Leadership

Mr. Matthew O’Shea, Deputy Principal, Head of Secondary (KS3 & KS4)

National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) through the UK Department for Education, Masters in Information Systems from University College Dublin, Bachelors in Business Information Systems from University College Cork, PGCE in ICT from Swansea University

With more than 12 years of experience as an educator in the UK, Africa and South East Asia including Malaysia, Matthew first joined HIS in 2015 as a teacher of ICT and Economics. He has held various roles at HIS including Acting Joint Head of Secondary, Assistant Principal, Key Stage 4 Coordinator and Head of Year. He is focused on ensuring an effective blend of successful academic performance and comprehensive support for all of our students.

Most recently, Matthew led the creation and implementation of a new and ambitious curriculum which equips students with the knowledge and cultural capital they need, and provides pathways and opportunities for them to succeed in life. This included an enhanced STEAM Programme which see to the transition of upper primary into lower secondary, the introduction of a Year 9 Enrichment and Enterprise Programme and the introduction of a new accelerated IGCSE Programme.

With his background in ICT, Matthew also initiated an improvement plan focusing on communications within the school community via a single parent portal, weekly parent workshops, weekly middle leadership meetings, among other communications protocols.

Mr. Paul Lau, Head of Secondary (Sixth Form)

BSc. First Class in Biotechnology (Universiti Sains Malaysia), Cambridge International Diploma for Teaching and Learning (CIDTL)

Paul has been educating our youth in the classrooms since 1998. He has taught the sciences, maths, global perspectives, IPQ and enrichment lessons in the Malaysian as well as international curricula. Paul has also spent the last 12 years in senior management of schools, and was the driver of many platforms and opportunities for increasing student engagement across student leadership, gifted and talented programmes and various academic and non-academic competitions. Prior to HIS, Paul headed the secondary team as well as whole-school CCA programmes at various international schools.

Since joining HIS in 2017, Paul who was put in charge of the design and development of the Sixth Form programme, successfully built a purposeful and exceptional programme with his team that saw many HIS senior students well guided and prepared to transition into life beyond school. Not only had these students thrived in top universities in the world, they are exceptional leaders now in their professions and communities.

A graduate of the Emerging Leader Development Programme (ELDP) and the founder of Project Purpose, Paul has been a key figure in bringing youth leadership and community engagement to the forefront in many events including the MAD Youth Summit 2020.

Mr. Daniel Goldspink, Head of Primary

National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) through the UK Department for Education, B.A. (Hons) in Human Geography (Lancaster University, UK), Postgraduate Certificate in Education (London Southbank University, UK).

Daniel completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from London South Bank University and was rated as an ‘outstanding’ teacher according to OFSTED’s assessment criteria, the official body for school inspection in the UK. He has over 15 years of experience in education, including 10 years in a wide variety of leadership roles. Prior to joining HIS, Daniel taught at a large primary school in South London, where he served as a junior school classroom teacher, Head of Year, and curriculum leader. He is passionate about education and strongly believes in the importance of creating bespoke resources and lessons tailored to meet each child’s specific and individual needs. Daniel has always greatly enjoyed working with young people and believes that all students can excel with the right guidance.

At HIS, Daniel has championed the Singapore Maths curriculum program in our primary school, working in collaboration with a mathematics expert from the Singapore Ministry of Education to establish the programme. He is also actively involved in mentoring student initiatives such as the Primary Student Council and leading our PB4L approach to behaviour.

Dr. Felicia Paul Raj, Assistant Principal, Secondary

BSc Biomedical Science from the University of Adelaide, Australia, BSc (Hons) Medical Biosciences and PhD in Medicine (focusing on cancer research) from Monash University in Malaysia.

In the last 6 years, Felicia has accomplished a great deal at HIS – she has been the Head of Year 11, Coordinator of Year 12, taught IGSCE and A-Level Biology and Secondary KS3 Science, and now as the Assistant Principal of Secondary at HIS. With her experience as the Head of Year and Year Group Coordinator working closely with the Assistant and Deputy Principals as well as homeroom and subject teachers, Felicia is well-versed with the pastoral needs and academic well-being of the Secondary and A-Level students. She is also a mentor for teachers undergoing the Cambridge International Award in Teaching and Learning (CIATL) and Cambridge International Certificate in Teaching and Learning (CICTL) qualifications. Felicia works with A-Level students as an International Professional Qualification (IPQ) supervisor and a Project Purpose supervisor.

Mr. Benjamin Allen, Assistant Principal, Primary (Teaching, Learning & Data)

Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and Masters in Education from the University of Sunderland, BA (Hons) in Drama Studies with Education Studies from King Alfred’s College in Winchester.

Ben has over 10 years of teaching experience as a Head of Year and lower primary teacher in the UK, Hong Kong, China and Malaysia. In the last 6 years, he has been focused on teaching a bilingual programme in international schools in Hong Kong, China and Malaysia.Ben has been the Head of Year 1 at HELP International School for the past two years, and has been instrumental in setting up our Bilingual Programme. He is also a Google Certified Educator, Seesaw Educator and Apple Teacher.