Qualifications:
● Bachelor of Laws (Hons) Law (Staffordshire University)
● Legal Practice Certificate (The College of Law)
● PGCE in English (Leeds Metropolitan University)

Mr Ben Smith completed a degree in Law at Staffordshire University, with supplementary modules in English Literature. Upon completing his studies, he proceeded to qualify as a solicitor and move into legal practice. A change of career saw him embark upon a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education at Leeds Metropolitan University and qualify as an English Teacher. This change had been fuelled by his deep-rooted love of language, literature and education.

Prior to moving to SRI KDU, Mr Smith taught in schools in both the UK and overseas, taking up a number of leadership roles - most recently as Head of English in a school in the north of England. During his years of teaching, he has delivered a number of post-16 courses including A Level English Language and Literature, and IB English A Language and Literature. His current responsibilities have seen him work closely with our Key Stage 5 students as the Coordinator of the Extended Essay. Prior roles have also seen him as a tutor for KS5 students, which in turn has allowed him to develop a strong understanding of the academic and personal needs of these students.

Mr Smith’s interests and hobbies stem from a love of sport and he can often be seen coaching our U15 football team - or attempting to resurrect his now long forgotten glory years whilst appearing for a number of local amateur sports clubs. He does accept that his advancing years lend his competitive nature to the golf course more than the football field.

Qualifications:
• BA Hons in English Language & Linguistics (Anglia Ruskin University)
• PGCE in English (University of York)

Ms Kate Jackson is an inspiring and passionate English teacher with a strong proficiency in the English language as a secondary school teacher. Having majored in English Language, Law, Geography, and EPQ during her A-level education, Ms Jackson took on English Language and Linguistics as her Bachelor’s Degree, sparking her interest in teaching. She has an in- depth subject knowledge and curriculum understanding for both English Language and Literature for KS3/ KS4, and a refined and current understanding of English Language for KS5 which she is currently teaching at A-Level.

Ms Jackson was previously an English teacher at South Hunsley School, supporting the provision of KS3 up to KS5. She believes all students need a well-rounded, quality education, ensuring preparation for successful futures. She believes that one of her strengths lies in positive relationships with her students which helps improve student engagement within lessons.

Qualifications:
• Master of Mathematics, Tunku Abdul Rahman University (UTAR)
• BSc (Hons) Actuarial Science, Tunku Abdul Rahman University (UTAR)

Ms Saranya joined Sri KDU International School in 2020 as a teacher of Mathematics. She has been teaching Mathematics in KS3 and KS4, Additional Mathematics in KS4 and IBDP Maths for the Standard Level (SL) and Higher Level (HL) students.

Prior to moving to Sri KDU, Ms Saranya worked in other international schools and she has a total of 10 years of teaching experience. Teaching has always been her passion and Maths has been her subject of interest since her schooling days. Ms Saranya enjoys spreading the love of Maths and showing all her students that Maths is actually interesting and all that everyone needs to excel in Maths is to sacrifice a little and get that extra practice done.

Apart from teaching Maths, Ms Saranya used to also teach music where she trained young children in Indian Carnatic Music at a music school. She has also undergone extensive vocal training in the Indian Carnatic Music and has been an accompanying singer in live cultural dance (Bharathanatyam) shows.

Qualification
• Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Biochemistry (National University of Malaysia)

Ms Suthashini received a full scholarship for her degree, where she completed her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry (Hons.) from the National University of Malaysia in October 2013. She was also an intern at the UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute (UMBI) and worked on a project involving genetic polymorphism in epileptic patients. The results from this project were published by Neurology Asia.

Prior to teaching, Ms Suthashini was a Research Assistant in Oral Cancer Research & Coordinating Centre (OCRCC) in University of Malaya. Here she worked closely with dental practitioners to conduct proteomics and genomics-based research work on the tissue and blood samples. Part of her experimental results was published in Scientific Reports - Nature.

Ms Suthashini has been with Sri KDU for 6 years. She taught Science in Sri KDU National Secondary School from June 2016 until December 2018. In the following year, she joined Sri KDU International Secondary School and is currently teaching KS3 Science, KS4 Biology and KS4 Coordinated Science. She shows utmost dedication and commitment in teaching and makes it her priority to ensure that her students exhibit progress no matter where her students’ start-points are. This makes her an exceptional educator who can be relied upon to deliver high quality lessons and guide her students to their paths of excellence.

Qualifications
• Bachelor of Engineering (Hon) in Biomedical (University of Tunku Abdul Rahman)

Ms Sharubini graduated as an Engineer in which she completed her Bachelor of Engineering in Biomedical at the University of Tunku Abdul Rahman in 2011. Her internship project focused on managing the maintenance of medical equipment and this journey was enriched with her major field of study is Medical Imaging involving medical equipment specifications. This expanded to a final Year Project research concentrating on the effects of GABA specific genes on Schizophrenic Patients using Meta Analysis Software.

Next, her interest further developed into an education journey starting with inspiring students through Canadian Pre-University Programme [2012 - 2013] and focused on teaching both Physics and Biology. This further progressed through a new pathway as she joined Sri KDU International school in 2014 as a teacher of KS3 science and progressed through teaching physics (subject speciality) for both Cambridge IGCSE Physics [2015 - Present], Cambridge Coordinated Sciences [2015 - 2017 & present] as well as the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme [2019 - Present].

Ms Sharubini is passionate about instilling engineering physics concepts into education and how these concepts could be used in reengineering education. She firmly believes in being a creative thinker in any given situation and how this should be practiced throughout our life journey. She loves the idea that there is something new to learn every day. She believes that witnessing students discover their passion and grow in confidence is the best part of teaching and reassures academic excellence through this.

Qualifications:
• Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Management and Science University)
• Master’s in Education (Science) (National University of Malaysia)

Ms Sri Dhurga completed her Bachelor in Biomedical Science at the Management and Science University (MSU) in 2016 and majored in Health Science. Her internship project focused on Virology where she gained an exposure to the pathogenic effect of virus on human respiratory tract. She then pursued her Master’s in Education Science in the National University of Malaysia. She spent her valuable time here to create teaching modules to be used for active learning in all Sciences – Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

She began her teaching journey with KS3 Science in the year 2017 until 2018. In the next year, she expanded her career and ventured into delivering Cambridge IGCSE Chemistry lessons. Having commendable acknowledgement from the department with her teaching mastery, she was then given the responsibility to teach International Baccalaureate Diploma Chemistry in SKISS. She is passionate about inspiring student’s enthusiasm in Science, helping young people to become passionate life-long learners and our future scientists. She believes the best reward is to be able to inspire students to achieve their full academic and personal goals.

Qualifications
• Bachelor of Arts (Hons) ICT, Sport & Leisure with Education - Nottingham Trent University
• Secondary PGCE - Nottingham Trent University

Mr Steven Fisher has been teaching for more than a decade in the UK and internationally. He spent six of these years teaching computing and ICT at secondary schools in Leicestershire. Mr Fisher moved to Mexico to teach at an internationally renowned school where he took on a whole school role, sharing his passion for computer science across the primary and secondary schools. Mr Fisher made his move to Malaysia where he was employed as the Head of Computing, and he has overseen a continued improvement with the subjects' sign-up numbers and exam results at IGCSE level. In 2021 81% of students studying Computer Science achieved an A or A*. He has also led the introduction of Computer Science at IB and we await their first cohort of students' results with great expectation. Throughout his teaching career Mr Fisher has taught at KS4 (GCSE & IGCSE) and KS5 (IB and A-Level).

Mr Fisher is an avid sportsman taking an interest in most sports; this includes football, cricket, rugby and badminton. Recently he has taken up golf. Around the school, Mr. Fisher can often be seen sharing his passion for sport as he supports the Sri KDU students as they participate in fixtures and inter-house competitions.

Qualifications
● Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Philosophy and History (University of Exeter)
● Master of Arts in History (University of Exeter)
● PGCE in Secondary History (University of Worcester)
● Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults

Mr Alex Reilly completed BA and MA degrees in History at the University of Exeter. After finishing his studies, he also completed a Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults, and subsequently worked as an English teacher in Poland and Thailand for several years.

Having developed a passion for teaching, Mr Reilly returned to the UK to commence a Secondary History PGCE at the University of Worcester, which entailed two teaching placements at secondary schools. Following the successful completion of his PGCE, he then taught for three years at a high-performing academy in Surrey, England, which entailed teaching History to GCSE and A-level students. For the next phase of his teaching career, Mr Reilly moved to the Canary Islands, where he taught iGCSE History students for two years as a Subject Leader.

Mr Reilly has worked at Sri KDU International School for the past two years since moving to Malaysia in 2020. During that time, he has taught KS3, KS4 and IB History. Mr Reilly does his utmost to support his students in achieving their full potential and believes in holistic education that equips students with future life skills as well as excellent academic qualifications.

Mr Reilly’s hobbies and interests include sporting and musical activities. He is a keen pianist, who has achieved Grade 8 on the piano, as well as a former amateur league table tennis player.

Qualifications:
• MA in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (RenMin University of China)
• BA in Language and Linguistic in Chinese Language (University of Malaya, Malaysia)

Ms Tina Ngieng obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Language and Linguistic in Chinese Language from University of Malaya, Malaysia in 2011. She then enrolled in the Master’s progarmme in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Language and completed it in 2013.

Ms Ngieng joined Sri KDU International school in 2013 as a Mandarin teacher. She has been teaching from Key stage 3 to Key stage 5, which includes Chinese as a First Language, Chinese as a Second Language and Mandarin Foreign Language. She is also a speaking examiner for IGCSE 0547 Mandarin Chinese, IGCSE 0523 Second Language and IB Mandarin Ab Initio. In her lessons, Ms Ngieng demands focus and precision, but she will also provide a space for error correction and feedback. She hopes in this way she could build resilient learners.

Ms Ngieng loves traveling to different places and countries to open her eyes and broaden her perspective on life. She has organised the China Cultural Exchange Trip to Qing Dao, Xi’an, Taipei etc. before the pandemic. She believes environment plays an important role in determining the second language acquisition of the language learner. In her spare time, she enjoys writing journals as she believes that a journal is a way of recording her ideas and feelings.

Qualifications:
• M.Sc. Industrial & Labour Relations (West Virginia University, USA)
• Recipient: National Dean’s List Award
• B. Sc. Business Administration
• Scholarship Recipient: Tun Mohammed Noh Scholarship Foundation

Datin Harjit began her teaching career in a government school - SEA Park National Secondary School, Petaling Jaya in 1987 as a temporary teacher. This was during the global recession and jobs were hard to come by. She then moved on to Sunway College as a Senior Lecturer and worked there for 17 years from 1988-2005, teaching the American Twinning Programme for Western Michigan University. While there, she also lectured in Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Malaysian Economics, and Economics of the Pacific Rim-Asian Societies. In addition to the American Programme, she taught Socio-Economics Context for 7 years from 1993-1999 to the first-year students enrolled in the University of Greenwich Twinning Programme and spent one month teaching at each of the main campuses of the USA and UK universities on an exchange programme.

Datin Harjit has been teaching IB Economics HL & SL at Sri KDU International School for the past 16 years starting with the pioneer batch intake of IBDP students who were Petronas scholars in 2007. She has taught 16 cohorts so far, and each one has been an enriching experience. She has also been actively involved in a multitude of extra-curricular activities including the major ones such as [email protected], IB Seniors Graduation Day, Volunteer Pertiwi Soup Kitchen, Safeguarding Committee, Eco Garden, Badminton, Netball, IB Student Council, IB CAS Trips both domestic and international. Through these activities, she was able to teach multiple skills to the students to help them face their future with confidence.

Qualifications:
• B.A. (Hons) in Music, Major: Orchestra, Minor: Piano (Chung-Ang University, South Korea)
• Post-Graduate ADV. Cert RAM, Major: Cello, Minor: Chamber & Orchestra (The Royal Academy of Music, UK)
• PGCE in Music Secondary Education (London Metropolitan University, UK)

Ms Myeong Jae Kim has been teaching in the UK and internationally including the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) and universities. After completing her PGCE in the UK with distinction for school practice, she taught many British schools, both state and private, for over 16 years. She previously enjoyed a highly successful performing career as a professional cellist in the UK, Europe and Asia.

Ms Kim was also trained by the RAM to teach initial stage learners and utilised these methods in her own music school for pupils from diverse backgrounds at all ages (infant to adult) from beginner to professional level, achieving outstanding results within 3 years. She then transferred these teaching techniques to UK secondary schools extremely successfully, raising pupil performance standards beyond their expectations. Since taking responsibility for preparing students for Music GCSE exams, their overall pass rate rose from 70% to 96%, 52 out of 54 pupils passed GCSE Music at the state school she worked at, and 60% to 100% at a private school: one of the best exam results in these schools’ history. Ms Kim’s GCSE Music pupils consistently attained a 100% exam pass rate from 2012 - 2018 in the UK before she arrived at Sri KDU international school. She also taught A-level students at St Aloysius College in the UK.

Ms Kim also founded and directed junior and senior school orchestras for all schools she worked for in the UK, lead school events and contributed to a wider community outside of school to raise the school profile. She has a wide range of experience in teaching in challenging to most privileged private schools in the UK; she enjoys running various extra-curricular activities for all different styles of music from pop, jazz, western classical and world. She also directed many school musicals as a Music Director for both state and private schools. Since she joined Sri KDU in September 2018, Ms Kim also founded Sri KDU international school orchestra on the demand of students in December 2018 and ran a range of ensembles and choirs. She also launched the instrumental programme in October 2019.

Qualifications:
• BMus (Hons) in Music (Jazz) (Birmingham Conservatoire)
• PGCE in Music (University of Central England)

Mr Barnaby Everett is an experienced and passionate Music teacher, with a particular interest in both Classical and Jazz performance, as well as music from around the world. He studied for his degree at Birmingham Conservatoire before spending a number of years as a performing musician.

Prior to moving to Sri KDU, Mr Everett has worked in other schools both in the UK, Kenya and Malaysia. He has over 10 years’ experience of teaching KS5 Music, both at A Level and IBDP. He has also supervised students writing their Extended Essay, which has many similarities to the EPQ. He joined Sri KDU in 2021, as a teacher of Music. Beyond musical groups, he enjoys outdoor activities, critical thinking and learning about other cultures.