Meet Your Teachers

Miss Murphy

Head of Department

(KS4 Lead Teacher)

Hello and welcome to Trinity School's English department. I'm Miss Murphy and I'm the head of the department.

My favourite books to read are the Harry Potter books but at the moment I am reading Where The World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean - it is amazing. My favourite thing about our school is the library and the quizzes, you won't be able to beat me at the Harry Potter and Roald Dahl quizzes. I really love teaching poetry, luckily enough, that will be one of the first literature topics covered in year 7 when we start in September. I hope you will be as excited as I am!

One of the things you will notice pretty quickly about me (and others in our department) is that I love cats. My cat is named after a football player, merging two of my three favourite things: reading, football and animals. I probably mention all three a lot when I am teaching, so be prepared.

I can't wait to meet you all and I really can't wait to start teaching you some English!

Mrs Marsters

Second in Charge

(KS5 Lead Teacher)

Hi everyone, my name is Mrs Marsters! I have been teaching English for eleven years and have worked at Trinity for nearly four of them!

I don’t think I have a favourite aspect of teaching English; I love it all, from the dramatic plays, to the spooky science fiction and the thought-provoking poetry. The reason I teach English is because I love books, I love reading and can’t wait to immerse myself into a new fictional world. However, here’s a secret – I thought I was going to be an Archaeologist when I started secondary school, but I think I’m much more suited to teaching now!

When I am not at school, I enjoy reading, journaling and watching documentaries. I also like to play in the garden with my two children, and I love to hear them read to me. I have a cat called Whiskey, and you will discover that a significant number of the English department are also cat-lovers!

Have a lovely summer, stay safe and I am really looking forward to hopefully some normality in September and getting to meet you all then.


Mr Emmett

(KS3 Lead Teacher)

Hi everyone, my name is Mr Emmett. I am in charge of all things KS3 in the English Department - so that means you! When you begin doing your English lessons in September you will see a lot of me popping in and out of your lessons to say hello and see what you are up to.

I was once a Year 7 pupil at Trinity School, so I know exactly how you are feeling. My advice: embrace the challenge of a new beginning and enjoy it - it's a fresh new start!

As you can see, one of my favourite books is 'The Hobbit' by J. R. R. Tolkien. That and the accompanying Lord of the Rings are one of my many literature passions. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse is another of my recent favourites too - I love the illustrations. Aside from this, I love teaching Shakespeare, poetry and anything over-the-top dramatic!

I'm really excited to meet you all in September and to help you on your way in making loads of mistakes and then learning from them to make you even better!

Mrs Patten

Hi everyone! My name is Mrs Patten and I am an English teacher at Trinity School. I have been teaching at the school for 37 years , so it is quite likely that I have taught your mums/dads/cousins/siblings/aunties/uncles!

My favourite thing to teach is Shakespeare and my favourite Shakespeare play is Romeo and Juliet. I keep two wooden swords in my classroom so that we can act out part of the fight scenes! You will recognise my classroom when you get to Trinity because I have a cardboard cut out of Shakespeare stuck to my door! He keeps an eye on us all!

When I am not at school, I enjoy reading on my Kindle. I also like to garden and play with my two, very naughty, cats, Ziggy and Lola.

I am looking forward to getting back to school in September and meeting you all in person then. Have a great summer holiday!


Miss Downing

Hello, my name is Miss Downing. I have lots of hobbies; I like exercising, whether that be outside on a kayak, or completing a class at the gym; films and film theory; and I also teach Media Studies.

I came to Trinity as a pupil, and before I returned to work at the school I worked in the Film and TV Industry as a producer. My favourite book is The Revenant which also happens to be a spectacular film about hardship and personal growth.

I very much look forward to welcoming you to Trinity and looking forward to meeting you all.

Mrs Tallowin

Hi, I'm Mrs Tallowin and I've been an English teacher for 16 years and worked at Trinity for 2 years.

Before I became a teacher, I worked as a dancer on holiday parks and I still enjoy dancing (I have been known to bring some moves to the classroom!) I enjoy going to the theatre and playing with and reading to my two daughters.

My favourite authors are Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell and Khalid Hosseini and I also love watching and teaching Shakespeare. I look forward to meeting you in September.


Ms Davies

Hi, I’m Ms Davies and I teach English. I’ve been teaching for 4 years and I absolutely love it! I’m also a Christian, so I enjoy reading the bible and discussing how the word of God shapes my life.

I’m in love with working out, cooking, reading, laughing and spending time with my loved ones. Some books I absolutely adore: Purple Hibiscus, Noughts and Crosses and My best friend’s girl and many many more.

That’s it from me- I look forward to seeing you in September!

Miss Walker

Hi, my name is Miss Walker and this will be my second year teaching at Trinity. I really enjoy our modules on Dystopian Literature in Year 7 and on Of Mice and Men in Year 9. Last year, I set up a lunchtime film club on a Friday solely for Year 7s and hope to do the same again this year!

Some of my favourite reads are Terry Patchett’s Discworld series, The Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki by Haruki Murakami, and manga – including One Piece, Black Clover and My Hero Academia. When I’m not teaching or fawning over my dog, I’m most likely adding to my growing array of plants at home or playing video games (including Animal Crossing and Overwatch).


Miss Stokes

Hello, my name is Miss Stokes and I enjoy reading, dancing and everything to do with Disney! My favourite book is A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini but I also love the Harry Potter series too. Reading has always been a passion of mine - I love how a book can grip you to the point you don't want to put it down, and how the words on the page can relate to you making you connect with the characters and the book overall. Fantasy is my favourite genre and this mainly stems from my fascination with Disney.

I also worked in Walt Disney World for 4 months when I was younger in The Art of Animation Resort, and I graduated from Disney University. Dancing has always been a hobby of mine and one which I've been doing since I was two years old. I've done many competitions, shows and danced on stages such as The Palladium.

I'm looking forward to meeting you all in September and finding out more about you.

Have a great summer holiday!

Mrs French

(Librarian)

Hello, I'm Mrs French, the Librarian at Trinity School. I enjoy crafting (when I have the time) and walking with my doggies, baking and my favourite pass time of course, reading. Oh, and eating chocolate.😂

One of the best bits about my job is getting to know pupils and learning about the books you like to read and helping you to find the next book that you will fall in love with. I have many favourite books and authors, and I will share some of those with you, when I get to meet you. Of course you have all heard of Harry Potter, these books are favourites for many of the English teachers, including myself, and we often celebrate Harry's birthday with a quiz in the library. But, have your read Artemis Fowl? Soon to be a new film released in June, or how about Tom Natsworthy and Hester Shaw? The two main characters in the Mortal Engines series, also made into a film last year. The Author, Phillip Reeve has such a brilliant imagination. I love his Railhead series too! If you've not read them, do! I cannot recommend them highly enough. If you like a good adventure story, you will love it!

Don't worry about not being able to go to the library in the holidays, you can still borrow books (and other resources) digitally. It's really easy! You just have to be a member of your local library, and if you're not, it's easy to join online too. So no excuses for not reading this summer. I am looking forward to meeting you soon. Happy Reading!