Ryan Edwards, Director of Summer School
Ryan began his career in the Summer School industry back in 2009 as an Activity Leader whilst still studying for his Undergraduate Degree at Cardiff University. Ryan moved up to Activity Manager before stepping up to run his own school as Centre Manager. In addition to these seasonal roles, Ryan spent time as an EFL Teacher in Spain (2011-12) and then as Project Director for an NGO (2012-14) based in Accra, Ghana helping disadvantaged children gain access to education and sport. He completed an MSc in Operations, Logistics and Supply Chain Management at Newcastle University Business School before becoming a Programme Manager for a large junior EFL provider in 2016 and then taking on the role of Operations Manager & DSL in 2018 prior to starting at Bede’s in 2021. Ryan is a keen football and sporting enthusiast and lives in Brighton with his partner, Cara and their Labrador, Reggie. ryan.edwards@bedes.org
 
Luke Hart, Assistant Director of Summer School 
Luke has worked in the EFL industry for over 10 years in various roles from Accommodation Officer to UK Operations Manager for a multi-site Summer School provider. His previous role as Centre Manager in a residential school involved managing both junior and adult year-round programmes. Luke graduated from Brighton University where he studied Sports Coaching and Development. With a passion for water sports, he has spent 2 Years travelling around Spain, Italy and France working as a Water Sports Instructor and Operations Manager. Outside of work, Luke enjoys spending time with his young children Joseph and Rueben, nature and watching football and rugby. luke.hart@bedes.org
 
Alicja Penrose, Operations, Marketing and Academic Manager
Alicja has a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics and has been working as an EFL teacher and teacher trainer in Poland, Spain and the UK for over 15 years. Prior to Bede’s, Alicja spent 10 years working for a big summer school provider in the UK and Malta at centre level, and it is where she was first introduced to the study and travel industry. With a BA degree in Marketing and Advertising, she is adding a new face to Bede’s on social media. In her free time, Alicja enjoys exploring new places and capturing them on camera, learning new languages and spending time in global communities. She is also committed to life-long learning and keen on further developing her TEFL-Q qualifications. alicja.penrose@bedes.org
 
Stephen Farebrother, Lettings & Social Programme Manager
Stephen started at Bede’s in the summer of 2018 as an Airport Coordinator. Before this he taught English as a foreign Language in Seville, Spain. Stephen has worked in the Sports department since 2018 where he was the Sports Operations manager. Stephen’s responsibilities include communicating with external lets and managing bookings across both sites. In his spare time, he enjoys football, swimming and learning new skills. Stephen is also a Google Certified Level 2 Educator. stephen.farebrother@bedes.org
 
Callum Wiltshire, Sales and Partnership Manager
Callum grew up locally, studying Sport and Exercise Science with Physical Education at University of Brighton, Eastbourne. Upon graduating, Callum has spent the last 8 years in the travel and education sectors working a variety of roles in operations, recruitment and sales. 2023 represents Callum's 4th year working for a Summer School and he will be working to promote Bede's summer courses, developing new relationships whilst helping to look after our existing ones. Outside of Bede's, Callum enjoys spending time with his 2 year old daughter Poppy and socialising with friends and family. He also has a keen interest in all sports, particularly football.  callum.wiltshire@bedes.org
 
Neil Firman, Admissions Manager
Neil has a degree in French and has previously worked in the fields of multilingual customer service and ESL teaching. Prior to joining Bede’s Neil spent 11 years working as an English teacher in Japan for a private English conversation school, where he taught both adults and children at over 40 branch school locations across the country. As the Admissions Manager, Neil's responsibilities include promoting Bede’s Summer Courses and managing enrolments and enquiries related to bookings and payments. In his spare time, Neil enjoys reading, swimming, watching films, spending time with his 3 year old daughter Frida and studying foreign languages. He is also teaching himself programming with Python at a beginner level.  neil.firman@bedes.org
 
Tracey Cook, Admissions and Sales Officer
Tracey joined the organisation mid February 2023. She has 20 years experience in private language schools, in both teaching and management, and has a Cambridge DELTA and a DELTM.Tracey has lived in Hong Kong, Singapore and Finland and prior to joining the EFL industry held positions in marketing agencies with international clients. Now at Bedes she is enjoying her role supporting the Admissions and Sales Departments, marketing high quality eduational programmes. Tracey loves spending time on and in water and, when possible, taking her boat on the river Thames.  tracey.cook@bedes.org
 
Lucy Fox, Recruitment and Programme Manager
Lucy began working in summer schools as an EFL teacher after completing her BA Hons in TESOL and Spanish. She worked as a Welfare manager and Activities Manager for another provider before taking a break to complete her Masters in TESOL with Applied Linguistics and then working in a UK university with trainee EFL teachers. She then retrained as a Business and Education coach and worked supporting university students before returning to Summer Schools in 2022 for Bede's as an Activity Manager. Lucy loves crafting, digital art, true crime documentaries and spending time with her rescue dog, Wilma. lucy.fox@bedes.org
 
Ash Meffen, Recruitment Executive
Ash is the newest member of the Bede’s Summer School Team. He is a former Bede’s student and has worked for Bede’s Summer School as both an Activities Leader in 2018 & 2019 and Activities Manager in 2022. Ash graduated from the University of Manchester in 2021 with a degree in Chinese and Business, during which time he lived in Shanghai for 6 months. Ash is a big football fan and enjoys travelling to new places with friends in his spare time. ash.meffen@bedes.org
 
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