Our Staff

Rachel Borland

Principal

Rachel began her career as a secondary teacher in Hong Kong, having grown up and been schooled there. She quickly rose the leadership scale after working for the British Council in HK and Jordan. Rachel went on to manage a language school, a secretarial college and founded her own training company, alongside writing English textbooks for the Asian market.

After completing a MA in language and communication research Rachel worked at Bath University for a while, before securing her first headship in the independent sector in Leicestershire. Her next appointment was as Principal of a large boarding school in Nigeria, before joining the Alpha Plus group as Principal in Birmingham and then London. In London Rachel was instrumental in the design and build of a new Boarding college situated over Westminster Bridge. She then worked at a bilingual school in Shanghai, which included the opening of a primary school and SEN unit, the first of its kind in Shanghai.

Rachel is the Vice Chair of Governors of a large secondary school in Brighton as well as a governor of an infant school in Worthing. She has two adult children who both work in the education industry and lives on the south coast where she can be seen cycling on a good day.

Her special professional interests are raising educational standards and staff welfare.

Cecily English

Vice Principal

Cecily began teaching Music in 2012 after studying at Southampton University. The Masters in Education that Cecily completed in 2017 focused on how to improve teaching in small group work. Having enjoyed her first teaching role at a mainstream comprehensive secondary, her role progressed to Head of Department.

Cecily joined LVS Hassocks in the summer of 2020 with a desire to teach in SEN and since June 2021 she has been enjoying her role of Vice Principal, leading on Teaching & Learning.

Sarah Sherwood

Director of Special Educational Needs

Sarah works at both LVS Oxford and LVS Hassocks, where, with the Leadership Teams, she ensures that the schools are meeting the many and diverse needs of our pupils.

Our vision of academic achievement, employability and independent living necessitates a thorough assessment for new pupils, ensuring that the transition into LVS Hassocks is as stress free for the individual as possible, and the necessary support is available from day one.

We congratulate Sarah on achieving her Doctorate in Education at the start of 2022, and give thanks to Sarah for her dedication to her role in our schools.

LVS Hassocks is proud to be an employer that supports staff in their personal and career development.

Alice Brennan

Assistant Headteacher

Alice joined LVS Hassocks in September 2022 having spent the last decade working in large mainstream secondary schools teaching English.

Stefan Amati

Director of Studies and Outcomes

Stefan has taught in primary schools for 12 years, including schools in East London and on the South Coast. He lives in Brighton with his young family and when not at work, spends much of his time on his first love of football; he is chairman and coach for the youth section of local team Montpelier Villa FC. In his previous role, he was an Assistant Head, where he focused on improving how Maths is taught using a mastery approach. He recently completed his National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) and is now eager to use his skills to help children with special educational needs make the most of their time at LVS Hassocks.