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History
History
Our Story
Our Story
We are a community of educators and coaches, woven together by a shared belief: that coaching doesn't just improve skills—it transforms the heart of a school.
How It All Began
How It All Began
Long before CoachUP had a name, Russell and Stephen were already exploring how coaching could reshape professional development. Early conversations with Sarah Cole and others sparked a vision for something bigger, but like so many things, those plans were put on hold when the world changed in 2020.
Rather than letting the idea fade, Russell and Stephen persisted. In 2021, the first CoachUP was born online—an experimental space that brought together 60 curious educators and eight presenters to find a way forward, together.
Growing the Circle
Growing the Circle
As we moved back into shared physical spaces, Sarah Cole, Sara Aldus, and Flora Xu joined the journey, helping us transition from screens to face-to-face connection. As the community blossomed, our "Core Crew" grew to include Samantha Chesler, Paula Kennedy-Wingate, and Paul Turner.
Honouring Our Core Crew
Honouring Our Core Crew
As we step into this next chapter, we want to share our deepest gratitude for Samantha Chesler, Sarah Cole, Sara Aldus, and Flora Xu. Their dedication has been the heartbeat of our growth, and they are the reason this community feels so much like a home today. While they are moving on from the Core Crew, they will always be a part of the CoachUP family. We wish them nothing but the best in their next chapters and look forward to seeing them in the community as we move forward together.
The Journey Ahead
The Journey Ahead
We are so excited to keep growing and evolving. To help lead us into this next season, we’re delighted to welcome two fresh voices to the team:
Kate Bennett (Nexus)
Clare Bartington (Tanglin Trust School)
Different perspectives, same heart. We can’t wait to see what’s next.
Our events:
CoachUP1: St Joseph's Institution International (online), Saturday, 25 September 2021
CoachUP2: Nexus International School, Saturday, 5 March 2022
CoachUP3: Tanglin Trust School, Saturday, 24 September 2022
CoachUP4: Dulwich College (Singapore), Saturday, 13 May 2023
CoachUP5: Tanglin Trust School, Saturday, 4 November 2023
CoachUP6: Nexus International School, Saturday 11 May 2024
CoachUP7 - 'New Perspectives': St. Joseph's Institution International, Saturday 23rd November 2024
CoachUP8: Dulwich College (Singapore), Saturday 24th May 2025
CoachUP9 - 'Take the Step': Tanglin Trust School, Saturday 9th May 2026
Meet the CoachUP Crew
Meet the CoachUP Crew
Clare Bartington
Clare Bartington
Tanglin Trust School
Clare is a history and politics teacher at Tanglin Trust School. She previously taught in the U.K. where she was also involved in pastoral leadership. After experiencing the power of coaching as a coachee, Clare gained her Executive Coach Certification accredited by ILM in 2024. She is now a regular volunteer coach for Tanglin‘s coaching programme and endeavours to harness coachable moments in the classroom too with her students.
Clare enjoys the outdoors and is an avid traveller, spending the school holidays usually backpacking around Asia or Oceania.
Paul Turner
Paul Turner
UWCSEA (Dover)
Paul is an international educator with 25 years of experience across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Currently a middle school specialist at UWCSEA Dover, he serves as an instructional coach and the divisional DEIJB Lead. He is a certified Cognitive Coach and an IDI Qualified Administrator.
Driven by the power of dialogue, Paul focuses on building coaching capacity among staff and students. He is particularly interested in addressing systemic inequity through Elena Aguilar’s transformational coaching model.
Paula Kennedy-Wingate
Paula Kennedy-Wingate
Dulwich College (Singapore)
Paula is the Assistant Head (Teaching and Learning) and has taught in Asia for the last twelve years. She has enjoyed teaching languages in the UK, France, the Philippines and Singapore.
Paula is a passionate and certified Coach and Mentor, and trains others to become coaches. She is also passionate about growing coaching cultures in schools because of the incredible impact it has for students, staff and the community.
Paula is also a mum and loves art and nature.
Stephen Fantom
Stephen Fantom
St. Joseph's Instition International
Stephen is a Secondary Music Teacher and a PCC & EIA Senior Practitioner coach. At Saint Joseph's Instition International, he serves as a Coach and Coach Programme lead supporting the development of teams, teachers, and students.
Through his coaching practice, coaching4life, he integtes the principles of the Virtues Project and Co-Active coaching to support others in their personal and professional growth. Outside of his professional roles, Stephen is a husband and a dad, and an active Ambassador for the ICF Singapore Chapter.
Russell Bennett
Russell Bennett
St. Joseph's Instition International
Russell is a father first and uses his spare time to try his hand at teaching science and coaching colleagues in school. A science teacher at SJI International since 2008, he trained with CTI as a coach, completing the core curriculum in 2011, and has accumulated a few hundred coaching-hours both within and without the school since 2011. He was part of setting up the Professional Coaching Programme at SJI International in 2014, running week-to-week matters, and helping implement the long-term strategy for coaching in the school. One of his goals is to develop models of implementing coaching in schools which are both cost-effective and tailored to the needs of a school.
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