FAMILY K R E K E NI THE VAN
BOARDING: IT’S A
Gideon van Niekerk is originally from South Africa. Born into a family with a ily – Mr foundation in nature conservation and iekerk Fam Heads with three brothers as his ‘partnersN n a v e g th ew Joint Introducin erk our n in-crime’, the word ‘boredom’ simply k ie N n a v ding r a o and Mrs B r io never existed. Days were either spent of Jun exploring nature with a pair of binoculars around his neck and a camera in his hand, or battling it out with one of his brothers on a tennis court. Even though he discovered a passion for fraying his nerves on a unicycle and writing and illustrating children’s stories, he’s always known that education was where his heart belonged. Following this love of teaching, he has worked in boarding schools in South Africa, Switzerland and England, where he has seen time and time again, that the heart and soul of a school lies in boarding. Sarah grew up in Leicester. She enjoyed playing the flute and dabbled in all things arty and crafty, but it was dancing that she loved the most. Never letting a chance to dance pass her by, from an early age she strutted her moves in every available dance class. When she was eighteen, she gained a place at the world famous Rambert School to train in ballet and contemporary dance.After graduating, she performed professionally and also shared her love of dance through teaching.When not in the dance studio, she would have been found exploring fantasy worlds through the pages of a vast collection of books or queuing up at midnight for her favourite book releases. It was the hands of serendipity that guided Gideon and Sarah together; him as a spectator and her as a dancer entertaining a crowd in Covent Garden. Soon their family of two became three, with the birth of their son Reyn. Before he could even crawl, he had shown his own passion for stories through his obsession with dragons and peculiar creatures with knobbly knees and turned-out toes that dwell in woodlands. Together with their two black Labradors, Jessie and Ebony, the van Niekerk family are proud to be part of the Prior’s Field school community and become members of the boarding family.
THE PICKE
Head of Boarding – M her fa
Having arrived at Prior’s Field to be years ago, Emma Picken has enjoyed r Form boarding houses, along with o school before taking on the task of h Giving young people a happy home grow up confident of their individua Emma’s remit at Prior’s Field.
Emma lives on site with her family: and Ally who also attend Prior’s Field in South America and spent two ye Expedition Leaders before returning
In keeping with their fellow boarding Victor, the elderly black Labrador; O Bunkie, sibling cats. Freda believes he to gain access to school. When spare vinyl collecting or Scuba diving, wher when not studying for her MSC.