School Council

BHS School Council

The purpose of School Councils in ESF schools is to work in conjunction with the senior management team and staff to help provide the very best education for its students.  Here are the members of the BHS School Council and their biographies.

Kenneth Wong, Chairman

Having worked in both the government and private sectors for nearly 30 years, Kenneth is now contributing his time in community work around Hong Kong. He has since developed a passion for the education system and taking part in nurturing the younger generations. This is a natural fit. Kenneth regards himself as an approachable person with an open mind for new ideas and concepts, and he looks forward to making a lasting impression at BHS. Kenneth is the Chair of the School Council and Chair of the Staffing Sub-Committee.

Andy Thompson, Acting Principal

Andy is a passionate educator who has been in education for over 25 years in ESF. For the last 10 years he has been in a leadership role. Andy joined Beacon Hill School in August, 2016 as Vice Principal after being the Leader of Curriculum at Quarry Bay School. He is a strong advocate for student well being and personalising the learning for all students so they can reach their full potential. Being an ESF parent Andy has seen his daughters grow and thrive within ESF. Ensuring our community continues to create the environment so all children flourish is his number one priority.

Alan Milliken, Director- Strategic Performance and Quality Assurance, ESF

Alan joined us as Director of Strategic Performance and Quality Assurance. He comes from the UK and he has held a number of roles within education. He has led schools as a Principal and has worked across schools leading curriculum, performance, resources and wider learning communities. He has worked closely with education systems, schools, Principals in the past to support them with their approaches to quality assurance and continuous improvement.

Joanne Chan, PTA Representative

Joanne is the Acting Chairperson of the PTA and a member of the Building Committee of the School Council. She has two children, a son aged 7 in BHS and a daughter aged 12 in Island School. Joanne grew up in HK and has worked in the public relations sector for over 20 years. As a ‘mompreneur’ for over more than a decade, she has become an active learner and multitasker – enabling her to balance being an effective mother and a successful professional. She loves playing tennis, running and hiking. She hopes to work closely with other PTA members to enhance the health and well-being of BHS students.

Teresa Kwan, Parent Representative

Teresa was brought up in Toronto and graduated from the University of Toronto. She has worked in different industry sectors including University, Pharmaceutical, Insurance, Finance and Investment in Toronto and later in Hong Kong. Teresa has a son who is currently in Year 6 at BHS. This is her 6th year participating in PTA as a parent member and had been a Treasurer for four years . Teresa hopes to continue promoting parent-teacher collaboration to benefit students at BHS.

Joseph Law, Community Representative

Joseph is the Managing Director – China of CLP Holdings Limited. The CLP Power is an investor and operator in the Asia Pacific energy sector with investments in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Australia, India, Southeast Asia and Taiwan that span across the energy supply chain. Joseph is a member of CLP’s Group Executive Committee. He is responsible for CLP’s China business with projects encompassing a wide range of energy technologies including nuclear, coal, hdro, wind and solar power, as well as energy retail business. He is also a director of over 20 subsidiary companies and affiliated companies of the CLP Group. Joseph has worked in different parts of the energy business from finance, renewable energy development, project management, strategic planning and commercial development. He has a banking background before joining CLP and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Joseph joined the BHS School Council in 2021 and is the Chair of the Finance Sub-Committee.

Joe Lau, Community Representative

Joe, CPA, is currently the Team Head of Credit Suisse Private Bank, Greater China region. Prior to that, he was the Head of Finance of Credit Suisse Private Bank for North Asia responsible for the region’s financial management, strategic planning and controlling functions. He joined Credit Suisse in 2006 from JPMorgan Asset Management, where he was the Financial Controller. In addition, he spent five years in public accounting with KPMG Silicon Valley Office in the United States and PwC Hong Kong. He received his Bachelor Degree in Finance from the University of Hong Kong and he is a Certified Public Accountant (U.S.). Joe’s leisure activities include traveling, fitness training, watching his son playing ice hockey and spending time with friends and family. Joe joined the BHS School Council in 2019 and is the Chair of the Buildings and Redevelopment SubCommittee.

Teacher Representative (Colette Davis)

Colette is the Acting Vice Principal and the leader of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Beacon Hill school where she has been working as part of the Inclusion team for over 8 years. Before BHS she worked with children with individual needs in schools in Dubai for 8 years, and prior to that Colette was based at Kennedy and Bradbury, both schools within ESF. Colette was originally from the UK but grew up in HK and attended ESF schools as a student. Colette is a firm believer in Inclusion and diversity and is an advocate for children with additional needs. When not working, she loves hiking, playing hockey and hanging out with her two daughters aged 10 and 14.

Teacher Representatives (Susan King)

Susan has been with the ESF family for many years. She attended ESF schools as a student and has now been teaching at Beacon Hill School for 13 years. After university, Susan also spent a few years teaching in the UK. Susan is a strong believer in working collaboratively to create the best learning experiences and environments for the children. Susan enjoys travelling with her family and exploring HK.

Priya Chainani, Support Staff Representative

Priya initially started her collaboration with Beacon Hill School as a parent volunteer in 2001, after which she became a permanent member of staff. She has now been at Beacon Hill School for over 15 years, passionately supporting the education and development of students from all year groups in her role as Education Assistant. She has extensive experience with inclusive education, and thoroughly enjoys her role.

The school council:

• is accountable to the Board of Governors and also to parents and the wider community for the way it carries out its functions;
• seeks to develop effective working relationships with the principal, staff and parents; ESF management; other schools and the wider community;
• acts at all times in accordance with the requirements laid down in the Ordinance and Regulations;
• is a collective entity and acts as a group. No one councillor or category of councillors has any right to act individually except when the school council has delegated authority to do so.

The strength of a school council lies in the talents and commitment of its members, and in their ability to work together as a team for the good of the school.

The BHS Council has 10 members, comprised of the following: –

• a Chairman, appointed by the Board, who is neither an employee of ESF nor the parent of a student at the School
• 2 persons from the general community who are neither employees of ESF nor parents of students at the School, appointed by the Board;
• 2 persons elected by members of the teaching staff of BHS from among their own number;
• 2 parents who are not employees of ESF, one elected by the parent members of our PTA committee and one elected by the parents of the School;
• 1 person elected by the support staff of BHS from among their own number;
• the Chief Executive Officer of ESF, or her appointed delegate;
• the Principal.

The Council has meetings 5 times each year.

School Council Members 2022-2023