WoLLoW Trustees

Modern Foreign Languages specialist, Norwich School & Co-Founder of WoLLoW

Abigail Dean is a teacher of French and German at Norwich School. She studied Politics and German at the University of East Anglia. She is an active contributor to the course content and resources on this site.

“Lessons are fun, accessible and enjoyable for all pupils regardless of their language, linguistic or literary ability. They are engaging and spark curiosity and a conversation. Teaching WoLLoW is the best part of my week.”

Head of Modern Languages and Director of Partnerships, Cheadle Hulme School

A Spanish specialist, he is also Partnerships Lead for The Independent Schools’ Modern Languages Association. Outside of teaching, John is co-founder of a charity, Cricket Beyond Boundaries, and loves dividing his time between this, his family and rugby (both codes).

John Claughton went to school at King Edward’s School, Birmingham and from there went to Merton College, Oxford, where he gained a Double First in Classics, and four cricket Blues. He taught at Eton College for 17 years, was head of Solihull School (2001-2005) and then returned to his old school as Chief Master from 2006 to 2012. In 2016 he was given the lifetime achievement award at the TES Independent Schools Awards and won the Tatler Independent Head of the Year. In his dotage, he has been the co-founder of WoLLoW and is an Honorary Research Fellow at Manchester University. He has published works on Herodotus and Aristophanes for Cambridge University Press and on Thucydides, Plato and Lucian for Bloomsbury. He scored a hundred on his First-class debut for Oxford and 0 on his Championship debut for Warwickshire, a unique and unrepeatable double.

Headmaster, Norwich School & Co-Founder of WoLLoW

Steffan Griffiths joined Norwich School in September 2011. After reading Classics at University College, Oxford, he taught at Tonbridge School (1995-1999) and Eton College (1999-2006). In 2006, he was appointed to the role of Usher (principal deputy head) at Magdalen College School, Oxford. Steffan also holds a first-class honours English Literature degree from the Open University.

“WoLLoW is an attempt to try and put joy and fun at the heart of our languages teaching for children in Key Stage 2 and 3. We want pupils to love words, to love how their own language works and to be filled with the wonder of how languages intermingle, how they have built on each other and how they enhance our lives.”

After graduating in European Studies and Modern Languages from the University of Bath she studied a PGCE in Modern Languages at the University of Cambridge and taught for twelve years in both the maintained and independent sectors. Kate subsequently worked on education projects across the sector, from Early Years to Higher Education.

In her current role as HMC Director of Education, Kate leads on Education policy stakeholder management and liaison and supports the HMC Higher Education and Futures, Education, and Sports Committees. Also in her remit are the HMC Inspections, Pastoral and Safeguarding Committees, EDI Advisory Group, Reform of Assessment and AI Working Groups, as well as the HMCj network which provides support and connections for the Heads of junior sections of HMC schools.

Idnan Yunas is a former Governor at King Edward’s School, Birmingham where he was also School Captain as a pupil. He studied medicine at Cambridge and now works as a GP. He is a Training Programme Director for postgraduate medical education and has research interests in global maternal health.

“Wollow has opened the door for children to learn from their own rich cultural and linguistic background as well as that of their friends and peers.”