Leadership Team

Mr Coles has been working in education sector for twenty four years, having previously worked at three leading independent schools within the UK, before he moved with his family to Kazakhstan. He has a strong connect with the Haileybury Group, having worked at Haileybury U.K., located near London, for 9 years. During his career he has gained considerable Senior Leader experience, most recently leading the Haileybury School in Almaty. Due to his work in developing Digital Learners he has regularly presented at Education conferences such as BETTS, has also lectured, and coached future Middle and Senior Leaders in conjunction with UCL and the Institution of Education. Mr Coles moved to Kazakhstan almost three years ago, having previously lived in France and England with his wife Sylvie and son Louis. He strongly believes that learning an additional language has helped him understand the challenges for EAL learners. John enjoys spending time with his family, playing football and building Lego with his son. He is passionate about digital technology and preparing children for the future in a modern world. He is keen on growth mind-set, encouraging development through active learning, sports, play and holistic education.

Nicola Kirby retrained as a Teacher of English after a career in financial services. She has worked in education for 18 years with 14 of those years in various leadership roles in both the UK and internationally. Nicola believes in professional development and life-long learning and was one of the first in the UK to achieve the National Professional Qualification of Senior Leadership and is currently studying for an MSc in Psychology. She has also worked with various universities in their Teacher Training Programmes. In addition to study, Nicola enjoys keeping active, cooking, reading and language learning. She is looking forward to exploring Nur Sultan and Kazakhstan.

Currently, Mrs Gricmanis is in her 19th year of teaching and joins Haileybury Astana from Bangkok, Thailand. During her time in Bangkok, Mrs Gricmanis held several whole school leadership roles, including Head of Early Years for 5 years. Mrs Gricmanis is a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching in the UK. Throughout her teaching career, Mrs Gricmanis has specialised in Early Years, taught in Key Stage 1 and taken on a variety of subject leadership postitions. She also has a great deal of experience in adapting teaching and learning for children from a wide variety of cultures, having taught in the UK, Thailand and Hong Kong. Mrs Gricmanis loves to see the unique skills and abilities of children be challenged and developed, enabling all learners to grow and succeed. She is also eager to ensure that children have a safe and secure environment to learn in and is keen to promote the wellbeing of all. It is her belief that children will thrive when they feel safe, respected and nurtured. Outside of school, Mrs Gricmanis enjoys creative activities, such as crochet, painting and singing. She also likes to explore the architecture of buildings and structures and taste food from other cultures. Mrs Gricmanis, is excited to be in Kazakhstan with her husband and is extremely pleased to be a part of the Haileybury Astana community.