Our Faculty Bio’s

Stephen Coles, Principal

Originating from Leicester, England Steve first moved to Grand Cayman in 1994 and has worked within the Cayman Islands education system since 2003 serving as a primary school teacher, literacy coach, IB Primary Years Programme Coordinator and more recently, Deputy Principal, first at Sir John A. Cumber Primary School and lately at Cayman Prep and High School.

With a Bachelors in Elementary Education and a Masters in Elementary Reading and Literacy, Steve is driven to identify ways by which primary school education can foster an ongoing love for learning. In particular, he is passionate about studying and implementing forms of student-centred pedagogy which seek to encourage student agency, such as with integrated project-based and inquiry-driven learning experiences.

Since 2017, Steve has had the privilege of working closely with and learning from middle and senior leaders of several private schools across Grand Cayman as one of two recently certified COBIS (Council of British International Schools) Facilitators tasked with leading the CPML (COBIS Middle Leaders Programme). Steve has found the opportunity to network and collaborate with staff from other schools to be of tremendous benefit, especially to his own professional development, and he sees the idea of professional learning communities as something worth exploring at Island Primary.

In his spare time, Steve enjoys running and reading to relax and unwind. But above all else, he credits Colleen, his wife and fellow educator, along with his three daughters for keeping him grounded and focused on life’s priorities.

Ems Melland, Deputy Principal

Ems grew up in Botswana, Poland and the U.K. before moving to the Cayman Islands with her husband, Lewis, in 2012. Ems’ passion has always been music and she studied at the Junior Royal Academy of Music in London before gaining a B.A. Hons in Music and Biblical Studies at the University of Sheffield.

Ems always knew she wanted to go into teaching, but first worked as a Youth Worker in Derby where she had the opportunity to go into primary and secondary schools around the city. Ems valued this time to truly build relationships with the young people with whom she worked, and the importance of fostering these relationships stayed with her when she went into teaching.

Ems did her teacher training through the Graduate Teacher Training Programme at Beauchamp College, Leicester, becoming a High School Music teacher. In her move to the Cayman Islands, Ems found her love for the Primary School age group, having the privilege of working with students from the very start of their school journey to their transition to High School. Having the opportunity to engage with the students year on year was the motivation for Ems to keep building relationships and learning from the students for them to reach their full potential.

Ems enjoys working with the full breadth of age group that education covers, from running music and movement sessions in pre-schools, to previously directing the Cayman Youth Choir and assisting with the UCCI choir. Music education, particularly the importance of singing, has always been a passion of Ems and she enjoys letting the students shine in the many productions and concerts she has directed over the years.  

Outside of school, Ems values family time with her husband and two children who motivate her every day. She enjoys running, swimming and being outdoors, celebrating the very best of Cayman’s natural surroundings.

Hannah Hudson, Head of Infants

Hannah has always enjoyed living by the sea, having grown up just a stone throw from the English seaside in a small city called Sunderland. She moved around a little to study, before moving to the Cayman Islands in 2021 with her husband, Chris.

Hannah always knew she wanted to be a teacher and was a regular ‘mini teacher’ throughout school, always wanting to help the teachers out and get involved, before doing her work experience in a school for children with special educational needs. However, with parents who were both teachers, she decided to go in a different direction and originally started a degree in Mechanical Engineering at university in Edinburgh, Scotland. Though enjoyable, it was a definite ‘trust your heart’ experience for Hannah and at the end of her first year, she changed to a Business Studies and Psychology degree, knowing this would offer valuable skills for life in the classroom. She then moved back towards home to gain her PGCE in Primary Education in Newcastle, England.

When starting out as a teacher, Hannah accepted a role as a Year 5 teacher, as she truly believed she wanted to work with the older children. She enjoys their wit, charisma and the fun that comes with children on the cusp of being ‘mini adults’. She enjoyed several years at higher end of primary before a shock move to Reception in a school shake-up. However, it was here where Hannah really found her passion. Working with children at the very beginning of their school journey is a thoroughly joyful experience, there are lightbulb moments throughout each day and the children are so very passionate, engaged and fun. Having now covered all years within EYFS and Key Stage 1, Hannah can very much say her passion lies with teaching younger children.

Alongside teaching, Hannah has also been fortunate enough to use her passion for education in other ways. She gained a qualification from the NCETM as a Maths Mastery Specialist, an opportunity which enabled her to work with schools in her local area to improve their maths curriculums and offerings. She built on this by becoming a Specialist Leader of Education for maths, meaning she was able to work with schools across the entirety of Greater Manchester to help them develop their maths curriculums and offerings. Hannah also became a Student Mentor and Trainer for two teacher trainer programs, delivering the maths training to their PGCE students. As her passion for working with younger children grew, she also started to deliver some of their EYFS training as well. Hannah also holds her NPQSL (National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership) a qualification gained over two years in which she learnt invaluable skills to help her onto further stages of her journey.

When not in school, Hannah enjoys nothing more than time at the beach or pool with a good book, or spending time with her husband outside enjoying the beautiful weather Cayman offers. She also enjoys, in no particular order; travelling, Disney, children’s books and pickleball.

Bertranne Abrams-Menko, Head of Juniors

Bertranne (Birch) was born in Guyana, grew up in Jamaica and, together with her Hungarian husband, has called Cayman home for almost 30 years.  

After graduating from the University of the West Indies with a B.S. Hons in Economics and Management, Birch attended the one-year Training in Mission (TIM) programme through the Council for World Mission (CWM) with an international group of 11 other students, and she was later appointed to serve on the Executive Committee of CWM. The invaluable lessons learned through living, studying and working with both these culturally diverse groups and travelling to almost every continent, were incredible and transformative experiences that have served her well as she has worked with people from many different cultures in the years since.

Birch has always had a deep passion for all things education and has been fortunate enough to live this out in a wide variety of ways. She has worked in Youth Ministry in Jamaica and later in Cayman, planning and running programmes for children and youth as well as leading and training other youth workers. While homeschooling her two children, she became a certified Kindermusik Educator and for four years, owned and operated Cayman’s first and only dedicated Kindermusik Studio, providing the research-based music and movement classes for over 100 families enrolled each year. Falling in love with classroom teaching, Birch completed a Post-Graduate Diploma in Education and began her primary school teaching career in 2010. She values creating strong, positive relationships with her students and their parents and is dedicated to empowering her students to become self-directed, expert learners.

Birch enjoys the quality time she gets to spend with her husband and their two children, the company of treasured family and friends, listening to music, ‘singing’, and the peaceful charm of Little Cayman.