Meet the Team 

Matt Brown – Head of Geography

Following his Geology degree from Royal Holloway, Matt has worked in Oxfordshire as a Geography Teacher / Head of department for 25 years and has recently completed a Masters I Educational Leadership   Despite an academic interest in physical geography he has a strong passion for social justice issues, shaped in large part by having grown up in one of the most deprived areas of England. This interest has led to Matt contributing to The New Internationalist Textbook on World Development , setting up the school’s student action group.

Kerri Knibbs

Having a really inspirational Geography teacher for her A ‘Levels encouraged her to select Geography at University. She went to Staffordshire where she was able to combine Geography with Geology (and Biology in the first year). The great advantage of this university was the number of fieldtrips they went on. Being located so close to the Peak District meant they were always “popping” out on the mini bus to get data and seeing Geography in Action. They also went further afield to Devon, Isle of Skye and a week studying Tunisia.

During her second year at University she knew that she wanted to be a teacher and she absolutely loves her subject and her job: it is a true vocation. Although she doesn’t specialise in either human or physical Geography, as both are amazing, she has a geeky love of tectonics and weather. She will happily talk about weather patterns for ever. She wants all of her students to see the links between what we study and their everyday life. geography, really is all around us.

She also cares passionately about developing and training the next generation of Geography teachers resulting in secondments to the University of Oxford’s PGCE programme as a Curriculum Tutor. Her work in this field has been highly acknowledged where she was awarded an Honorary Norham Fellowship in 2021.

Amie Withers

Amie grew up in rural Ireland, where her love of physical geography was sparked. Her surroundings made her ever-more curious about the world around her, leading her to choose geography at GCSE, A-Level and University. She knew around the age of 17 that she wanted to be a teacher. She moved back to the UK after secondary school and spent three years studying geography at the University of Northampton where she achieved a first class honours degree. The three years at university helped Amie to explore and deepen her love of geography covering topics such as environmental science, earth science, weather and climate, children’s geography’s and sustainability.

Amie truly loves her job and is incredibly passionate about geography and will happily sit and talk about anything geographical for hours. She feels her everyday purpose is to help pupils see the connections of everything around us through the study of geography.

Rachel Roberts

During secondary school Rachel quickly discovered geography was her favourite subject; enjoying being able to understand and explain the processes which shaped the landscapes of Dartmoor National Park where she had grown up.

Rachel graduated with a BSc(Hons) degree in geography from the University of Southampton in 2018 and enjoyed it so much that she stayed to study for a Master’s degree in Environmental Science the following year. Wanting to teach others and share her love for the subject, Rachel then undertook a PGCE at the university of Oxford.

Rachel is passionate about sharing her love for anything geographical and is especially keen to highlight to students the range of skills which geography helps to develop.