Secondary Staff

Angie was born and raised in Almelo and has thoroughly enjoyed music since she was young. She started playing the flute and continued with the piano. She completed her Music Teacher Training at ArtEZ University of the Arts in Enschede, and taught at various schools before joining IST in 2025.

Her free time is also filled with music, as she is a member of different bands, playing the piano and guitar or singing. Her children also love music and are talented, so there is no shortage of music in her household.

She takes great pleasure in teaching music as she believes it is very important for the development of the students. It is wonderful to sing and play music with them, especially as they develop their skills and there is a sparkle in their eyes when they create music.

Anke studied at the University of Twente, got her teaching degrees in Economics and Business Studies and finished a Masters degree at TIAS Business School of Tilburg University. She teaches Economics and Humanities at IST and serves as the DP Coordinator. Anke feels that teaching is about giving students a broad and deep understanding of the world in which we live, and Economics gives us a good view on what people, firms and governments do. Her hobbies are textiles, arts and crafts, gardening and reading.

Bauke joined the team in 2025 and teaches IGCSE and IB History. Having grown up in Twente, he has strong ties to the region. He is associated with both Het Stedelijk College Zuid and the International School of Twente (IST).

He completed his Bachelor’s degree in history teaching in Zwolle and is completing his Master’s in Amsterdam. Outside the classroom, Bauke enjoys staying active through basketball and weightlifting. He is also an avid photographer, loves riding his motorcycle, and enjoys backpacking whenever he can.

In his teaching, Bauke focuses on helping students use history to better understand the world they live in today.

Carin Serrano-den Breejen teaches IGCSE Chemistry to Year 10 and 11. She was born in Enschede and obtained a MSc degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Twente. Before moving into teaching, she worked in Coatings Research and Development as well as Human Resources. She spent 17 years in England and the USA, where she worked as an AP Chemistry tutor as well as substitute teacher. Upon moving back to The Netherlands in 2022, she started teaching at IST and College Zuid and she obtained her first-degree teaching licence in July of 2024. She loves travelling, running, singing and showing students the different aspects of chemistry: exciting (sometimes explosive!) and interesting, but also logical and organised.

Dorothee teaches German from year 8 to DP2. She also supports Mother tongue learners (SSST) and students who choose to study additional subjects online (Pamoja). She is also the CAS Coordinator in school.

Dorothee grew up in Erfurt and attended the Universities of Jena, Göttingen and Groningen. 

She has a Master’s degree in European Culture and German Literature and Language as well as a Teaching Degree for Secondary Education. 

Before joining IST, she worked as a copywriter, translator and as a recruiter for a university. She also develops teaching material for an educational publishing house.

Edwin joined the team at IST in 2017 as a teacher of Economics and as a mentor. Edwin studied International Marketing and he started his career as an Investment Advisor at a bank. After ten years, he switched careers and started teaching Economics and Management & Organization at Saxion university of applied sciences. Edwin is excited about helping students to see connections between theory learned in class and experience Economics and Business in ‘real life’.

Emma was born and raised in the United Kingdom and studied chemistry at Durham University. After completing a Master’s degree and spending one year working in industry, she moved to Switzerland where she obtained a Ph.D degree in organic chemistry from the University of Zurich. She has since worked and taught biology and chemistry in Brazil, Switzerland and The Hague, before joining IST. Emma speaks English, Dutch, German and Portuguese and loves to work in a multicultural environment. She especially enjoys doing experimental work with students and teaches Chemistry and Sport, Exercise and Health Science at IST. 

In her spare time she enjoys exploring new places with her family, reading, embroidery, walking with friends and spending time in the garden.

Fokion has a BA degree in English, a BA in Romance Languages and a MA in Foreign Languages from University of Delaware. He has worked in various schools in different countries. He has worked as a professor of  English for Academic purposes at the University of Twente and he has also taught in the Dutch school system. 

He has experience as an oral examiner for different Cambridge examinations  (FCE, CAE, and ECP) and he is an experienced IGCSE and IBDP teacher.

He enjoys helping students improve their English skills and realize their potential.  He enjoys the warm and yet multicultural environment of IST. 

In his free time he likes reading anything related to humanities (literature, anthropology, philosophy, history, human geography, psychology etc.)

Gonny Sikkes teaches Biology in the IGCSE and DP programmes. She grew up in Friesland in the north of the Netherlands. She studied Biology and received her teaching qualifications from the University of Groningen. Afterwards, she moved to Enschede, where she taught Biology and biology-related subjects in different Dutch schools in both Dutch and English. She previously worked at a different international school as well as the Dutch part of Het Stedelijk Lyceum (College Zuid).

Gonny enjoys helping students to develop themselves. She challenges them to get more out of themselves than they thought they could.

Huig Woudwijk works at IST as the Visual Arts Teacher and IB exam officer. He studied Visual Arts and Design at ArtEZ Zwolle and has a passion for observing the world closely and helping students find out who they are and how they perceive the world. Having worked in a wide array of programs, Huig brings a wide and inclusive view on visual arts. First building a foundation by familiarising students with the formal elements of art, to later build on this and help students develop their own thoughts about the world around them.

In his free time, Huig enjoys painting, photography, reading, writing, playing the piano and running.

Jan Hofste teaches Sciences and IGCSE Physics. He studied Engineering Physics (BSc) at the Saxion Hogeschool and Applied Physics (MSc) at the University of Twente. He worked as an antenna engineer at Thales and did research (Ph.D) on how to utilize reflection and emission of microwave radiation for studying freezing/thawing processes in shallow soil. Now he enjoys teaching children and young adults to think like a physicist and to never stop questioning and testing your own ideas on “how stuff works”. When he’s not teaching, he enjoys reading (both fiction and non-fiction), gaming and singing the low bass in his choir (or an occasional soprano if the conductor isn’t paying attention).

Luciën de Bruin holds a MSc in Economics and is originally a graduate of the academic World Teacher Training Programme at the University of Leiden. He is the IST Secondary Principal since August 2025.

He is well acquainted with international education, having started his educational career at a large school in Rotterdam teaching Economics and IBDP Global Politics. Since 2018, Luciën has gained extensive experience as a team leader and vice principal in different schools in the Netherlands and he is very pleased to be back in an international setting at IST.

Manon Niemeijer has a Master’s degree in pedagogical sciences from the University of Groningen and an educational Master’s in social sciences form the University of Twente. She taught mostly social studies at different Dutch secondary schools, but also English, Latin, Philosophy and Epistemology. Besides teaching she always fulfilled different coordinating roles within the student support. She developed the education of, and was a teacher in the Pre-University Honours Program of the University of Twente. After years of working with the Dutch educational system, she now is Principal of the lower years at IST Secondary.

Marc Stronks teaches Mathematics. He studied at the University of Twente (MSc Chemical Technology) and also obtained his teaching qualifications there.

Previously, Marc has been associated with the Stedelijk Lyceum Enschede for a long time as a Chemistry teacher and for the last 9 years as a team leader. Marc takes the position that every student has a talent and that this talent should be given space.

In his spare time, Marc enjoys travelling: he has already visited about 50 countries in the world, enjoys the many cultures and is happy to be able to experience them also at IST.

Nienke teaches English language and literature. In addition, she has taken on the role of group 1 & 2 curriculum leader. Nienke obtained a Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Culture and a Master’s degree in English Literature from Radboud University. Pursuing her interest in education, she completed a teaching degree in international and bilingual education at Utrecht University. She lived in the UK as a student attending Sheffield University through the Erasmus programme, and as a pre-service teacher in Wales. She is passionate about the IB programme and its holistic approach to learning. In her spare time, Nienke loves to read and watch films and series. She is looking forward to making more time for painting and drawing.

Onno received his Master’s degree in Marine Biology from the University of Groningen and his PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Amsterdam. After working as a Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Faro, he moved back to the Netherlands to assist science classes with practical sessions and help students with their research.

Patrick teaches Physics at IST. He finished Electrical Engineering and his MSc in teaching Physics at the University of Twente and worked in Indonesia for nine years at an international school near the capital.

Patrick has a strong passion for his profession and believes one has never finished learning. He likes to show his students the wonders that nature has to offer and – through a ‘hands-on’ and ‘minds-on’ manner – scrutinise a myriad of these wonders.

In his spare time, Patrick does his utmost to enjoy the wonders of nature himself, while hanging off rock walls (bouldering), or exploring the sea (scuba diving). He also spends his time on the mat doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Remko obtained his degree in Physical Geography and has been teaching Geography, History, Humanities and TOK at IST for many years. He is also a mentor teacher. He would like his students to learn to be polite and considerate to others and respect the differences between people. In his lessons, he encourages students to be inquisitive with respect to events in the world but also to be critical. ‘Your actions at school shape your future.’

Renate Beulen joins us from the South of the Netherlands where she has worked in Primary and Secondary education for over 30 years. She studied at the Pabo (Pedagogical Academy) in Maastricht and has a Master’s degree in Dutch Language and Literature from Fontys Tilburg.

Renate is interested in teaching philosophies such as Freinet, Jenaplan and Dalton. In these three schools of thought, the interests of the student is central. 

At IST she teaches Dutch A & B.

Stijn was born and raised in Twente and has been making music from a young age. After studying music at ArtEZ University of the Arts, he quickly started teaching music in secondary education. He teaches music at IGCSE and at College Zuid. Stijn believes that singing, playing, or even just listening to music makes your brain more creative, smarter, better at collaboration and analysis. In his free time, Stijn plays in one of his bands, enjoys running, or conducting one of his music groups.

Yamini Jain is an urban and mobility planner and has two decades of experience working in the corporate, government and research sectors. She studied and worked in India and moved to the Netherlands 15 years ago. After completing her PhD, she continued her work here on sustainable urban development, delivered TEDx talks and also authored a book (which has been translated to Persian). She loves to work with young adults who are our future and believes that they have amazing ideas and solutions to world problems. She teaches Geography in the IGCSE and IB curricula at IST and is also a mentor teacher. You can find more information about her on www.yaminijsingh.com.