Contact

ASIBA
Association des Sections Internationales Britanniques et Anglophones

Lycée International, British Section
2 bis rue du Fer à Cheval
78101 Saint Germain-en-Laye

Contact:
contact@asiba.fr

Shaun Corrigan — Treasurer

Fontainebleau

A graduate of London, Granada and Aix-en-Provence, Shaun completed his post-graduate studies at Lancaster before entering the teaching profession in 1994. In addition to leading departments in a variety of British schools, he has been highly involved in examining and teacher-training, working with universities in England and across Europe. Over the years, he has enjoyed collaborating in numerous projects between the British and French education systems.

Prior to his arrival in France, Shaun spent eight years as Head of a large department in an academic grammar school in the north of England. Appointed Director of the Anglophone Section of the Lycée François Ier in Fontainebleau in 2010, he has been instrumental in establishing the school as the second (British) OIB oral examining centre in the Paris region.

Xavier Vuiller — Vice-President

Colomiers

Born and raised in the French Alps Xavier studied an English and American Literature and History joint degree before moving to Aberdeenshire where he worked as a Foreign Language Assistant while completing his MA.

Back in France for a year to complete a FLE qualification he then went back to the UK and completed his PGCE at Cardiff University, starting his teaching career in the Welsh valleys in 1999 as a modern foreign Languages teacher before moving to the East Midlands to become curriculum leader, literacy coordinator, PGCSE mentor and then be promoted to join Nottinghamshire’s highest performing state school’s leadership team. After nearly 20 years in education in the UK, Xavier returned to France to become Director of the International programme at the Lycée International Victor Hugo in the Toulouse area where he also teaches English Literature.

Xavier was invited to join the ASIBA board in 2020. He is hoping to make a positive contribution in ensuring ASIBA a bright future and follow in the footsteps of the various very talented and inspired stakeholders who created it and have skilfully transformed it over time into the great institution that it is today.

Elisabeth Lau-Vanchet — Secretary

Sèvres

Elisabeth Lau-Vanchet has been teaching in the OIB community since 2000 and is currently Head of English and University Advising in the Anglophone Section of the Sections Internationales de Sèvres. In this role, she teaches Language & Literature at the IGCSE and OIB levels and oversees the SIS post-bac orientation programme supporting students’ ambitions to study at universities in the UK, EU and North America.

Betty studied Literature and Art History at the University of Toronto, where she also earned an MA and her teaching qualifications (BEd). She taught in the American Section of the Lycée International de St.Germain-en-Laye and was for many years on the ELSA FRANCE planning committee for the annual TDD (Teacher Development Day) in Paris.

Having joined the ASIBA board in 2012, Betty helps organise the annual Schools Forum. In recent years, she has also contributed to the activities of the University Entrance Group, supporting colleagues in university advising roles and working towards greater recognition of the OIB with university admissions in the UK and increasingly across the EU.

Laura Martin-Clark — Board Member

Ferney-Voltaire

Laura grew up in the Scottish Highlands and studied English Literature and French at Glasgow University.   She lived in Paris before completing Teacher Training at the Institue of Education in London. After almost 20 years teaching in state schools in London, Laura moved with her family to Ferney-Voltaire in 2017 where she now leads the English National Programme, one of France’s biggest and longest established anglophone sections.

Nicholas Baker — Board member

Saint-Germain-en-Laye

Nicholas Baker was Subject Leader for Language and Literature in the British Option of the OIB until July 2023. He was Deputy Director and Head of English in the British Section of the Lycée International of St Germain-en-Laye before retiring in July 2023.

Born in London, and brought up in London and the midlands, Nicholas studied at the Birmingham School of Music before reading English at London University. After working in the book trade for a number of years, as well as composing and performing music, Nicholas took a PGCE and joined the staff of University College School, London. He and his French wife moved to France in 1991, firstly to the Lycée International at Ferney-Voltaire and then, two years later, to the Lycée International at St Germain-en-Laye.

Drawn from the start to the originality of the OIB in its commitment to the humanist tradition of English Literature, Nicholas became involved in the development of Language and Literature as a subject within the OIB. He represented the OIB schools in drafting official programmes for Language and Literature in the collège and lycée cycles, working with representatives of the Inspection Générale, the Programmes Department in the French Ministry of Education, and the Cambridge Inspector for Language and Literature; these programmes are published on the website of the French Ministry of Education.

As well as his commitment to English as a subject in the OIB, Nicholas has a strong interest in university entrance and the recognition of the OIB.

Katharine Axten — Board member

Paris

Katharine has a child in the Anglophone section at Honoré de Balzac (Paris) and represents the interests of Balzac parents and OIB parents in general. She came to France 20 years ago to work as a Technical Writer and has more recently created and implemented training programs for businesses.

Alan Geary – Board Member

CSI – Lyon

Alan Geary has been teaching history and geography in the Anglophone Section of the Cité Scolaire Internationale in Lyon since 2011. Before this he taught history and geography for nine years in the Anglophone Section of the Lycée Franco-Allemand in Buc, near Versailles.

Born and raised in Edinburgh, Alan moved to Glasgow in order to read history and French at Strathclyde University in 1994. After this, he settled in Paris to undertake a postgraduate course in history at the Sorbonne (Paris IV) in 1998. After successfully completing his degree he then passed the CAPES followed by the Agrégation, competitive exams to become a teacher in the French public sector.

In September 2017, Alan officially took over from Robert Miller as the National Subject Leader for History and Geography for France and overseas. This leads him to work closely with Cambridge International Examinations and with the French Inspection in ensuring the close partnership and smooth running of the OIB. After passing on the role of National Subject Leader to Matthew Tomlinson, Alan took on the role of ASIBA Overseas School Coordinator.

Simon Herd – Board Member

CSI – Lyon

Simon Herd has been the Head of the Anglophone Section at the Cité Scolaire Internationale (CSI) in Lyon since 2022. Simon previously worked at the Education Bureau of the Government of Hong Kong S.A.R. in the Curriculum Development Institute where he helped write a number of English Language Teaching programmes and develop the curriculum used in schools throughout Hong Kong. A large component of that work also involved teacher training and carrying out quality assurance in schools. This all comes on the back of many years of experience in the field as an educator.

Simon spent much of the last decade taking evening classes after work as part of his ethos that teachers should also be learners. Along the way, Simon has obtained a Doctorate in Education, a Master’s in Education, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education and a Certificate in TESOL. He has also published several peer-reviewed articles with a special focus on student well-being. Simon is proud to have the University of Hong Kong as his Alma Mater with its faculty of education consistently positioning itself in the top few spots of global higher education rankings.

Of British descent and birth, Simon was overjoyed at the opportunity to return to France after almost twenty years spent in Asia. Indeed, Simon grew up in France having attended the British School of Paris before moving back to the U.K. His love of France brought him back for his further studies, where he studied at an École Supérieure de Commerce Business School. He met his wife there and is now the father of two beautiful kids. Outside of work Simon is a triathlon enthusiast which helps him build his resilience and well-being. Simon is honoured to have been elected as a member of the ASIBA board and looks forward to putting all of his experience to the service of the Anglophone & British sections’ community.