Meet the founders of Gecko School in Phuket — Celi Harper and Huw Roberts, passionate and experienced teachers with a new vision of education in Thailand.
Celi Harper
Celi Harper completed her Bachelor of Teaching degree in Queensland, Australia in 1991. For the past 25 years she has taught in public and international schools in Australia, England, Tanzania, China and Thailand. During her teaching career she has taught all primary years as a classroom teacher and has specialised in ICT, Art, Literacy, Global Education and Library. Celi shows a commitment to remaining up-to-date with new developments, a strong interest in educational issues and a keen desire to pass on knowledge. Throughout her teaching career Celi has attended a great deal of in-service and training which have helped her to continuously grow and better meet the needs of the children in her class.
Celi values community service as a way of uniting people from diverse backgrounds to work towards a common goal. From an early age her parents taught her the value of helping others less fortunate than herself through Lions International. This continued into her adulthood where she worked with Sudanese refugees in Australia, taught in a rural village in Ghana, fed the homeless in Australia, worked with local communities in Tanzania, set up a charity to educate boys in Ghana and to pay the tuition fees of a Kenyan lady to complete her teaching degree, was photographer for Tag Rugby Trust in Uganda, Zambia and India, assisted at the Soi Dog foundation, fundraised for Sichuan Quake Relief and assisted in sports activities in quake relief zones.
Celi admires people with integrity and believes utmost in being principled and standing up for what you believe in. Her hobbies include travelling, meeting locals, photography, swimming and cooking.
Huw Roberts
Huw Roberts originates from South Wales in the UK but has lived and worked in England, Australia, Philippines, Taiwan, France, Kenya, Tanzania, China and Thailand. He obtained his teaching degree in Primary Education specialising in Maths and Physical Education from Gloucestershire University. As a teacher, Huw uses a variety of methods and strategies to teach the children in his class. He draws on his strengths to help raise the standards within his classes through planning, teaching, assessment and classroom management. He believes all children should have access to a broad and balanced curriculum and he strives to nurture them to become independent and creative thinkers with a positive attitude towards the world around them.
Huw believes that helping local communities has a positive effect on everyone involved. He has not only worked in international schools in Tanzania, China, Australia, France and Thailand but has also contributed to the local communities through volunteer work. For the past seventeen years he has been involved with the UK based charity TRT (Tag Rugby Trust — building futures through rugby) by coordinating and leading volunteer and school group tours to Uganda, Zambia and India.
Huw has many interests, some of which include travelling, trekking, sport (playing and watching), scuba diving, listening to music, reading and watching films. He also loves dogs, a lot.