TEST FIRST
Pleased to Meet You…
Sarah and John Thomason – Consultants and co-founders
John – has a background in Hotel Management (HCIMA), catering for HRH Prince Charles and other dignitaries at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich.
It was he who conceived of the idea for a specialist Classics School Travel Company whilst assisting Sarah on one of her own School Trips!
He now spends his time experimenting with fusion cuisine, driving Sarah to obscure archaeological locations and Auditing Hotels.
Sarah – misappropriated a piece of Roman Mortar from Caerleon Amphitheatre (aged 5yrs), unearthed her first skeleton at the age of 13yrs, spent a glorious week excavating on Delos as a young teacher and several years as Senior Examiner for OCR. Lucky enough to have been able to indulge her passion by teaching Ancient History & Classics and creating & guiding overseas trips for many decades, Sarah now spends most of her time seeking out alternative Classical venues and advising on Itineraries.
A ‘Comfort Classics Interview‘ with Dr. Cora Beth Knowles (@drcorabeth) of Classical Studies Support.
Claudia Willocks
Originally from Guatemala, I’ve been living in the UK for nearly 25 years! After working in the logistics sector for 12 years I followed my passion for travel and have since been in Educational Travel for over 10 years. I am a Linguist, but I have always been fascinated by Classics and Ancient History. I have been lucky to accompany groups of students on tour and have seen first-hand the impact it has on their learning journeys. It is a wonderful feeling to contribute to the development of young people and extremely rewarding working closely with teachers to make these trips happen!
James Heath –(BA Class Civ & MA City of Rome) – Also working at both Butser Ancient Farm (on the education team, but participated in laying the first reproduction mosaic) and the National Trust Property, Petworth House (which has a wonderful Roman sculpture collection). In 2018 he spent a fantastic year in Rome, meeting, interacting with, and helping various clients, from school groups to 6 Nations rugby fans. He returned home with a 20,000+ strong collection of photos and has since set up a Flickr account, creating a FREE photo database for scholars and schools. The side project of working on all 372 albums, writing photo names and descriptions, continues. Coincidentally, Jamie first visited Greece in VI Form – on one of Sarah and John’s early Trips! A ‘Comfort Classics Interview‘ with Dr. Cora Beth Knowles (@drcorabeth) of Classical Studies Support:
Loredana Marianecci & Sabrina Ippoloto – CEO of Castelli Romani Turismo Living in Castelli Romani, an area saturated in Ancient History (Lake Nemi & Caligula’s ‘pleasure barges’ / Ariccia & Hippolytus Virbio as Rex Nemorensis) how could they not become cultural Tour Operators?! Both are heavily involved in the local arts & music scene but love to travel for “curiosity & discovery, comparison & revelation”. As Loredana says “Travelling is a kind of Art”. Castelli Romani Turismo by Vip tour. Manuela Pinna – CEO of Sardinia Pass Par Tours Having completed her University Degree in Political Sciences, Sardinian born & bred Manu worked in France & UK for various Educational Tour Operators and Historic Royal Palaces. Goran Radivojevic – CEO of Destination Essence Originally the Pula Tourism Officer, our multilingual friend Goran lives a mere 7 mins walk from the Amphitheatre and leads an enthusiastic team of local professionals creating individually curated programs within the beautiful Balkan region. His extensive experience in dealing with eccentric archaeologists and classics teachers, together with his renowned hospitality, ensures he stands head and shoulders above the rest! Gill Greef – has a degree in Classics and has taught Classics and Classical Civilisation in both Independent schools and Further Education colleges. She has been leading tours to Classical sites around the Mediterranean for over 25 years. Her guidebooks for the popular student tours were originally written for her own students but have since sold to many schools, colleges and individuals. The succinct format used in the guides has always proved popular, enabling the reader to discover the key points of the sites visited without getting lost in pages of detail. She hopes today’s students will be as excited by their exploration of the Classical world as she still is herself. Further details of the guides can be found at www.gillgreef.com
Carolyn Perry – Carolyn has worked in the education and museum sectors for over 30 years and has taught across all age groups up to University level. Her global museum experience starts from her ground-breaking role as Arab World Education Officer at The British Museum to consultancy roles in Europe and the Middle East. Carolyn’s archaeological experience includes excavations in Italy, Spain and Oman. For more than 20 years Carolyn has been accompanying cultural heritage tours as a lecturer and has designed and led tours to Greece, Albania, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Carolyn now lives in Durrës (ancient Dyrrachium) in Albania. Twitter: @carolynpperry Amoratis Travel – Nikos Amoratis, Claire and Yiannis Dr. Cora Beth Fraser – Cora Beth has a PhD in Classics and several degrees in Education. She’s an award-winning teacher at The Open University, and has also taught in schools, community centres and prisons around the North of England. In 2022 Cora Beth won the Classical Association Prize for Outreach, for her work making Classics accessible to all. She spends a lot of time playing with Lego and Playmobil, using her son as an excuse! Jo Lashly Having travelled the UK, Asia, Europe and Middle East, he has a real passion for international travel and education and is already pondering the logistics of our first Indio/Greco/Bactrian/ Romano School Trip!
Nidhi Shah – Operations During her travels to Ladakh (visiting the Monasteries of Lord Buddha and other Gods of Buddhism), Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and interacting with local communities, Nidhi has enjoyed learning about different cultural practices and beliefs. Glenn Burtenshaw – Marketing/Web Design The British School at Athens – Founded in 1886, this educational charity forms part of the network of British International Research Institutes supported by the British Academy. The School exists to promote research of international excellence in all disciplines pertaining to Greek lands. We are proud to be associated with the BSA; our Groups have benefitted greatly from their support and guidance. The Classics Library – An essential Web Site for all teachers of the Classics. We are delighted to be associated with such an excellent platform dedicated to Classics teachers sharing news, views and resources.
Loredana grew up with scattered debris from a Temple to Diana in her back garden! A Hotel & Tourism professional, Lory teamed up with Sabrina nearly ten years ago. CEO Sabrina studied Latin, Greek & Ancient Art at a Classical & Linguistic experimental High School and now works with Italian Schools offering educational trips both within Italy and abroad.
visitalbanhills.com
castelliromaniturismo.com
As a mother, she returned home to create her Best Tour Operator in Sardinia Award winning Company specialising in cultural, archaeological, slow food and wine tours. Now living in a countryside house not far from the seaside with her lovely two boys and husband, Manu is well versed in connecting Classics Teachers with the Nuraghic predecessors of Etruria, Greece & Rome!
Sardiniapass.com
www.dessence.hr
Instagram: caropperry
carolynperry.blogspot.com
Our long-standing friends and Greek Agents.
We have known the family for ever……….
Much of her teaching work these days has moved online, so she is always delighted to show people around her favourite Hadrian’s Wall sites in real life – whatever the weather!
Hi, I am doing the odd ad hoc piece of work for Sarah (who twists arms in the nicest possible way) when she needs a powerpoint for school presentations. Great fun, and I get to see all the wonderful places the schools will visit. I have been teaching Classics for over 20 years now, mainly in a Shropshire school but now from my dining room table! Sarah came into my life many years ago when she and John organised our first school trip to Greece and it was amazing! (So was the trip …). Hellene (School) Travel have been a big part of my life for most of my teaching career and I feel part of their large and diverse family. So, here’s to Classics teachers everywhere who want to take their pupils on a life-changing trip! jolashly@gmail.com
Vishal Verma – Finance Director
Vishal – a qualified accountant with extensive board-level experience in business management, governance and financial reporting. Vishal served as an Executive for Ernst & Young LLP and board director for a large educational group, which specialised in providing educational tours for schools, colleges and universities.
Nidhi has a BA in English literature and a Master’s degree in Linguistics. She has over 5 years of experience in the travel industry and is an IATA certified “Best Performer” for GDS fares and ticketing.
Nidhi is now exploring the cross fertilisation between Indian and Greco-Hellenistic sculpture and also the Indo-Roman Trade. However, she expresses serious personal doubts about the influence of Greek Literature and similarities between the Mahabharatha and Trojan War!
Based in the UK, Glenn has spent the bulk of his working life promoting classical, cultural and historical educational tours throughout the world. Glenn has been working with Sarah and John for the past 15+ years – exercising the utmost understanding, patience and forbearance!
www.viscomdesign.co.uk
A Centre for Hellenic Studies
The Classics Library