St George's Principal Reflects on 1st Year, New Gym Opening

Chronicle.lu recently had the opportunity to speak with Zeba Clarke, Principal of St George's International School in Luxembourg-Hamm since 2024/2025, about the school's new Elsy Jacobs Building, as well as her first year in the Principal role.

In April 2024, St George's marked a milestone in the construction of its new gymnasium, named after Luxembourgish professional racing cyclist Elsy Jacobs (1933-1998), with a topping out ceremony. The new building hosted its first gym class at the start of the 2025/2026 academic year, on 22 September.

Chronicle.lu: You recently completed your first full year as School Principal at St George's. Please provide some insight into how your job differs in comparison with your time as Deputy Head at St Paul's School in São Paulo (Brazil).

Zeba Clarke: As Deputy Head at St Paul's, I had oversight and management of whole school areas such as Digital Technology, Safeguarding and Wellbeing and Special Needs, but I didn't have complete oversight of all aspects of school operations. I contributed to key elements of school development, such as strategy, branding and communications, but I didn't set the agenda.

The rewarding aspect of taking on the Principal role is having that full oversight and responsibility for school development and strategy as well as involvement in pedagogical and operational aspects of the school. It's possibly like the difference between the first chair in an orchestra and the conductor. I've worked in schools for over 30 years. This is one of the most rewarding roles, especially as I do still manage a little bit of teaching, which keeps me grounded and is a daily reminder of the key priority of any school - the happiness and wellbeing of our students and our staff.

Chronicle.lu: During your time as School Principal, you have overseen several highlights, including St George's becoming a Fairtrade school and the opening of the Elsy Jacobs Building. Can you tell us what other achievements you have taken pride in during your relatively short time at the school?

Zeba Clarke: At St George's, I think the thing I take the most pride in is the teamwork and dedication of both staff and students. Our community has incredible talent, commitment and determination, built on a sense of shared purpose and values. That existed at St George's before I arrived, and it is an aspect of our culture that I celebrate.

I take real pride in the achievements of colleagues and students. During the past year, colleagues have undertaken challenging professional development courses and achieved great results, and one of our colleagues, Síghle O'Doherty was named Pearson International School Teacher of the Year for Europe.

Our students were amazing. For example, Ido, who was awarded a Silver Medal at the 2025 International Genius Olympiad for his work with his friend Johan as well presenting to Grand Duke Guillaume (at that time still Hereditary). We had our largest number of graduates this year, all heading to amazing destinations, from studying medicine at Louvain through to music composition at the Royal Conservatoire in Scotland. I also treasure moments such as the plays performed by our Primary students, the musical recitals, the rugby matches and cross country runs and very close to my heart as a former teacher of Theatre and Drama, the Shakespeare Schools Festival organised by St George's where we meet up with schools from Luxembourg and across Europe to perform Shakespeare.

Chronicle.lu: The opening of the Elsy Jacobs Building marks a significant upgrade to the school campus. What are your hopes for the new facilities?

Zeba Clarke: The Elsy Jacobs Building is named after one of Luxembourg's most distinguished athletes, and I hope that it will become a home to future athletes representing St George's and Luxembourg. I also hope that it will help us continue to build strong relationships within Cents/ Hamm and with local schools. It's already a warm and friendly space, and it is wonderful to hear it full of children enjoying both the sports facilities and the classrooms.

Chronicle.lu: What are the school events, trips or visits for this year to which you are most looking forward?

Zeba Clarke: I am looking forward to our Christmas Bazaar on Saturday 22 November, and I am really looking forward to seeing volleyball and basketball matches in Elsy Jacobs as well as our official opening of the building timed for St George's Day next year. Our Year 5 students (aged nine and ten) are preparing a play all about Romans, we have GCSE performances and art exhibitions lined up, and a group of Year 8 (twelve to thirteen years old) students are launching a multilingual magazine, the Languazine, which we hope will be published once a term, raising money for Sembeza Africa, an educational charity based in Uganda.

Chronicle.lu: Outside of school life, what aspects of life in Luxembourg are you enjoying most, and to which do you find you are still adjusting?

Zeba Clarke: I have found Luxembourg a really welcoming and wonderful country. I have a big dog, a Newfoundland/ Poodle mix, and I think the aspect of life I love most here is going out for walks in the woods and fields with Zazie. It's wonderful to be able to hop on a tram and be in the city in fifteen minutes, or up a hillside looking at deer and hawks. The castles are also amazing - so far Bourscheid and Vianden are my favourites, but I have at least 35 more to visit!

The biggest adjustment is learning Luxembourgish. I only realised how important it is to learn the language when I arrived. I am lucky to have an excellent teacher, but I find the pronunciation hard. I love learning languages, so I will persist, but I think it will take me a lot longer to master than Portuguese, which was the last language I learned.

SM / JCA