Meet the Team

Following Ms Gordon’s Biochemistry degree at the University of Nottingham, she completed her Secondary Science PGCE and became a Science Teacher specializing in Chemistry. She has been teaching for 15 years and in that time, she taught in the UK, Malaysia, Thailand, The Netherlands and Dubai. She believes that learning should be fun and challenging, allowing students to become life-long learners. Mr Gordon also considers herself a life-long learner as she just completed her Masters in Educational Leadership and Management at the University of Bath.

Alongside her love of learning she also has a passion for crafts; mainly sewing and painting and creating new things for her home. Ms Gordon also enjoys hiking, being active and spending time outdoors as much as possible.

Mrs Železinger was born in Slovenia, but grew up in the UK. She gained a BSc in Psychology and Social Anthropology from Brunel University and trained as a TEFL teacher before joining the International School of London. She later moved to Spain, as School Psychologist and SEN Coordinator at the International College of Marbella and other schools in the area.

After returning to Slovenia, Mrs Železinger joined BISL in its opening year as a Music and Art Teacher, working with both Primary and Secondary students, and as SEN Coordinator and Administrator. In the years since, she has also been a Primary Class Teacher, has taken on the role of Child Protection Officer and has been the Head of Primary since 2014.

With her musical background and her experience in performing arts and training young people, Mrs Železinger has been a keen member of BIMS, as both a teacher and student, and is currently working hard to master the saxophone.

Mr Batson gained his BSc in Psychology from Kingston University, in London, before undertaking a PGCE in Mathematics at Brunel. Whilst working in England as a Mathematics and Psychology teacher, he added a TEFL qualification to his repertoire and decided to explore more parts of Europe, teaching in Toulouse, Vienna and Barcelona.

Mr Batson joined BISL in August 2010 as a part-time teacher of Psychology and ESL and soon became a full-time member of staff, also teaching Maths. He has been the Mathematics Coordinator since 2012, whilst continuing to teach Psychology, took on the role of Examinations Officer in 2015 and became Head of Sixth Form in 2019.

Mr Batson divides his free time between long distance running and running after his two beautiful twin daughters.

After gaining a BEd (Honours) in Primary Education, Ms Thomas worked in a school in North Wales for the first 7 years of her teaching career. Whilst teaching full time, she gained her Masters in Education and specialised in Special Educational Needs and English as an Additional Language.

Experienced in the world of international education, she has taught in China, Australia and Italy, before moving to Slovenia. Joining us from an international school in Milan that is part of a global group of schools, Ms Thomas worked with WWF and eco schools to educate children on how to be good global citizens and how important it is to look after our world. She believes outdoor education is very important as it develops children’s creativity, problem-solving, independence and confidence.

In her spare time, Ms Thomas loves to hike, read and travel. She has visited every continent in the world and has been on an expedition to Antarctica!