We are highly dedicated volunteers supporting the pupils and teachers of Shamrock School, Nepal. We aim to help them to realise their dreams through quality education. We volunteer our time, our creative, organisational and fundraising skills from overseas. If you would like to become involved in this highly rewarding organisation, please feel free to contact us.

SHAMROCK SCHOOL NEPAL

Shova Gurung

PRINCIPAL & ADMINISTRATOR

Shova is the Shamrock Principal since 2013. Shova has a master degree in Business Administration Major in Financial Management. Apart from being in charge of the running of the school, she takes care of the school accounts and all the official paperwork. She loves to work with children who are very motivated to learn. Shova believes in supporting the development of Nepal by providing all the children in the country a good education. She is married and a proud mother of a son. She enjoys reading, cooking, zumba fitness classes and visiting new places within Nepal.

Suraj Hazare Dahal

VICE PRINCIPAL and SOCIAL STUDIES & GEOGRAPHY TEACHER

Suraj is the school Vice Principal since 2013. He coordinates the School Academic Curriculum and teaches Social Studies and Optional Geography. He has been in the teaching post at Shamrock since 2009. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Sociology. He has received teacher training from Experience UK Ltd twice: in 2011 and 2015. He was also trained by Social Studies Forum Nepal in 2014. During his teaching years, he has always shown a positive attitude and persistence. When he is not teaching, he enjoys reading, cooking and writing articles for local newspapers. He loves to travel and has visited many parts of Nepal. Suraj has a wonderful teaching style in which he combines factual storytelling by sharing his travels and life experiences. This adds an important (centuries old) element of experiential learning to the traditional teaching system.

Susmita Thapa Chhetri

Hostel Manager

Susmita Thapa Chhetri is the Hostel manager and Social Studies teacher at Shamrock since 2016. Susmita is a former Shamrock student. She looks after the Arts and the extracurricular activities along with the wardens. She is a member of the school management team and works efficiently in the running of the school. Susmita also coordinates the virtual interactions of Shamrock students with volunteers from different parts of the world.

Gyanodaya Secondary School (Shamrock) current teachers (July 2023)

Name of the Teacher	Subject teaching	Classes Teaching
SURAJ HAZARE DAHAL	Social Studies & Geography	9 & 10
SUHANI ALE	Health & Arts	6 to 8
MINAKSHI SHARMA	Nepali	6 to 10
MR/MISS XYZ	Maths and Opt. Maths	8 to 10
PRADIP POUDEL	Science	6 to 10
KSHITIZ THAPA MAGAR	English Language	6 to 10
SUBASH KHATRI	Maths and Opt. Maths	6 to 8
MR/MISS XYZ	Computer	6 to 7
KUNDAN RANA	Computer	8 to 10
SUSMITA THAPA	Social	6 to 8

SHAMROCK EDUCATION TRUST UK CHARITY #1,158,847

Andy Ryder

Chair

Andy’s professional career has taken him from Rolls Royce PLC to the Royal Navy and then on to living and working abroad as a business Facilitator & Resultant™. He has spent the last 25 years designing and delivering corporate sales and leadership training (in English, Spanish and German) around the world. He currently runs his own international business, Experience UK Ltd, serving clients based in Europe, the USA and the Middle East. Andy's patented job title of Resultant™ explains his primary focus, which is to facilitate personal and business skills development, in order to help organisations and their staff reach their full potential. He has shared this vocation in his work at Shamrock School since 2006, where he has been responsible for maintaining the high standard of teaching, in order to "give these intelligent children, the chances they deserve in life." Andy delivers teacher training and personal development training at Shamrock School based upon the methodologies of Experiential Learning, Transactional Analysis (TA) and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). His time with Shamrock School goes back to the very first days of its existence, when he assisted Duncan Cradden to source and train the very first team of teachers at the school. He has continued to do this this ever since and he “never gives up!”

Lauren Costello OBE

Education Consultant

Lauren has been a head teacher for 15 years. She established one of the first primary federations in the UK and was responsible for the rapid improvement of a number of Swindon’s schools which went on to achieve the nationally recognised category of “outstanding”. In 2012 Lauren co-founded the Whitehorse Federation multi-academy trust, which incorporates primary, secondary, special needs and a teaching school covering Swindon, Wiltshire, Gloucester and Bicester. Lauren has been a member of the primary heads reference group since 2012 and is currently the vice-chair. She has also worked on a focus group and contributed to the review of children’s mental-health. Most recently, she was appointed by the Secretary of State to chair the National committee in response to the workload challenge around data management and assessment. Lauren became involved with Shamrock School in 2014 when she began organizing fundraising events through the White Horse Federation. She then went on to offer closer ties with the school through teacher-training and volunteering her time and experience in the area of school governance.

Michael Newton

School Principal Advisor

ASOCIACóN SHAMROCK NEPAL SPANISH CHARITY #70,276

Mary Palmer

CHAIR

Mary Palmer is the chairperson of the Shamrock charity in Spain. She is an International educator with extensive experience and total dedication. She has worked in education her entire life, in Spain, France, Scotland, England and the USA, and presently in Nepal at Shamrock School. She has also been running English Summer Camps for children and teens in the Spanish Pyrenees and in Edinburgh, Scotland, for many years. Mary visited Shamrock School for the first time in October 2010, after retiring from Oak House School in Barcelona, Spain, where she had been a teacher and Primary Coordinator for 31 years. Since then, Mary has spent 2 months each year at Shamrock School in Nepal volunteering her efforts and sharing her experience and knowledge. Recently, with the cooperation of a team of trustees, Mary has set up a charity in Barcelona , Spain - Asociación Shamrock Nepal - to help sustain Shamrock School Nepal. "Let's work together to provide good quality education to underprivileged children in Nepal" Mary thought, said and did!

Andrew Richards

Treasurer

Andy Richards is the treasurer of Shamrock charity in Spain. He is a British qualified teacher with many years of experience working in Primary schools in both the UK and Spain. Andy has been involved with Shamrock since 2011 with fundraising and working with children/adults to inform them about the school in Nepal. He is very interested in NGO’s and has worked as a volunteer in Sri Lanka as well as taking part in two UNICEF trips to (Laos and Zimbabwe). Andy lives with his family in Barcelona since 2005. He is a Primary school teacher at Oak House School and is directly involved with the fundraising committee within the school. He enjoys playing many sports and outdoor activities that he can then use with the children at Shamrock.

Julie Harris

Advisor

SPANISH CHARITY TRUSTEES

SANDRA CORREDOR

Secretary

Sandra is a primary school teacher with 25 years of experience, of which 20 have been at Oak House School, Barcelona. As a result of her interest, she is an active member of the Comisión de Acción Social del AMPA of Oak House School. She has, for at least the last 16 years, been collaborating with various charities and associations and was a Red Cross volunteer for 6 years. She is currently working with Shamrock School, Nepal. 7 years ago, after the earthquakes in 2015, she felt the need to help not only Nepal, but also the President of this organisation, Mary Palmer, with whom she shares a close friendship and for whom she has a deep admiration. In Oak House School she organised a bake sale to raise money for earthquake victims and from this point on began working with Mary and Shamrock in organising a variety of fundraising events for Nepal.

Beatriz Fortó Rocamora

Vice Secretary

Beatriz studied Business Public Relations and Furniture Restoration and Polychromy. She is a Cáritas volunteer and now enjoys dedicating herself to Shamrock School Nepal. Beatriz feels very fortunate to belong to a family, that from a young age, instilled in her values of generosity towards others and she discovered the great reward you receive giving and helping. Beatriz believes that this is the basis of her dedication. She has three children, former students of Oak House School, where she met Mary Palmer, and later she participated in the events Mary was running and came across the remarkable work she is doing for Shamrock School Nepal.

MARGA MARTÍNEZ

Trustee NO. 1

ANA GAMISSANS

Trustee No. 2

Ana Gamissans graduted in agriculture at the Universitat Politècnica de Barcelona. She has worked as a teacher and surveyor, and currently as an accountant, administrator and businesswoman. She enjoys nature, reading, listening to music, and taking care of plants. It’s said that in the future we’ll regret all that we have not tried. Ana has decided to move into the unknown and discover new cultures and help the children in Nepal. She is fully confident that the support we are going to provide the Shamrock School will be significant to sustain the underprivileged Nepali children's education and their future ahead.

VICENÇ OROBITG

Trustee No. 3, in charge of Communication

Expert in communication, digital marketing and social networks, with more than 25 years’ experience in communication with the area of education. Passionate about new technology, music and audio-visual creations. Deeply committed to the welfare of underprivileged children, he has collaborated in numerous charity projects (World Maths Day, UNICEF, Save the Children, ANiNATH, Bona Voluntat en Acció, Fundació Arrels). Currently working at Oak House School in the communication department.

SHILPA DESHMUKH

Trustee NO. 4

Shilpa Deshmukh has been living in Barcelona since 1997. She is a qualified UK lawyer with many years of experience, currently working in training throughout Spain with various local law firms. She became involved in Shamrock after learning of Mary Palmer’s connection with the school and being inspired by the wonderful work being done there. A mother of three daughters, she and her husband, Rafael Ayuso Siart, have been active volunteers in the education field for some time, particularly with the German School of Barcelona. She has been involved in charity work and fundraising for over 10 years and for the last 4 years has been Head of the Charity Committee for Barcelona Women’s Network, an organisation which has raised funds and volunteer assistance for many charities. She has travelled extensively in Asia where she has seen the need for educational support, particularly in rural areas.

UK CHARITY TRUSTEES

Dominic Faulkner

Extra Curricular & Safety Policies

Dom is an acclaimed adventurer, writer, photographer and speaker. He was born and educated in the UK after spending much of his childhood in Nigeria and India. He studied Geology at Imperial College, London from which he embarked on a 9-year career with 21 SAS regiment of the British Army. In 2006 Dom led an exceptional team (EVERESTMAX) from the lowest to the highest point on Earth. Starting on the shores of the Dead Sea and finishing on the summit of Everest, the dangerous 8000km journey challenged every extreme and lasted over 6 months. As one of the most ambitious and successful British expeditions in decades - 'The Longest Climb on Earth...' and the ultimate ascent. has never been repeated. The efforts of the expedition are well recorded and have appeared both as a film and a book. Dom also works in education. He is a qualified teacher of Earth Sciences, a Winter Mountain Leader and Wilderness Medical technician as well as being the head of extra-curricular activities at Cheltenham College in the UK. He regularly leads young people on expeditions across the globe and advises many individuals on how to plan and conduct their adventures safely. After the father of a Cheltenham College pupil had seen the work being done at Shamrock School, his daughter told Dom of her plans to travel out to Nepal. From that moment on Dom decided to support the school in whichever way he could, he soon joined the Governing Committee as a leading light in organizing sustainable funding and professional child welfare policies.

André Zlattinger

Corporate Sponsorship

André has worked in the art world for more than 20 years. He currently heads the Modern British Art department at Christie’s in London and lives in Sussex with his wife Ruth and their three boys Freddie, Will and Tom. He has been visiting Nepal for over 20 years and his passion outside of his work is mountaineering. He was part of the “Everestmax” expedition in 2006 and returned to climb Everest in 2008. André first became involved with Shamrock School as a volunteer in 2010, when he and his family first visited the school (his son possibly being the youngest person ever to visit Everest Base Camp). André’s ties with the school have continued ever since, and he has cemented his commitment even further by becoming a trustee and highly active member of Shamrock Education Trust.

Maëlle André

Art Teacher & Graphic WEB DESIGNER

Maëlle is an artist from Brussels, Belgium, living in Nepal and part of Shamrock since 2014. Maëlle studied art, fashion design and graphic design, she is working freelance in the fashion, art & music industry, as a photographer, filmmaker, graphic and web designer. Maëlle believes creativity is freedom of the soul and a chance of self expression. She is teaching art classes in Shamrock School, she is in charge of social medias, photography, web design and graphic design for the school. With the help of her mother, they painted several murals and games inside Shamrock School for the children. She founded WeArtOne.org a community of artists volunteers which promotes art education for children in Nepal.