Heather Lang studied at Hymers College in the Sixth Form, from 1995 to 1997.  She went on to study History at the University of York before taking a Gap Year working as a Classroom Assistant in Bredon School, a boarding school near Cheltenham.  This then led to her taking her PGCE. In recent years, she has studied two Masters Degrees; one a MSc in Multidisciplinary Studies from the University of Buffalo, USA and the other, a MA in International Education from the University of Bath.

With both parents working as Primary School teachers, Heather felt that she was destined to be a teacher herself.  Her sister, Rebecca Lang (OH 1994-2001) also followed into the “family business” and works at Uppingham School in Rutland.

While studying at Hymers College, Mr King was one of her favourite teachers, who took them on a host of interesting and memorable trips.  They went as a school group to see a Performance of “A Little Night Music” which starred Judi Dench in London.  Heather remembers the school theatre, which is named after Judi Dench, opening in 1995 and appeared in one of the first performances in it, in the show 'Daisy Pulls it Off'.  As well as drama, she was also part of the Senior Orchestra and Senior Strings, with Andrew Penny.

Since leaving the school, Heather has remained in touch with fellow classmates Wendy Tomlinson (OH 1990-97) and Vanessa Laucht (OH 1991-97). Lunchtimes in the JCR evoke fond memories, as does the memory of the last day of school, when one student drove his family tractor to Hymers.

After becoming a teacher, Heather stayed at Bredon for a further 3 years before moving to Qatar in 2005.  

I moved to Qatar as at the Boarding School, we had a number of students from the Middle East and it sounded like a fun way to travel and work for a couple of years…. 18 years later it is still fun, diverse and an enjoyable place to raise my family. The World Cup was the pinnacle of my time here in Qatar as I had seen Qatar get the bid and build itself into the country it is today capable of pulling off a great tournament. 

Since moving to Qatar, Heather has worked her way up to Head of Teaching and Learning at Qatar Academy Sidra, part of Qatar Foundation, as well as working for the International Baccalaureate (IB) as a Workshop Leader and School Reviewer, and for Council of International Schools (CIS) in the same capacity. In addition, she also teaches an online course for teachers interested in teaching in the IB Programme, through Western University, Ontario, Canada.

Heather is also a member of the Doha Players Theatre Group.

We put on a variety of shows each year. We ran The 39 Steps, Blood Brothers and The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged this academic year. I was Margaret in The 39 Steps and helped backstage with the other two shows as the cast rotated between the three shows.

I have always continued my love for music and drama that began at school and will continue to for as long as I can. The next show will be a children’s show called, “The Littlest Pirate”.

If there are any more alumni living or working in Qatar, Heather would love to hear from them.