Mr Bigara is a sport fanatic and is very proud of the outstanding sports programme and ethos we have at New Hall.
Mr Bigara and his team of 35 coaches are passionate about sport and giving every student the training and opportunities to maximise their development and be the best that they can be in all their sporting endeavours.
Mr Bigara has a wealth of coaching and playing experience in a great number of sports. He has played and coached at all levels, including at national and professional level in hockey. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education, and majored in Mathematics and Psychology.
Sport Administrator, Miss Lucia Knight
Miss Lucia Knight plays a central role in the administrative organisation of the Sport Department. Miss Knight is passionate about all sports, and takes an active role in the smooth running of fixtures, practices, training and all things sport. One of the recent highlights was hosting the Essex U12 Rugby Sevens Tournament, involving 34 teams and more than 500 players, coaches and parents.
Miss Knight previously worked as an Assistant Manager in the sports and leisure industry. She enjoys all sports, and coaches one of our netball teams. She is also a Level 2 Swim Teacher and Level 2 Fitness Instructor.
Head of Athletics, Mr Sebastian Cirillo
Mr Cirillo, Head of Athletics, achieved a Master’s Degree in Sport and International Development from the University of Brighton. Passionate about all things Athletics, Mr Cirillo trains students in both track and field. He also competes in middle and long distance running, from 1500 metres to half marathons.
Head of Basketball, Mr Kenrick Liburd
Mr Liburd has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in education and a Master’s degree Leadership both attained for universities in the United States. Mr Liburd has spent the last seven years coaching for various Great Britain youth teams, leading U16 and U18 women’s teams to multiple European Championships. A qualified teacher, who is passionate about the development of others, who has experience coaching through the whole British Basketball pathway from grass roots to elite.
Head of Cricket, Mr Eddie Ballard
Mr Ballard oversees the cricket programme at New Hall. He is an ECB Level 3 Performance Coach with a degree in Physical Education & Sports Coaching, and has played and coached professionally. He is Head Coach for Bedfordshire and has played for MCCYC, and Surrey, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire County Cricket Clubs. Mr Ballard is the East Anglian Representative for the MCC.
Head of Hockey, Mr Matthew Blair
Mr Blair comes to New Hall from Port Elizabeth, South Africa where he has coached and worked in school sport since 2011. Mr Blair most recently held the position of Head of Sport at St George’s Preparatory School as well as being the Director of Keeper Club, a private hockey goalkeeper academy. Amongst the aforementioned experience, Mr Blair coordinated regional hockey tournaments, indoor hockey leagues and an indoor hockey franchise as well as has a wealth of hockey coaching experience from u8 – u18 girls and boys. Mr Blair has played hockey at local premier league and provincial hockey level in South Africa.
Head of Netball, Miss Emma Payne
Miss Payne graduated from the University of Bath with a Master’s degree in Sport and Exercise Science, where she also represented the university in the BUCS Netball Premier League. Alongside her studies, she coached multiple university teams (Women’s BUCS and Mixed & Men’s teams) and for the Team Bath NSL franchise. She plays for her club in the national Premier League and represented Team Bath at all academy age groups. She brings a wealth of coaching experience from various age groups and aims to build an environment where girls create a lifelong passion for sport.
Head of Rugby, Mr Joshua Toms
Mr Toms studied at Loughborough University, where he represented the university at every level in BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) and National League. He has played semi-professional Rugby for Eastern Suburbs RUFC in Sydney, Australia. On returning to the UK, Mr Toms coached at Loughborough University before becoming Head of Rugby at New Hall.
Head of Swimming, Mr Charlie Stevens
Mr Stevens brings ten years of experience from competitive swimming, he has coached swimmers at British National level and swimmers who represented Kenya at the Africa Youth Games.
Head of Tennis, Mr Samuel Jakes
Mr Jakes is an accredited LTA Level 3 Tennis Coach and graduated with a BSc in Sports Coaching. Having coached tennis for fifteen years, at school, university and club level, he takes pride in developing players of all ages and abilities.
Head of Skiing, Mr Daniel Bacon
Mr Bacon holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Science from Brighton University and has a Masters in Education. He has been teaching for fifteen years and is passionate about helping students to achieve their full potential. Mr Bacon has an impressive handicap in golf, experience in semi-professional football and has more than ten years of experience in skiing.
Meet our Physical Education Department
The PE & Sports Department is driven to achieve the highest standards of learning and teaching, inspiring students to embrace Physical Education as both an academic pursuit and a source of enjoyment in their chosen sports. In addition to providing core PE for students up to Year 9, the department offers GCSE PE, A Level PE, and the BTEC Nationals Level 3 Diploma in Sport.
Head of Physical Education, Mr Lewis Tombs
Mr. Tombs holds a Bachelor’s degree and PGCE from Brunel University and has 12 years of teaching experience. He brings a diverse background in both playing and teaching a wide range of sports, with a particular passion for football and tennis, having played at county and university level, respectively. Most recently, he taught at a British international school in the UAE, where he gained valuable experience working with students from various cultural backgrounds, enhancing his ability to connect with and inspire young athletes from around the world.
Teacher of Physical Education, Mrs Sue Jones graduated from Brighton University and has been a Physical Education teacher for thirty four years. Mrs Jones is passionate about imparting her knowledge and experience in order to help every student develop physical skills and fitness, confidence and overall well-being, and a lifelong love for sports.
Head of Upper School (Girls’ Division) & Teacher of Physical Education, Mrs Sarah Norman, brings a wide range of expertise across Physical Education and Sport, ranging from swimming and tennis to horse riding and skiing. Mrs Norman holds a degree in Sport Science and PGCE from De Montfort University and has played hockey at club, county and regional level.
Teacher of Physical Education, Mr Tom Johnson, has worked across all Divisions at New Hall for over fifteen years. He achieved a BSc (Hons) in Sport Science and PGCE. Through Mr Johnson’s love of all sports, he is able to teach students important life skills such as teamwork, discipline, resilience and the importance of living a healthy lifestyle.
Meet our Sport Coaches & Visiting Sport Coaches
Cricket Professional, Mr Ravinda Bopara is an internationally-renowned cricketer with more than 150 appearances for England across all formats. Mr Bopara has played and coached for franchises across the world and is part of the coaching team for New Hall Cricket.
Sports Coach, Mrs Karen Cooper graduated from Loughborough University where she studied P.E., Sports Science and Mathematics. Mrs Cooper has played county and regional hockey, and recently won a gold medal with the England O50s Women’s Masters Hockey team at the World Cup.
Sports Coach, Ms Sacha Robinson is an enthusiast of all sports, with specialist expertise in Athletics, Cricket, Hockey and Football. She is also a qualified Personal Trainer.
Sports Coach, Miss Laura Westlake graduated from The University of Essex with a degree in Sports Performance & Coaching. Whilst at the university she was captain of the performance 7s team and a sport scholar. She specialises in rugby having represented Saracens Women. She is also a keen equestrian and can give lessons on the mechanical horse.
Sports Coach, Mr Ben Wallace has a degree in Sport Exercise Science (Strength & Conditioning) and a Masters Degree in Sports Performance Analysis. Before joining New Hall, Mr Wallace was a performance analyst for Team GB at Wimbledon, working for the Lawn Tennis Association.
Swimming Coach, Miss Siobhan George is an ex county-level swimmer, and has had over six years swim coaching experience at different levels. She is a Level 2 Swim Coach and holds her Swim England Land Training qualification.
Swimming Coach, Miss Catilin Mascall has over seven years of experience in coaching and is a Level 2 Swim Teacher and qualified Level 3 Personal Trainer.
Swimming Coach, Mr Matthew Titman graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in Sports Exercise and Coaching Science. He has been involved in competitive swimming for over ten years, achieving national podium places.
Sports Assistant, Miss Kamaria Baker-Martin graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in Sport, Exercise, and Health Science. She holds a Level 3 qualification in Sports Massage and volunteered with Clinic4Sport to provide massage therapy for Cancer Research runners at the London Marathon 2024. In her final year, she played rugby and basketball for BUCS and served as the Development Coach for the basketball 3rd team.
Sports Assistant, Mr Jonathan Garnett is passionate about all sports. He gained experience coaching rugby at university while playing at the BUCS level. He has also worked at summer camps, coaching players across a range of age groups.
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Visiting Rugby Coaches, Mr Martin Jones and Mr Paul Lovewell are highly qualified rugby coaches and brings a wealth of expertise from their work with London Welsh RFC, Saracens and the Essex Player Development Group. Mr Jones has a great level of international experience, having also worked overseas, including as a Head Coach in Sri Lanka and as a rugby consultant in Italy. Mr Lovewell is also a qualified physiotherapist.
Swimming Teachers, Miss Livia Knight-Dainty, Ms Tina Franklin, Ms Joanne Gardner, Ms Rosemary Haskey-Jones and Miss Katie Lucas are all Level 2 qualified Swimming Teachers who teach the Learn to Swim programme on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Our teachers support and develop students of all ages and abilities to swim with technical skill and confidence.
Visiting Tennis Coaches, Mr Sam Bayda, Miss Claire Dixey, Mr Maxwell Hayford, Mr Daniel Lowe and Mr Michael Richardson are highly qualified and experienced LTA coaches, dedicated to developing each individual to reach their maximum potential.
Visiting Golf Coaches, Mr Jack Cole and Mr Matthew Mahoney are PGA golfers and have been coaching at New Hall for more than five years. They have numerous club championship victories between them and Mr Mahoney is the course record holder at Belfairs Park.
