THE School

School Senior Team

NEIL CLAYTON

Founding Head/CEO

NEIL CLAYTON

Founding Head/CEO
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Luna Cao

HILA Chinese Principal

Luna Cao

HILA Chinese Principal
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Emily Gallagher

Deputy Head

Emily Gallagher

Deputy Head
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June Li

Assistant Chinese Principal

June Li

Assistant Chinese Principal
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David Dee

Head of Lower School

David Dee

Head of Lower School
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Simon McRoberts

Head of Upper School

Simon McRoberts

Head of Upper School
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Neil Clayton

Founding Head/CEO

Mr Clayton has been in Education for over 17 years. He holds a Bachelor of Science Honours Degree in Animal Biology from The University of Birmingham and trained as a Science teacher at Loughborough University. He moved to Asia in 2014 and has been working in South East Asia and China mainland as Headmaster. Being a motivated and ambitious professional, Mr Clayton is committed to raising standards of excellence for all. In 2022, he was awarded “2022 Forbes China International Education Outstanding Contribution Award”.

Luna Cao

HILA Chinese Principal

Ms Cao obtained her MBA at Hongkong Polytechnic University and Ed.D in Innovative Educational Leadership at Concordia University. She has participated in a wide variety of professional learning achieving IB certificates, PTC International Principal Qualification Training Certificate from Beijing Normal University and University Counselling certification accredited by Education USA office of American Embassy. 

In 2022,she was awarded“2022 Forbes China Top10Up-and-coming International School Headmasters”.

Emily Gallagher

Whole school associate Assistant Headteacher

Emily Gallagher have achieved a Bachelor of Music in 2008, she then went on to complete her PGCE at Manchester Metropolitan, followed by a Master’s in Teaching and Learning in 2013. She is continuing her professional development this year, by working towards her National Professional Qualification in Senior Leadership, with a focus on assessment and mentoring.

Following nine years of teaching in the UK, she arrived in China five years ago and has worked in a number of leadership positions, including other founding schools. She believes that despite being a new school, a shared mission, clear communication and high levels of teaching will create a feel of a much older school, of which everyone will be proud of. 

June Li

Assistant Chinese Principal

Ms Li graduated with a master’s degree in Education from Southwest University and a major in Business Administration and Financial Management from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Ms Li has 21 years of front-line teaching and education management experience. Since teaching, she has actively participated in worldwide teaching development exchange conferences and published academic papers in many national academic journals. Ms Li has extensive experience in global education. Before joining Harrow, she worked in admissions department of Queen’s Univiersity Belfast,UK and performed as a teacher in universities and high schools in the United States, and held senior management positions in outstanding bilingual schools and public high schools in China. Ms Li is familiar with the global mainstream education system and teaching methods, and has made great achievements in the planning of further education. Under her guidance, many students have entered the world’s top 50 universities and top professional colleges for further study. 

David Dee

Head of Lower School

Mr David Dee graduated in history and philosophy, and gained the PGCE. Mr David Dee has over 30 years of teaching and education management experience, and has obtained the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) in the UK. Prior to joining Harrow Nanning, he held positions as principal and senior management in primary schools in the UK, as well as an international school in Beijing, China. Mr David Dee advocates teachers to cultivate students’ interdisciplinary learning and application ability in teaching, and at the same time pay attention to promoting students’ progress through assessment. He hopes to provide students with a motivating, positive feedback and challenging educational experience by giving teachers professional teaching guidance. 

Simon McRoberts

Head of Upper School

Simon gained a Bachelor of Arts degree in History with Sociology from the University of Huddersfield in 2003, before completing his PGCE in Secondary History the year later.

He began his teaching career in East London, as a History and Sociology teacher, becoming a Head of History, before joining the Future Leaders programme in 2010. Since then, he has taken on many areas of responsibility, as part of senior leadership teams. While working as Head of School in East London, he also completed his National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) in 2019.

In 2019, he moved with his young family to China as Head of Secondary, working for Nord Anglia Education. Over the last 4 years, he has developed a wealth of international experience, building upon his extensive knowledge and expertise gained leading schools in the UK.

Simon is passionate about getting the best out of those he works with, both staff and students, and forging strong relations with all stakeholders.

Simon, alongside his school role is also a Peer Accreditor for the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) and an NPQH assessor. 

Tina Quan

Teaching Assistant

Tina graduated from Worcester University. She has over 5 years teaching experience. In Tina’s opinion, teachers should be students’ friends as well as their masters. A teacher is a person knowledgeable also a good sample for students.​