| Name | Ben Bentley |
| Role | Head of Maths |
| Subjects taught | Mathematics KS3 – KS5 |
| Qualifications | BSc, PGCE, NPQSL |
| Years teaching | 16 years |
| Years at Yavneh College | 15 years |
| About me:
I teach Maths and like my classroom to be structured, purposeful and, importantly, fun. I use humour to build positive relationships with pupils, while also encouraging them to challenge themselves and explore ideas in more depth. My aim is to give pupils the tools and confidence they need to tackle problems independently and enjoy the process of figuring things out. I’ve always enjoyed Maths, from school through to university, and I still get a real buzz from spending 5–10 minutes working through a tricky problem and finally getting the answer right. I try to bring that same enjoyment, curiosity and sense of challenge into my classroom. I love that teaching gives me the chance to make a real difference to pupils’ lives, helping them become more confident, more capable, and a little more comfortable with Maths – even when algebra starts asking them to find x, despite x having done nothing wrong. |
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| Name | Natasha Gonella |
| Role | Head of English and Drama faculty |
| Subjects taught | English to KS5 |
| Qualifications | BA in English from Goldsmiths, PGCE / QTS Goldsmiths, NPQ in Leading Teaching Development |
| Years teaching | 21 years |
| Years at Yavneh College | 8 years |
| About me:
I am Head of English and Drama, with a particular interest in reading, literacy and the power of language to shape how we understand ourselves and the world around us. My approach is warm and inclusive, but rooted in high expectations: I want every pupil to feel known, supported and capable of achieving more than they might initially believe. I am particularly interested in creating classrooms where pupils can think deeply, take intellectual risks and develop a genuine sense of curiosity. I am also a firm believer that English lessons should contain both intellectual challenge and a little bit of joy. Alongside teaching and curriculum leadership, I am passionate about developing teachers, sharing effective practice and building a culture in which professional learning is purposeful, collaborative and rooted in what makes the greatest difference to pupils. I was drawn to English because I have always believed in the power of stories: to take us beyond our own experience, to make us feel understood, to challenge what we think we know and to give a voice to people whose stories might otherwise go unheard. I still love the moment when a story changes the way a pupil sees a person, an idea, or themselves. |
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| Name | Benjamin Gordon |
| Role | Head of Jewish Studies |
| Subjects taught | Jewish History and Limudei Kodesh in KS3, Religious Studies iGCSE in KS4, Religious Studies OCR A Level |
| Qualifications | BA (Hons) International Studies, QTS, TLDW, NPQSL |
| Years teaching | 12 years |
| Years at Yavneh College | 12 years |
| About me:
I am Head of Jewish Studies at Yavneh College, where I teach Jewish History and Limudei Kodesh across Key Stage 3, Religious Studies iGCSE in Key Stage 4, and OCR Religious Studies at A Level. Having also served as a Head of Year, I have always viewed education as extending beyond academic achievement. During my university years, I worked as a Youth Director and was actively involved in Jewish youth movements, experiences that shaped my passion for supporting young people. My purpose in teaching is to help every student fulfil their potential and to serve as a positive role model, demonstrating that a committed Jewish life can thrive alongside engagement with the modern world. What excites me most about education is empowering young people to fulfil their potential while developing the confidence to lead meaningful and proudly Jewish lives. |
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| Name | Sian Tappenden |
| Role | Head of Science |
| Subjects taught | KS3 – All Science, KS4 – All Science, KS5 – Physics |
| Qualifications | Bsc (Hon) Forensic Science – Specialising in Forensic Physics, PGCE – Secondary Science |
| Years teaching | 14 years |
| Years at Yavneh College | 8 years |
| About me:
I am Head of Science at Yavneh College and teach from Key Stage 3 to A Level. I studied Forensic Science at university because it spanned all three sciences and I genuinely could not choose between them; Physics eventually won. Outside the classroom I run the Engineering Club, and the analytical thinking that underpins engineering is never far from my Physics lessons either. Science changes every day, and that sense of discovery has never left me. I still get genuinely excited about new findings and about what happens when an experiment doesn’t go quite as planned, because that is exactly what science is: not a fixed body of knowledge to be memorised, but a living, evolving process of asking questions. That is what I try to bring into every lesson. |
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| Name | Sophie Fernandes |
| Role | Head of Modern Foreign Languages (French, Ivrit and Spanish) |
| Subjects taught | French and Spanish KS3 and KS4 |
| Qualifications | PGCE in French and Spanish- University of Sheffield, Maîtrise d’Ingénieur-Maître in Business Management (France), BSc (Hons) in Psychology – Open University, Specialist Leader of Education (SLE) – DfES |
| Years teaching | 25 years |
| Years at Yavneh College | 6 years |
| About me:
I lead Modern Foreign Languages at Yavneh, overseeing French, Spanish and Ivrit, and I teach French and Spanish from Year 7 to GCSE. In 25 years of teaching, I have never stopped believing that learning a language is life-changing: it gives pupils a new way of seeing the world and the confidence to connect with others. In both my previous schools, I secured Language College status/funding, and an EU grant for a project linking my school with schools in France and Germany. I have organised many trips and exchanges, from Normandy to China and Mozambique, and now run our Year 10 exchanges with Jewish schools in Paris and Madrid. Nothing beats the moment when a pupil realises they can hold a real conversation in another language, and it still thrills me every time. |
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| Name | Alex Dobrik |
| Role | Head of Humanities |
| Subjects taught | History from KS3-KS5 |
| Qualifications | BA (Hons) in History, Masters in Modern History, PGCE in History, NPQLT |
| Years teaching | 12 years |
| Years at Yavneh College | 11 years |
| About me:
I teach History from Key Stages 3 to 5. What I love about History are the human stories that lie at the heart of every period and topic in History and how it gives us an insight into the strange and foreign land that is the past. I always aim to introduce the human element into my lessons, to remind pupils that every person they study felt hope and fear and joy as they do; to show how History is always very much alive. After twelve years in the classroom, I have never once been bored in a lesson; there is nobody quite as inventively creative as a teenager. |
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| Name | Andrew Layton |
| Role | Head of PE |
| Subjects taught | CORE PE, GCSE PE, BTEC Sport |
| Qualifications | (BA) Physical Education with QTS (University of Brighton), NPQLT |
| Years teaching | 10 years |
| Years at Yavneh College | 10 years |
| About me:
I lead the PE department and teach pupils from Year 7 to Year 12. My coaching journey began at fourteen, when I took charge of a Sunday league football team, and continued through delivering sports camps during the school holidays. Since joining Yavneh, I have run teams across football, badminton, tennis and athletics, among others, and have led a district football representative squad for a number of years. In lessons, I aim to challenge the misconception that PE is simply about physical performance in a single sport. The subject encompasses a broad range of activities that develop physical ability, mental resilience and social skills in equal measure. PE gives pupils the opportunity to develop physical, mental and social skills that extend far beyond the lesson – attributes they carry into every area of their lives. It also reinforces one of the most important lessons a school can teach: the value of living a healthy and active life. |
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| Name | Emily Linton |
| Role | Head of Creative Arts |
| Subjects taught | Art and Photography all key stages |
| Qualifications | Degree in Visual Communications PGCE in Art and Design |
| Years teaching | 25 years |
| Years at Yavneh College | 10 years |
| About me:
I lead Art and Design, Photography and Music at Yavneh College, with my main focus being the teaching of Art. Creativity is at the heart of everything I do. I love inspiring students to look more closely at the world around them, to experiment with ideas and materials, and to develop their own creative voices. Most importantly, I want every student to have the opportunity to create artwork they feel genuinely proud of. One of my favourite times of the year is our annual Art Exhibition. Seeing students proudly share their work with their families and friends is incredibly rewarding. It is a wonderful celebration of their creativity, hard work and individuality and a reminder of just how much young people can achieve when they are encouraged to express themselves. |
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| Name | Sarah Max |
| Role | Director of Informal Jewish Education and Projects for the Yavneh Schools |
| Subjects taught | Informal Jewish Education |
| Qualifications | BA (Hons) Human Resource Management |
| Years teaching | 20 years |
| Years at Yavneh College | 17 years |
| About me:
I am the Director of Informal Jewish Education and Projects for the Yavneh Schools, working across both Yavneh College and Yavneh Primary School. I love finding creative and exciting ways to bring Judaism to life and help our pupils develop a strong, positive connection to their Jewish identity. I want every pupil to leave Yavneh feeling proud to be Jewish, confident in who they are and excited to continue their Jewish journey. After 17 years at Yavneh, I am lucky to be involved in many aspects of school life, from IJE programmes, fundraising, running our social media and creating events and experiences that bring our community together. I particularly enjoy coming up with new ideas that engage pupils and create memories that stay with them. At the heart of everything I do is our school motto, Olam Chessed Yibaneh — building a world through kindness and community. |
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| Name | Kay Smyth |
| Role | Head of Business |
| Subjects taught | Business and Economics from year 9 to 13. |
| Qualifications | BA in Business and Marketing |
| Years teaching | Going into my 7th year |
| Years at Yavneh College | 7 years |
| About me:
Before teaching, I spent over ten years in industry, working in retail head offices and then running my own business, and I still draw on that experience when we unpick a pricing strategy or a supply chain problem fresh from the news. What I love most is getting to know my students and being part of their drive to succeed, whatever that looks like for them: stepping into industry, starting their own business, or simply working out how the world of work actually operates. After more than a decade in business, there is nothing better than the moment a student realises they genuinely understand how the real world works. |
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| Name | Adam Bronsteein |
| Role | Head of Computer Science |
| Subjects taught | Computer Science to all year groups, KS3 maths |
| Qualifications | MEng Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence (University of Southampton), PGCE (UCL) |
| Years teaching | 9 years |
| Years at Yavneh College | 8 years |
| About me:
I lead Computer Science at Yavneh, teaching across Key Stage 3 to A Level. I studied computer science because I was excited to learn about how technology works. I was first inspired by Alan Turing’s research into artificial intelligence, he asked about whether computers could think, long before the technology for AI even existed. I try to use my passion for the subject, and information about famous computer scientists to help inspire my students. I love the part of a lesson where I see that spark moment, when something finally clicks in a student’s brain. In computing, the idea of having to fail to succeed is so important. |
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| Name | Matan Aderet |
| Role | Head of Design and Food Technology |
| Subjects taught | Design and Technology KS 3-4, Ivrit KS5 |
| Qualifications | MA, BA, PGCE (INT equivalent) |
| Years teaching | 16 years |
| Years at Yavneh College | 4 years |
| About me:
I am Head of Design and Food Technologies. I am an alumnus of the Education and Teacher Training Honours programme at Tel Aviv University, with experience in teacher training and pedagogical leadership. Working alongside excellent educators internationally, I have come to see learning as a fine balance of rigour, curiosity and joy – and nowhere is that balance more visible than in a Design classroom, where an idea moves from a sketch to a prototype to a finished object you can hold in your hands. For me, the classroom is a place of making sense of the world around us: in Design and Food Technologies, the curriculum is the instrument through which pupils learn not just to see that world differently, but to shape it and to ask what could be better – then to build it. There is no greater privilege in this job than watching a student make something they are truly proud of – something that has meaning for them and value for the people around them. |
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