Meet the Team
Melissa Carter - Head of Teaching
BSc, PGCE, Dipl. Psych. Obs., P4C, C.I.M.I.
For almost 20 years, Melissa has worked within the field of child development encompassing Waldorf Steiner, Montessori and pre-preparatory pedagogy.
Trained at the Tavistock Clinic in Psychoanalytic Observational Studies, Melissa developed her practice through working with leading professionals from the education and therapy world, as well as teaching within diverse educational environments.
Piers Hesketh-Gardener – School Director
Piers began his commercial career in marketing and PR and co-founded Bloo House with Melissa. He is passionate about creating a better society in which we live in and knows that the only way for such a change to happen is to re-evaluate our approach to education. He believes that Bloo House represents that change. An environment that enables children to realise their individual potential within a creative and stimulating setting - a place where the theme of childhood takes precedence.
When not at Bloo House, you will find him spending time with his family, walking in the Surrey Hills and maybe even playing the didjeridu. He travelled extensively throughout his childhood, which along with his own personal experience of home education, has enriched and broadened his outlook on life.
His main role within Bloo House involves the strategic management of the business and its future growth.
Steve Digby - Senior Support
Prior to becoming a support teacher, Steve started life as a research chemist, before expanding his abilities into information technology and working with some of the world's biggest blue chip companies.
Steve worked as a consultant overseas before re-training and focusing on the world of education. His first position at ACS Cobham, lead him onto other independent educational establishments, before joining Bloo House.
With a background in science and I.T., Steve supports the academic programme for mathematics and the sciences.
When not teaching, you may well find him pottering around plants as he has a keen interest in horticulture, making him also invaluable for those tricky latin questions in the Bloo House garden!
Melissa Bennett - French Teacher
BA Hons
Melissa is a graduate in French and Spanish and has lived and worked in both countries. She grew up in a fairly French environment as her mother is French and spent many holidays in France with family.
After having children, Melissa decided on choosing a career in education and foreign languages and as such has taught children of all ages French and Spanish.
Seeing how much fun the children have and how much they progress makes this a hugely rewarding career for Melissa. Melissa is passionate about teaching languages to children and believes it is the perfect time to learn a language. She believes that competence in a foreign language can offer children a head start in life and open them up to many more opportunities.
Melissa enjoys travelling and has been to many countries such as Cuba, Mexico, China, Canada, France, Spain and other European countries. She also enjoys walking in the countryside, sports, music and having fun with her family and friends.
Natalia Nin - Spanish Teacher
B.Ed, M.A.
Natalia is a Primary teacher from Barcelona, Spain. Whilst at Barcelona University, she completed a Postgraduate course in Methodology of Spanish so that she could develop her skills as a language teacher.
In 15 years of teaching Spanish, Natalia has taught in Europe and also Sydney, Australia, where she taught Spanish in a Montessori school. After 5 years living in Sydney, she moved to London, where she has spent the last 4 years teaching children as well as adults.
Natalia has a natural abundance of energy and when she? not teaching, she likes to spend her time travelling back home to Barcelona to visit friends and family, but being a sun seeker, you may also find her jetting off to far away locations in search of the sun.
Cassie Wadsworth - Music & Drama
BA (Hons), MA RADA
Cassie studied at Kings College London and The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and has coupled extensive work as a performer with a longstanding teaching career.
She has been involved in several productions including a recent adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘The Rape of Lucrece’, for which Cassie won Best Actress for her portrayal of Lucrece at the Woking Drama Festival.
An accomplished music and dance student, Cassie trained in Classical Ballet at The Susan Robinson School of Ballet and studied various other forms of dance with the La Ronda Dance Company.
Since 2002 Cassie has run The Wadsworth School of Music, working with over 40 students offering private and group tuition in Piano, Voice and Woodwind.
Keen to help children reach their potential, in 2008 Cassie established Effective Communication Workshops and Sessions for Children and Young people, to help develop self-confidence, self-awareness and improve communication of ideas and opinions.
Lucy Smith - Art & Craftwork
Lucy has always been fascinated by the visual arts. She is an enthusiastic teacher and delights in being able to guide children on their own personal discovery of art. Without any preconceived ideas or theories on art, children have a unique perspective, which can often challenge accepted opinion. In her art classes at Bloo House, Lucy aims to encourage the appreciation and criticism of art along with a love of creating.
Since art can be both exciting and calming through its many mediums, children are able express their thoughts and opinions about the world in which they live and explore what it is that makes them who they are. In this way, art allows children to grow in confidence and self-esteem, and teaches them to take pride in their creations.
In life, for Lucy, everything revolves around the arts, from her flair in guitar playing to craftwork and jewellery making. And if you're ever after an unusual and highly personalised cake, Lucy is also a practiced designer in such culinary delights!
With the time she has left, she spends most holidays with her family and dog in Cornwall, delving into her two other passions, photography and beachcombing.
David Hunt – Bushcraft Teacher
BA Hons
David is our resident bushcraft expert who runs his own bushcraft school called Native Eyes.
After reading English at Oxford, David trained as an actor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He has since worked extensively in theatre, radio, TV and film. When not treading the boards, David devotes his time to teaching about the natural world.
The art of bushcraft is a fascinating subject for children, but with so many distractions in the modern world, it is easy to lose touch with Mother Nature. Throughout the year and the changing seasons, David uses a range of practical workshops and storytelling to reveal a treasure-trove of knowledge and natural lore. In addition to running Native Eyes he is employed on a regular basis by TAG aviation in Farnborough to teach survival skills to pilots.
David has attended several of Ray Mears' courses and two years ago he undertook his instructor training qualification at John Ryder's Woodcraft school where he gained his certificate in Bushcraft leadership. He tailors his diverse knowledge to offer workshops and lessons in bushcraft skills, horticulture, nature observation, ancient story telling, green woodworking and natural resources.
Above all, bushcraft and nature awareness enable an individual to understand the relevance and importance of the world around them and the impact of future environmental changes.
Tone Tellefsen Hughes - Chiropractor
BSc, DC, FCC (paeds), FEAC (Paeds)
Tone Tellefsen Hughes found her passion of Chiropractic when she started treating children. In children she found it was possible to make wider health care changes such as improving infantile colic, constipation and glue ear. She
has often found shy and perhaps withdrawn children coming out of their shell and therefore enjoying a new view of life and opportunities not previously thought possible.
It was after treating children and newborns that Tone saw the wider implications of Chiropractic healing and felt that this should be spread to a wider public audience and has therefore spent the past 15 years teaching Chiropractors and students about the benefits of Chiropractic care.
She has worked in the Godalming area since 1995. Her emphasis is on family care and as such also feels passionately about Chiropractic care for both pregnant women and children.
She has focused in this area by teaching chiropractors locally and abroad as well as
other health practitioners.
One of the subjects she feels most strongly about is pelvic girdle dysfunction and Tone has devoted the past ten years to improving the awareness and management in this area.