The Team

Our team at River House Academy is made up of fully qualified teachers from Europe and India. We also have TEFL support teachers and a small team looking after our office and kitchen.

Our staff is committed to working within the ethos of River House Academy, to ensure that our children receive the best education possible within a holistic, nurturing environment.

Ellie Cottrell (Head Teacher, Secondary Mathematics Teacher)

ellie@riverhouseacademy.com

Ellie Cottrell is the founder and Headteacher of River House Academy.

Ellie taught for 11 years in Norwich, England where she worked with students with a wide range of skills and abilities. She enjoyed finding innovative ways of engaging learners so that they reached their full potential: academically, creatively and socially.

Having two children of her own, Ellie is clear that a rounded education must offer a balance between academic achievement and creative expression.

This balance is the defining strength of River House Academy.

Divya Shetty (Deputy Head Teacher, Secondary Mathematics Teacher)

Prior to her journey in the education sector, Divya worked as a Chartered Accountant with leading Indian and multinational banks in India. She discovered her love for working with children when she volunteered at educational institutions during her weekends off from her corporate job. It was in 2015 that Divya found her calling and transitioned into the education sector on a full-time basis.

Having joined River House in 2018, Divya has since completed her Master of Education in Advanced Teaching, further enriching her pedagogical knowledge and skills.

Divya firmly believes in cultivating strong relationships with her students. Through open discussions, active listening, and creating a supportive atmosphere, Divya ensures that her students feel heard, understood, and valued. Throughout the years, this approach has allowed her to foster deep connections with her students.

Divya loves Maths, cooking and technology – a rather strange combination – which she brings into the school community. She incorporates technology into her Maths teaching which leverages student learning and equips them with digital literacy skills. When she is not teaching Maths, she conducts cooking / baking classes with students in the school which allows students to dive into culinary arts and also gain an important life skill.

Akhilesh Kumar (Secondary Science Teacher)

Akhilesh Kumar is a compassionate, student-minded secondary-school educator, with 3 years of experience in teaching mathematics and science to teenagers from Year 7 to Year 11 (Ages 12 to 18). He worked with Teach for India, a non-profit organization, to offer the less privileged a chance to educate themselves. He also brings six plus years of both social entrepreneurial and corporate management experience.

He believes in a multi-dimensional classroom setting where students can explore, experiment, discover, and learn in a variety of ways. His vision of the learning space is to offer a wide variety of academic inputs, which involve visual, auditory, and experiential methods. Acting as a facilitator rather than in the traditional sense as a knowledge provider, he allows students to discover their own voice, their own interests, and their own point of view so that they can take ownership of their lives with awareness and with confidence.

Ananda Mitra (Secondary English Language and English Literature Teacher)

Ananda (Andy) holds a Master’s degree in English, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Education and has been teaching English language and literature, both as first and second language, for over 12 years across various curriculums including IGCSE.  

Keeping in the spirit and motto of River House Academy, Ananda believes in imparting knowledge and instilling confidence in every child while making academics more interesting by incorporating games, performances, music, interactive storytelling and classroom discussions for a multi-sensory learning experience, thereby empowering students to develop effective communication, reasoning and leadership skills.
 
Being a student of arts himself in various disciplines through his life, he believes in honing the intrinsic creative fervor in students that help them expand their horizons of self-expression and aspirations.    

Resha Varik (Support Co-ordinator)

Resha is from a local family and has worked with our children for many years.

She is an integral part of the smooth running of the school, looking after our kitchen, administration of our day-to-day affairs as well as helping us to maintain strong relationships with the local community, neighbours and businesses.

Resha’s smile is available for rent 🙂

General Terms & Conditions

RIVER HOUSE ACADEMY TERMS & CONDITIONS 

These terms & conditions form a legally binding agreement made between you and River House Academy

Admission fee
There is an admission fee of Rs.7500 charged as a one time non-refundable payment to reserve the place.  Until this has been paid the child’s place will not be confirmed.  

Administration Fee
There is an annual administration fee of Rs. 2500 per child made at the time of enrolment.

Enrolment
Before your child starts you will be required to fill out an enrolment form and sign our terms & conditions form. The link for the enrolment form will be sent to you a couple of weeks before they start.

Fees
Once you have submitted an admissions form you will receive an invoice which outlines exactly what needs to be paid throughout the year and when payments need to be made.

Late fees
Any late fees will be subject to late payment charges of Rs.100 per day.

Sibling discount
A discount of 10 % will be given for your 2nd child and 30% on the 3rd and any subsequent siblings.

Personal holidays and absence
There are no fee discounts available for holidays or absences (including illness) from the school. Where possible please try to avoid taking holidays during the school term. Before booking your trip, it is essential that you check with the school to avoid missing important dates.

Notice of leaving
When you enrol your child at the academy you are required to give your attendance dates. Should your departure date be brought forward, you will be expected to pay according to your original dates given at enrolment.

Illness
Do not bring your child into school if they are ill, or are showing signs of being ill. If your child becomes ill at school, a Parent/Guardian will be contacted and asked to collect your child. Please text, email or telephone in the morning to let the Headteacher know if your child will be absent from school due to illness and what the illness is if it could potentially affect others. All medication must be brought in by a Parent/Guardian with clear instructions as to how and when it should be administered. Please do not allow your child to come to school with medication in their bag. Please check your child regularly for head lice. If we discover your child has head lice, they will be sent home from school and not allowed to return until the head lice have been treated.

Valuable items (including all electronic devices)
Valuable items, including all electronic devices, are not allowed to be brought into school. Children in the Secondary class may bring in a mobile phone but it should be kept in their bag at all times. We do not accept any responsibility for any items that are brought in.

School opening times
School lessons start at 9am. Please ensure your children arrive at school between 8.45 am-8.55am so that lessons can start promptly. If you are going to be late, please let us know. There will be no adult supervision before 8.45am. Please be aware that staff are busy at this time preparing for the day. Should you wish to speak to a member of staff please do so at 3pm or by prior appointment.

Collection from school
Children need to be collected from the school building at 3pm. Please let us know If someone else will be collecting your child from school.

Unexpected school closure 
Occasionally the school may be forced to close due to unforeseen circumstances in the interest of health and safety. In such cases, you will be informed by Whatsapp as early as possible.

Contacting the school
Should you need to contact somebody at school please message the school phone only, during office hours. Please do not contact staff on their personal numbers.

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