Meet The Team

GinnyGallagher Academic Housemistress SamClark Pastoral Housemaster BoardingTutors There are eight Boarding Tutor groups within Fraser Youens House. Boarding Tutors in addition to the Housemasters and Housemistress are teachers at RGS who, in the main, are resident on site but not within Fraser Youens House. They have different subject specialisms and this helps support the boarders both academically and pastorally. Lee Rowe-Elliott Lee joined the RGS in September 2018 as a teacher in the Biology department. His main background is Human Physiology and Sport Performance after studying Sport and Exercise Science with a year abroad (Minnesota, US) at the University of Hertfordshire. Sport is one of his main passions competing at a high level in high jump and being involved in England U18 and U21 development squads for Hockey as a goalkeeper. Lee grew up in the local area and went to the rival school John Hampden Grammar. Lee’s hobbies include playing the bass guitar, playing niche board games and building, crashing & repairing FPV racing drones when he can! Alex McDonald-Smith Alex hails from Worcester and joined the RGS as a Biology Teacher in 2021. He studied at Nunnery Wood High School before reading Zoology at Aberystwyth University. After graduating, he worked as a Learning Officer at West Midlands Safari Park and taught at a local school for 3 years before moving to Cardiff to complete his MA Musical Theatre, at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Alex then spent 2 years working professionally as an actor before joining the RGS and still enjoys treading the boards as part of a number of local amateur societies. He helps out with the school productions and really enjoys seeing the development of the boarders through this. Outside of school he plays and coaches at Wycombe hockey club and was selected for the England Mixed Squad in 2018. Mr McDonald-Smith is always willing to have a chat and as Head of Kensington House always wants to hear new ideas for house events. Ginny was educated at Hereford Cathedral School before reading Mathematics with Education at Homerton College, Cambridge. She joined the RGS in 2004 after enjoying a short spell teaching in India. Ginny has been part of the Boarding community since 2005, initially as a House Tutor and Housemistress since 2011. In addition to teaching Mathematics, she has been involved in Duke of Edinburgh and World Challenge Expeditions. Ginny is passionate about travel, particularly relishing her adventures in India, Outer Mongolia and Southeast Asia. She also enjoys hiking, yoga, art, photography and textile crafts and completed her first half marathon in 2014. Ginny is married to David, who is a Head of Year and a fellow RGS Maths teacher. They have three young children, Lucy, Emily and Thomas. Although Mrs Gallagher has responsibility for Academic matters within Boarding she is clearly there to support all of the boarders in a huge variety of ways. Younger boarders might want to know that she holds the Boarding pocket money account. Sam started at RGS in 2016 and is Head of Hockey. Sam grew up and went to school in Oxford and comes from a family of teachers. He studied Psychology & Sport Science at Nottingham Trent University before getting his first taste of life in a boarding school in his first job post-graduation in Lancashire. Here, Sam completed his teacher training while working as a hockey coach and Deputy Housemaster before moving back to Oxford to join RGS and play hockey for his childhood club. Alongside his day job, Sam has a number of coaching roles outside of school, including with England Hockey where he gets to work with a number of RGS boarders including a couple of current Boarders. In his spare time, Sam enjoys reading, is a huge music fan but most importantly is always up for a game of table tennis, pool or football. Sam lives in Fraser Youens with his Fiancé, Emily who is an engineer at Dyson and is also a hockey player and general sports enthusiast. Whenever they can, they like to get away and find any beach in North Cornwall but equally enjoys hiking trips in the Lakes, Wales and Scotland. Sam manages the boarding prefects, the House Blog and runs the house activity system. If you have any suggestions for activities, speak to Mr Clark.