of the Sacred and Profane' at the 9th Hong Kong Theatre Libre. ... University, putting her creative communications train
Billy graduated from Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London with an MA in Advanced Theatre Practice specialized in Performing. He was awarded a Distinction for the ACTL Diploma in Musical Theatre Performance by Trinity College. He also received extensive training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (London), Moscow Arts Theatre School (Russia), Trinity Laban Dance School (London) and IUGTE Physical Theatre Lab (Austria). In the UK, Billy had worked with many theatre companies included The Old Vic, Royal Court Theatre, Yellow Earth Theatre, StoneCrabs Theatre, etc. After London, Billy returned to Hong Kong to develop his career in theatre. He works as an actor, theatre director, movement director and writer, and has now participated in more than 25 productions. He won Best Supporting Actor (Tragedy/ Drama) for Jan in 'Czechmates. 1968' at the 25th Hong Kong Drama Awards in 2016, and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Comedy/ Farce) for Poser in 'The History Boy' at the 23rd Hong Kong Drama Awards in 2014, and for Best Director (co-directed with Ivor Hulker) for 'Milk and Honey – Songs of the Sacred and Profane' at the 9th Hong Kong Theatre Libre. Billy returned to Leighton Park in February to hold a workshop for GCSE drama students. Billy works as an actor, theatre director, movement director and writer in Hong Kong and was visiting the UK on holiday. Billy said: “My visit was an absolute pleasure and privilege. So many memories came back when I revisited the school campus, especially the drama studio and the school hall. These are the places where I set the foundation of my understanding of theatre and realised what I wanted to do for my career.” Student Harrison Mitchell (Year 10) said “ I really enjoyed the workshop. It was hard work and we had to repeat exercises to see the difference and improvements in our skills. I will definitely use this in the future.”
Upon completing Sixth Form at Leighton Park, Janice studied Graphic Design (specialising in Advertising) at the revered Central Saint Martin’s, University of the Arts London. She was awarded a place on the Summer Scholarship Scheme at Saatchi & Saatchi, a global communications giant, in their London headquarters. During undergraduate study, Janice found time to act on her passion for language education and attained a Cambridge CELTA (an internationally recognised English teaching qualification). Jumping into the deep end of ad agency life, Janice rose to Account Manager in a year and a half, working on exciting campaigns and pitches for global brands. Her favourite project was the 2012 London Olympics mascot, shortlisted to the final three. Janice relocated to Hong Kong in 2011 for family reasons. Back on home turf, she realised her potential in contributing to local education, and boldly switched into English teaching. While freelancing, she completed a PGDE in English with distinction and Dean’s honours at the Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong (ranked 4th globally by Times Higher Education, 2017). Janice now enjoys teaching mainly undergraduate students at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, putting her creative communications training and commercial exposure io good use. She delivers courses for English in academic, business and various contexts. Her teaching quality has been extremely well received by students, reflected in evaluation scores consistently exceeding the departmental average. In addition to regular teaching, she is involved in student mentoring, curriculum development, as well as application and interview coaching. In the summer, she mentors and observes novice teachers, as a volunteer of an NGO providing educational enrichment to foster children. The reasons for Janice’s gratitude to LP are manifold. The school granted her exemption from English as a Foreign Language lessons, and offered her English Language and Literature instead. This stretched her ability and fuelled her love for English. Ken Lovesy (English Language and Literature), Christine Smith (Geography) and Simon Williams (Art and Design) were memorable teachers who have influenced her own pedagogical practices. Janice feels blessed to have fond memories of LP, such as her A-Level Geography trip to Gower in Wales, hiking on sand dunes and playing rugby at Rhossili Bay (one of Europe’s top 10 beaches) at sunset. She treasures lifelong friendships, including Catherine Pyke (neé Robinson) (S 2004) and Shirley Wong (S 2006) – her maid of honour and bridesmaid respectively! She welcomes OLs from all eras to get in touch to discover more about Hong Kong and/or English teaching.
After leaving Leighton Park I moved to Glasgow for university, where I met my husband Calum. I worked in publishing for several years and I’m now full time mum to our daughter Beatrice (Bea).
Natalie having lunch with Elaine King and Ann Munday
Natalie was unable to make it to the Hong Kong event in November. But she was instead free to visit Leighton Park the week after, 10 years after leaving. Natalie visited Leighton Park on a week’s holiday during Thanksgiving. She also visited New York and Paris in the same week! She hadn’t been back to Paris since she visited Disneyland when at
Leighton Park. When she stepped out of the train station at Reading she thought, “Aah, everything seems to have changed!” On her visit she managed to meet up with old teachers that she remembered, including Nigel Williams, Ann Munday, Elaine King, Jakki Marr, and Graham Smith. Natalie said: “Fryer House was like a nest to me, where I ate and had my first hockey photo taken. I loved years 7–9, it was the time I learned English and became part of the English community. LP is really a home for me, particularly Reckitt. The best part of LP is that everyone is so friendly. I absolutely loved sports at school. I remember playing bench ball with Jakki Marr. I was the only Chinese student in the hockey team. My best memory of school was scoring in a hockey match. I used to love looking at the board in the PE Office to see if I was in a match. I also loved my piano lessons. “I remember Elaine King giving me a detention as I didn’t get to tea on time. Elaine also recollected the occasion, and she said I was so good and that I was so mortified! Yesterday I met up with Linda Liu (S 2003). She is also from Taiyuan, China, and we caught up after 10 years. After LP I went straight into working for my father. I didn’t plan to, but it was an opportunity. I am like an entrepreneur now, as I am learning everything on my own. Our company prints shoe boxes, mainly for the States, but I haven’t started to distribute in the UK yet. I commute on a weekly basis to our base in Dongguan, China.”
