Mary Hagan
Mary is a dynamic individual who relishes challenges and opportunities to utilize her educational and entrepreneurial experiences. She dedicated her working life to making life chances better for children and young people.
At the age of 15 she founded a highly successful youth group catering for boys and girls from 2 to18 years of age, where she produced and choreographed dance and drama shows that raised funds for numerous local and national charities.
Originally, after gaining her B.Ed in 1984, Mary taught within the local authority sector in Scotland. To further her professional development she moved to Kuwait in 1991 following the Gulf War. Here she developed a highly successful kindergarten and infant department for 500 children.
Employed by The Institute for Private Education, as part of The Gulf English School’s senior management team, Mary assisted the Ministry of Education of Kuwait where she was involved in the formulation of policies to introduce the English language into Arabic schools and where she also provided training for Kuwaiti teachers.
The impact of a war torn situation and children’s trauma was an area of great professional interest. Mary gained her MA in Education from the University of Bath in 2004 after having completed the Hornsby Postgraduate Diploma: Specific Learning Difficulties, Dyslexia. Mary was the founding Head of the Rayong and later took over Bangkok (Soi 71) campus of St. Andrews International Schools in Thailand where among her achievements was the introduction of an Additional Support Needs centre, dedicated to promoting inclusive education.
In her capacity as the head-teacher of the Bangkok campus she served on many of the Government of Thailand’s working groups as an advisor for Early Year’s education.
Mary has written articles for educational publications and served as a team member in the European Council International Schools Accreditation process. Mary retired from Education Scotland having served 15 years with HMI of Education as an inspector.
Mary has been a regular supporter of the Moira Anderson Foundation and understands clearly the benefit and bravery of this charity in helping children, young people and adults deal with trauma and impact of childhood sexual abuse.