Our staff at ELC Brighton

Anna Constantopoulou MA TESOL Teacher

Anna joined ELC Brighton in 2021 and became a permanent member of the acdemic team in 2023. Before becoming a teacher of English, Anna worked in a variety of managment roles for more than 13 years.

Debbie Collins Dip TEFL Teacher

Debbie first taught for ELC Brighton in 1999 and became a permanent member of the teaching team in 2023. She has around 30 years' experience of teaching English in the UK, France and Thailand. She has been an examiner for IELTS and Trinity GESE exams.

Jan Aram MA (TEFL) Teacher

Jan first started teaching for ELC Brighton in 2017 and became a permanent member of the academic team in 2023. Jan has more than 40 years' experience in ELT as a teacher, teacher trainer, director of studies and principal. Jan has worked in Spain, Italy and the UK.

Dr Juliet Attwater PhD, MA, BA (Hons), Dip TESOL Teacher

Juliet first taught for ELC Brighton in 2019 and became a permanent member of the teaching team in 2023. She has more than 25 years' experience of teaching English. Juliet lived in Brazil for many years, is fluent in Brazilian Portuguese and has a PhD in Translation Studies and Literary Theory.

Kandy Ackland MA (ELT), BA (Hons) Assistant Academic Manager

Kandy became Assistant Academic Manager at ELC Brighton in March 2023 and first taught for ELC in 2017. She has taught on a wide range of ELC courses including general English, business and teacher development courses. She has also worked in Spain and the UAE. Before joining ELC, Kandy ran her own photography business.

Matthew Devere BA (Hons), DTEFLA, Cert IBET Head of Business English

Matthew joined ELC in 2010. He has been teaching English for more than 20 years, in Barcelona and in the UK, and in most of that time has specialised in teaching Business English. He has a degree in economics and prior to becoming a teacher he worked for the Inland Revenue and Mobil Gas for 10 years. Matthew speaks very good Spanish and some Catalan. In his spare time he enjoys DIY and gardening, playing the guitar and spending time with his children.

Simon Cummings MA, DELTA Assistant Academic Manager

Simon has been teaching English since 1996 before which he worked as an accountant for twelve years. Since becoming a teacher he has worked in Croatia, Thailand, Spain and the United Arab Emirates. He teaches on general English, business courses and specialises in IELTS and has been an examiner for six years. When not working Simon likes nothing more than to relax with a book, listen to music or watch a film.

Stuart Leopold DELTA Teacher

Stuart first worked for ELC in 2013 and became a permanent member of staff in 2023. Stuart has more than 20 years' experience teaching English in Spain, Japan and the UK. He has also done consultancy work for Cambridge Assessment and MacMillan Education.

Alessia Maugeri BA (Hons) Administration Assistant

Alessia is based at reception and helps students with any questions they have about the school. Alessia joined ELC in April 2022. She is originally from Italy and did a degree at the University of Sussex. She speaks fluent English, Italian, Spanish and French.

Ali Passmore MA, BA Operations Manager

Ali is Operations Manager at ELC Brighton. She joined ELC in 2010 and worked in the accommodation department until 2022 as Head of Accommodation and Welfare. Ali is originally from Johannesburg but studied in the US for 3 years before coming to live in England in 1999. Before joining ELC she worked for a school in London. She loves travelling and playing squash.

Fergus Kavanagh BA (Hons), Cert TESOL Social Activities Organiser

Fergus is responsible for the social programme at ELC Brighton. He joined us in 2017 having worked previously as a teacher of English to speakers of other languages in the UK and abroad. Before joining ELC he worked for a school in Canterbury, Kent. In his free time he enjoys travelling and going on long walks in the countryside.

Karen Hoyle Accommodation & Welfare Officer

Karen joined ELC in February 2022, having worked in a similar role for another language school in Brighton for nearly 20 years.

Laura Gascoyne BSc (Hons), MAAT Accounts Assistant

Laura works in the accounts department at ELC, helping Sam with the day-to-day financial control of the 3 schools. She joined ELC in 2020, having previously worked in accounts roles for companies in Brighton and Eastbourne. She speaks French and loves travelling.

Mita Ghelani Assistant Accommodation & Welfare Officer

Mita supports Karen in the Accommodation & Welfare department. She joined ELC in February 2023 having previously worked in the accommodation departments of other language schools in Brighton. Mita has more than 20 years’ experience in customer service.

Sam Woods ACMA, CGMA, FMAAT Group Finance Manager

Sam oversees the Accounts Department for the 3 schools. He joined ELC in 2015 following a number of Accounts and Sales roles. Sam studied for a Higher Diploma in Modern Music at Brighton Institute of Modern Music and has kept up his love of drumming ever since. He is also a keen photographer and cyclist.

Jess Fynn BA (Hons), DELTA Academic Manager

Jess is the Academic Manager at ELC Brighton and is responsible for all aspects of the academic provision at the school. She first started to work for ELC in 2014 as a teacher having previously been Academic Manager at other language schools in the area. She has more than 20 years’ experience in ELT. Jess studied in Spain so is a fluent Spanish speaker and worked in Mexico, Italy and Rwanda.

Phil Hopkins MA (TESOL), BSc (Hons), DTEFLA Chief Executive

Phil has overall responsibility for the charity and the 3 schools it operates in Brighton, Chester and Eastbourne. Day-to-day he is primarily responsible for strategic direction, administration and marketing. He is also the designated Child Protection Officer in Brighton. Phil joined ELC in 2001. He has over 35 years' experience in ELT, as a Principal, director of studies, teacher trainer (CELTA and DELTA) and teacher in the UK, Greece, Spain and Kuwait. Phil speaks French, Spanish and some Greek.