Governance at Thames British School Warsaw
Thames British School Warsaw is proud to be part of Dukes Education, a family of schools and education organisations united by a shared purpose: to give every student the foundations for an extraordinary life through education.
Across the UK and Europe, each Dukes school retains its own unique character and ethos while sharing a commitment to educational excellence and outstanding student outcomes.
Our governance structure ensures the school is well-led, fully compliant with all statutory and regulatory requirements, best international practices, and focused on providing an optimal education for every student.
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Our Governors
David Fitzgerald
CEO, Dukes Education Europe
david.fitzgerald@dukeseducation.com
David Fitzgerald is an experienced school and system leader with over 30 years of experience in education and having previously worked for the Reserve Bank of Australia. He holds a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Undergraduate degrees in Education and Business. David joins Dukes from Education in Motion (EiM), the leading Asia based school group that includes the Dulwich and Green School brands. In his role with EiM, he was responsible for the educational outcomes and the quality of education provision for all EiM international curricula schools and is focused on improving education quality.
David has been a successful Head/Principal of five schools across government, private independent and international sectors. He has been involved in international education since 2006 and has worked in IB World Schools, US Curriculum schools, Indian Curriculum schools and NCfE schools. David has system leadership experience with the English Schools Foundation in Hong Kong and with GEMS Education in the UAE where he was Senior Vice President – for US and IB Schools. David is an accredited IB, CIS and WASC team visitor and Chair, and an accredited Performance Coach.
Philippe Grosskost
Managing Director of Dukes Central Europe
philippe.grosskost@dukeseducation.com
Philippe is a senior professional, with over twenty-five years’ experience of working in training, education and general management positions, mainly in Europe and also the Middle East and North America. Philippe brings a wealth of experience across a range of different sectors including consulting, distribution, vocational training and Higher & K-12 education management.
During his career, Philippe has built, managed and motivated multicultural, international teams around the world. He has previously been Managing Director (EMEA) for ETS Global, a subsidiary of ETS, the world leader in business certification, educational testing and consultancy (known for GRE, SAT, TOEFL and TOEIC). He then joined an education start-up financed by the Varkey Foundation and lead by Jeffrey Beard, the ex-Director General of the IB. After that inspirational experience, he co-founded a business school in Geneva before joining ISP in early 2022 where he contributed to the growth of the region from 4 to 10 schools. In 2024, Philippe joined Dukes Education as Managing Director for Central and Eastern Europe, recognising that the Dukes values and its founding ethos of nurturing young people so they can achieve their full potential, resonate strongly with his own aspirations.
Philippe has a Bachelor’s degree in political science, from Sciences Po in Strasbourg and a Master of Business Administration from ICN, one of the world’s top 50 FT schools. He has completed a Harvard Business School leadership program and has been trained on case-based teaching, also by Harvard Business School. Brought up in Alsace, in the East of France, Philippe enjoys cycling, travelling and spending his free time with his family.
Libby Nicholas
Group Education Director
libby.nicholas@dukeseducation.com
Having graduated from the University of Bristol with a degree in English & Philosophy, Libby realised her true vocation when working with the Prince’s Trust leading a group of young people ‘not in education or employment’.
Wanting to teach and help young people, Libby completed her PGCE and was accepted on the National Fast Track Teaching Programme ranking as one of the ‘Top Ten Nationwide Fast Track Teachers’. Progressing quickly from teaching English to increasingly senior roles, Libby has held positions such as Head of Year, Deputy Head, Headmistress, Deputy Director of Education at the Girls’ Day School Trust, and Regional Director of Education for the South & West at the Academies Enterprise Trust. Most recently Libby founded and was CEO of Astrea Academy Trust- a family of 27 schools across Yorkshire and Cambridge. During her tenure, Astrea had a 100% track record of significant school improvement including over 20 Ofsted inspections many of which jumped from ‘Special Measures’ to ‘Good’. Libby also offered all 17,000 pupils the ‘Astrea Promise’- a range of enrichment experiences including, amongst many others, residential university trips in Year 5, visits abroad, climbing a mountain, and debating, to ensure all pupils benefit from experiences to raise cultural capital and learning.
Libby’s areas of professional expertise include the delivery of school improvement, strategic organisational change, curriculum design, and innovation and all aspects of teaching and learning – thinking, theory, and pedagogy. She has conducted leadership development for middle and senior leaders in primary and secondary education and has also led staff development in the Netherlands, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom.
Most recently co-authoring “Understanding Leadership” and “Stronger Boards, Better Education”, Libby is committed to learning-centred leadership; securing high-quality education through excellent staff development at all levels. To this end, Libby has completed the NPQH and graduated with her MBA (Masters in Business) from Cass Business School with Distinction.
Christopher Durbin
External Governor
Christopher Durbin brings nearly a decade of experience in international school accreditation through his work with the Council of International Schools (CIS), most recently serving as Associate Director of School Support & Evaluation. In this role, he has partnered with schools across the world to drive continuous improvement and strengthen educational quality.
Before joining CIS, Christopher was a School Development Adviser for the English Schools Foundation (ESF) in Hong Kong, where he oversaw quality assurance, strategic curriculum development, and professional learning. He also served on several ESF governing bodies and contributed to the recruitment and support of school leaders.
Christopher’s earlier career in the UK included positions as a teacher, head of faculty, and advisory teacher for Derbyshire LEA. He later joined the BBC as an Education Officer, leading the development of the GCSE Bitesize online learning platform. He went on to work as an advisor and inspector for Staffordshire LEA, contributing to inspection frameworks, curriculum innovation, and national teacher-networking initiatives.
A published writer and experienced presenter, Christopher has authored articles and textbooks and delivered keynotes and workshops at national and international conferences, particularly in the field of global citizenship education.
Beyond his professional life, Christopher is a lifelong environmentalist and avid cyclist. A cancer survivor, he regularly takes part in long-distance charity rides, raising funds for myeloma and heart-research initiatives. He is most at home in the wilderness or completing a challenging 100-kilometre cycling route.
Daniela Vasile
Director of Learning Central & South Europe
daniela.vasile@dukeseducation.com
For over 25 years, Dr Daniela Vasile has led change in schools internationally, driven by integrity, strategic thinking, and a belief that people thrive in agile, reflective school systems. As Director of Learning for Central & South Europe. Daniela supports schools across the region to strengthen curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and organisational culture.
With experience leading teaching and learning in schools across Croatia, Poland, Russia, Hong Kong and Romania, Daniela also leads school evaluation and accreditation through the Council of International Schools and Penta International (BSO scheme). She has contributed to teacher development by collaborating with the University of Hong Kong, where she was involved in the accreditation of two master’s programmes in mathematics and science for international education. In Romania, Daniela co-designed and is now the lead
consultant for DataMathLab, the national professional development programme for mathematics teachers, reaching over 150 teachers and 12,000 students annually and co-curated the first national Maths Education Festival.
Her academic credentials, PhD, NPQH, QTS, anchor her leadership in academic rigour and professional standards.
Daniela believes that meaningful educational transformation comes from evidence-based practice, collaborative communities and scalable systems that help schools raise outcomes and build capacity.