Meet The Team
We are proud that the private schools in our country remain world-leading institutions. Between us we have taught, worked, and forged relationships both in the UK and beyond and it is our privilege to work in a sector which welcomes and connects the future generations.
Our commitment is to ensure that every child enjoys a life-changing, positive experience in the best-fitting school. We achieve this by offering expert, impartial and personal advice.
Mary Banks-Murayama - MA, QTS - President & Managing Director
Mary is our President & Managing Director and oversees the company’s strategy and the team’s day to day activities. Mary holds overall responsibility for our online operations, school consultancy and placement services. and school and partner relationships across the world.
After reading German and History at Oxford, Mary spent several years in Japan where she taught English and advised Japanese students on study abroad programmes. She has undertaken projects in Europe and Africa for schools and parents. She joined Education Advisers after spending many years as a teacher and leader of Modern Languages and international programmes at a large grammar school. Mary has over 10 years experience of working with families to support their children’s education and has helped place hundreds of students into leading independent schools.
Fiona Pocock, MA, PGCE - Academic Director
Fiona took up her first role as a headteacher in 2002 as Principal at Oxford Sixth Form College where she stayed for 9 years before moving to Oxford International College as Academic Principal. She then accepted the role of Principal at Bosworth Independent College in Northampton where the school’s reputation for outstanding results at GCSE and A level was particularly strong.
She has worked with students from over 40 nationalities, guiding them to their very best university destinations, including Oxford, Cambridge, the London School of Economics, numerous Russell Group universities and strong universities overseas too, including in the USA and Canada.
A modern languages and classics graduate, Fiona’s first teaching post was at Scarborough 6th Form College before she moved to Oxford, teaching first at Headington School then at Oxford Brookes University, where she taught for 9 years alongside completing her Master’s degree in Management in London. She enjoyed a few years with a Microsoft IT training specialist leading a team of technical trainers before returning to international education, working with young people preparing for university entrance – her true area of passion.
Heather Clanfield – Cert Ed, QTS – Head of Finance & Administration
Heather is a fully-qualified teacher and has taught in both the state and private sectors as well as being a former Director of Admissions at a state boarding school. She has an encyclopaedic knowledge of UK independent schools and many years' experience of helping parents find the right school for their child.
Heather manages the company's accounts and keeps all our school information up to date, as well as overseeing the compilation of our League Tables.
Allison Pettitt – Head of School Placements
Allison has a wealth of experience in the education sector, as a qualified teacher of English as an Additional Language and she has extensive knowledge of independent schools having worked as an Events Manager for major independent school shows.
Having lived overseas, she has first-hand experience of what is involved in relocating a family and searching for schools. Allison oversees school placements and herself works with families from around the world to help students find the best-fitting schools, supporting them throughout the process. Allison also manages our Best Summer Schools website, and summer school enrolments.