with a BSc (Hons) degree in Geography in 2016. During her degree, Ms Pitt spent time in Northern India exploring the education infrastructure in small mountain communities. Shortly after graduating, Ms Pitt completed her PGCE at Bath Spa University and completed her training in Dorset Primary Schools.
In 2018, Ms Pitt moved to London where she taught Year 4 and Year 6 classes whilst taking up the position of Science Curriculum Coordinator. She lived in London for three years before relocating to Hong Kong.
Ms Pitt enjoys travelling during the holidays and is always eager to experience new cultures along the way. Whilst travel is one of her passions, her family home in the Dorset countryside is always top of her list to visit. Ms Pitt is particularly passionate about the transition between the Lower School and the Upper School and remains excited about the development of leadership opportunities for the Y5 pupils.