Meet the Team
Dartmouth
Mr A Large
Head of Boarding and Dartmouth Houseparent
Alex Large has been Head of Boarding for three years alongside running Dartmouth House. He has a real passion for boarding and is a BSA Level 3 Accredited Boarding Practitioner. He loves being a dad – to his sons Harry, 4 and Thomas, 1 and tries to create a nurturing and purposeful family environment to the other 40 boys in the house. He teaches mathematics and further mathematics and can teach PE when required. A keen sportsman, you can usually find him on the hockey pitch on Saturday afternoons playing for Finchfield and outside the hockey season he turns his attention to the golf course. He also enjoys food and drink, especially tasting food from the boarders’ own countries and has a real love of coffee.
Mrs H Compain-Holt
Dartmouth Assistant Houseparent
Helene Compain-Holt joined the Royal School Wolverhampton in January 2021 having worked in boarding schools for over 20 years as Housemistress, Head of Boarding and Head of Pastoral Care. She is a BSA level 4 Accredited Boarding Practitioner. Her working life has been based in the UK mainly with a few years abroad in Germany and China. Mrs Compain-Holt does not teach any longer but is keen to help any boarder with French and German. Mrs Compain-Holt works in Dartmouth and is keen to encourage every Dartmouth boarder to articulate their ambition and how they can achieve their aims. She is also keen for them to develop a sense of purpose and curiosity for their cultural and social environment. Her favourite phrase is “the sum is greater than its parts” when speaking about life in Dartmouth.
Lichfield
Miss D Holland
Lichfield Houseparent
Miss Holland has worked in schools for many years and boarding is something she really enjoys working in. In particular, the family environment it creates is why she likes it so much. She has 2 grown up children: A daughter, who is a teacher in a boarding school and a son, who is a banker. The pastoral caring side is why she stays in boarding as this part of her personality allows her to focus on this. Her hobbies include watching her football team Walsall FC – they never win anything, but it’s the community spirit she loves! She is also a bibliophile and reads lots – she finds it very hard to throw a book out! Finally, she likes to swim and play tennis when she can.
Miss N Zhang
Lichfield Assistant Houseparent
Ms Zhang has been a houseparent for almost 13 years. She really enjoys working with youngsters from all cultures and backgrounds and has been a BSA level 3 practitioner for several years. Her experiences in the role of Head of Sixth Form and Exams Officer along with her international background enable her to provide a positive and supportive environment whilst guiding boarding students through some of the most complex parts of their school careers. Away from the boarding house Ms Zhang is also very interested in cookery especially exploring international cuisines. Her sushi-making classes have been very popular.
House Tutors
Miss R Binning
House Tutor
Miss Binning has been a Lichfield boarding assistant for two years. She has always had a love and passion for boarding since she was a past student / Lichfield boarder. She joined the team after she graduated sixth-form. She is a qualified swimming teacher and lifeguard who works over in the swimming complex part-time. She enjoys learning and embracing different cultures. She also likes to sing and dance, you’ll often hear live performances from the office. She loves animals, particularly dogs and marine life. She likes to spend her summers in the Caribbean swimming with dolphins and snorkelling. Her highlight of the day is talking to students about their day and giving advice.
Mrs S Large
House Tutor
Mrs Large has been a Dartmouth House Tutor for 3 years as well as a mathematics teacher at The Royal School. She is a BSA Level 1 Boarding Practitioner. Her main job is being mum to Harry and Thomas, so she spends a lot of time running after them. Aside from that, she is a season ticket holder at Wolverhampton Wanderers and enjoys going to watch them play.
Mr K Uskov
House Tutor
Mr K started his journey at the Royal School as a sixth former and after graduating Year 13, he joined the boarding team as Boarding Assistant. He is passionate about Art and iscurrently studying Fine Art at the University. As well as studying he is also enjoying learning about different cultures. Mr K also enjoys activities like swimming, playing piano, hiking and walking. He is a Trilingual and can speak Estonian, Russian and English.
Mr J Nicholas
House Tutor
Mr Nichols is new to the school taking up a full-time teaching role in PE at the Royal School. Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland he is at the Royal to seek new challenges and experiences. Straight out of University, Mr Nichols spent 5 years studying for a BSc, PGCE and MSc in this time. He is a diehard Manchester United fan and spends his weekends watching premier league football and socialising with friends (if I am not playing football for my club of course!) He has a wealth of qualifications in different sports and is very into his fitness, and he hopes his passion for this can translate into boarding to inspire and challenge the boarding students. During the holidays he enjoys going back home to Northern Ireland catching up with friends and family (and disconnecting from school life!). The biggest thing Mr Nichols wants to achieve this year is being able to inspire students inside and outside the classroom to unlock their full potential!