Meet Our Academic Leadership Team in 2024-2025 School Year

A good leadership team plays a vital role in the academic progress and sustainability of a school, and for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year, we are proud to introduce the Academic Leadership Team of Léman International School Chengdu. 

Tracy Connor

Principal

We are thrilled to introduce our principal, Mrs. Tracy Connor. 

Home for Tracy is the city of Manchester, a small town called Oldham. Tracy completed a Law degree at Staffordshire University in the UK, before going on to complete a Post Graduate Degree in Education at Bradford University. After teaching in the UK for several years, she moved to Cairo, Egypt, where she taught at 'New Cairo British International School', which is a COBIS, CIS and ISO accredited school. 

During her time in Egypt, her career progressed and she became the Deputy Head of Primary in the three-form entry primary school. Our principal left Egypt to join Nord Anglia Education and started working for the company at the British School of Guangzhou as Head of Primary, before coming to Chengdu to take on the Head of Primary role at our school three years ago.  

In August 2023, Tracy embarked on her new role as the Principal of Léman International School Chengdu. Under her leadership, the school has been fully re-accredited by the International Baccalaureate (IB), the Council of International Schools (CIS), and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) over the past year, and has been shortlisted for the prestigious China School Awards 2024, as well as receiving many positive ratings in the annual Parent Satisfaction Survey. Tracy will continue to lead the school as our Principal for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year.

Robert Dolan

Head of Primary 

Robert brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise in education. Originally from Bolton, a town just north of Manchester, Robert spent many years teaching in UK schools, honing his skills as an effective educator. He then transitioned into leadership roles, including Head of Year and Head of Key Stage, where he demonstrated a talent for managing teams and implementing successful educational strategies. 

In pursuit of new challenges and opportunities, Robert moved to the British School of Nanjing, where he served as Assistant Head of Primary School. It was during this time that he became acquainted with the Nord Anglia approach to education, and discovered what sets our group of schools apart from the rest. Robert quickly adapted to the Nord Anglia philosophy and became an advocate for its student-centered, global approach to learning. 

Robert’s experience as an educator and leader has prepared him well for his new role as Head of Primary School at Léman International School Chengdu. He is committed to fostering a positive and inclusive school culture that values diversity, promotes respect, and encourages collaboration. As an effective communicator and team player, Robert is dedicated to working alongside his colleagues, parents, and students to ensure that all members of the school community thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. Robert will continue to lead our early years and primary school in the 2024-2025 school year.  

Paul Highdale 

Head of Secondary 

Originally from Liverpool in the UK, Paul studied Mathematical Physics at the University of Liverpool followed by his PGCE at Liverpool John Moore's University. The first 6 years of his career were spent at schools around the UK before moving to the Bahamas for his first international teaching position teaching IB Physics and Mathematics. 

The Bahamas was followed by Sao Paulo, Brazil where Paul developed his leadership skills in a number of positions spanning 9 years. These included Head of KS3 science, Pastoral Lead, and IB Diploma Coordinator. After Sao Paulo, Paul and his young family moved to Cairo where he worked as Head of KS5, IB Diploma Coordinator, and associate assistant principal at New Cairo British International School. Whilst in Cairo, Paul was invited to speak about developing school culture at the IB's Global Conference in Abu Dhabi. 

In his most recent role as Whole School Deputy Principal at the International School of Ticino in Switzerland, Paul launched the IB Diploma and saw the first graduates successfully completing the Diploma last year. Paul was also responsible for staff professional development and appraisals, school philosophy and culture, and leading the IB Diploma coordinator network across the Inspired group of schools. 

Paul will continue to work with the team at Léman International School Chengdu in the upcoming 2024-2025 school year. Focusing on ensuring outstanding provision in all subjects in terms of teaching and learning, communication, and aligning the MYP and DP programmes. 

Patrick Meersman

IB Middle Years Programme Coordinator   

Patrick Meersman comes from the USA, and he has been teaching since 2016. Patrick received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and a Postgraduate degree at American College of Education. He has been heavily involved in both delivering MYP Individuals and Societies lessons and as a school administrator, successfully bringing schools through the IB authorisation process.  

He is a trained DP History teacher, and an experienced MYP Coordinator. Mr. Meersman brings a wealth of IB knowledge and skills to Léman Secondary school.  

Sarah Donnelly

IB Diploma Coordinator 

Sarah has been teaching since 2004. She began her career as an English Language and Literature teacher in English state schools, and in 2010, Sarah joined Nord Anglia Education to head up the English Department in the British School of Shanghai, Pudong. This was her introduction to the IBDP. She completed her Masters in Education at Columbia University in New York and founded the Middle School of Nord Anglia International School in New York. She then became Assistant Head of Secondary at The British School of Shunyi, Beijing, where she was responsible for the coordination of the Diploma Programme. 

As DPC, Sarah oversees driving up standards, expectations, and results. She has led the school to increase the APS from 32 to 37, the pass rate to 100%, 4 students achieving a perfect score of 45, and the core point average from 0.5 to 2. In addition, she has successfully helped students gain admission to world-renowned universities such as KAIST, Yonsei University, NUS, NTU, Imperial College London, LSE, UCL, the University of Edinburgh, the University of York, etc. 

As well as being an IB English A teacher, she has worked as an Extended Essay Coordinator, TOK teacher and CAS Coordinator. She is also an IB English A examiner and Sarah is looking forward to joining the team at Léman and utilising her experience to make a positive contribution to the school. 

Stable Leadership Team at LIS 

Educational leadership is the driving force behind a school's vision, culture, and academic success. The correlation between effective leadership retention and sustained academic achievement is undeniable. As schools navigate the challenges of the modern educational landscape, understanding and prioritising leadership retention becomes paramount for fostering an environment conducive to learning and growth.  

We are very pleased to announce that our Principal Mrs. Connor, Head of Primary Mr. Dolan, Head of Secondary Mr. Highdale and MYP Coordinator Mr. Meerman will all be remaining in their positions next academic year (2024-2025) - ensuring continuity and consistency to the school. With the new DP Coordinator Ms. Donnelly joining us from our NAE sister school in Shunyi Beijing, it will further enhance our academic offers and support to our students.  

Let's look forward to the new school year and the new journey that Léman will embark on under the leadership of our outstanding team!