Maryke Peacock

Her first UK teaching experience was as a Peripatetic Teacher for special needs children in Southwark, London, where she travelled across the borough, supporting and training parents and teaching staff who worked with children who were diagnosed with autism. Her next position was as a class teacher at a multi-cultural school in Hillingdon, where she taught across Key Stage 1 for the next seven years. She then completed her Qualified Teacher Status and progressed to Year Team Leader and Head of PE. Maryke completed her postgraduate studies (BEd Hons in Early Childhood Development), as well as School Guidance and Counselling. Before leaving the UK, she taught as a specialist teacher for children with speech and language difficulties, after which she returned to South Africa where she taught for three years at an innovative private school, before relocating to Shanghai with her family in 2019. She feels very proud to have her own children attending and thriving at BISS Puxi. As a class teacher, Maryke strives to create a happy and educational environment for all the students in her class. She firmly believes in having a close relationship with her students’ parents and to have meaningful and regular communication. All children should feel happy and valued at school. For Maryke, it is a great privilege and honour to serve the BISS Puxi school community.

Maryke grew up on a sugar cane farm on the East Coast of South Africa, where her daily interaction with animals and the picturesque surroundings formed her sense of conservation and love for our planet. She is a keen nature lover and strives to keeping fit. She enjoys a variety of activities, having completed a 34 km mountain biking race across rugged terrain in Swaziland, hiking for seven days across the Naukluft Mountains in Namibia and many four day mountain hikes in the beautiful Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa. As a family, they enjoy going to theatre, travelling to interesting places and cycling at the weekend.