New “Kids” on the Block

NEW “KIDS”

ON THE BLOCK

New year, new beginnings! Throughout the years, Tanglin has been blessed to count many talented and passionate individuals among its community. This year we welcomed some new senior leaders to the Tanglin - Chris Seal (Head of Senior School), Laura Heyworth (Head of Middle School), and Rachel Turpin (Deputy Head of Junior School). What makes them tick? Let’s find out.

CHRIS SEAL HEAD OF SENIOR SCHOOL

What was your story before Tanglin?

I have been in education all my working life, starting in the state sector at Dartford Grammar School. At a relatively young age, I became Head of Physical Education at Woodbridge, a lovely independent school in Suffolk. Whilst there, I married my wife Sam and I started playing Minor Counties cricket for Suffolk.

In 2002, I became Director of Sport at Trent College. Shortly after that, I made a life-changing decision to move into a boarding Housemaster role. Although it was incredibly challenging, I look back on that time with great fondness. The role was incredibly rewarding, I was still playing sport to a high level, and both our girls Molly and Amy were born in the Midlands and christened in the school chapel. At one point, I ran the boys’ house of 55 boys while Sam ran the girls’ house of 30 girls to cover for our colleague who was on maternity leave. Looking back I’m not sure how we did it, but it was great fun. 2008 saw a move to Ascot and my first senior leadership role as Director of Boarding, which quickly became the Deputy Head Pastoral at Licensed Victuallers’ School. I enjoyed my time there immensely, teaching History, coaching the 1st XV, and leading a wonderful community. Then in 2011, I had the opportunity to join Millfield. Anyone interested in sport in the UK would understand the draw to work in such an incredible sporting

environment. Working with nearly 1000 boarders was also a full immersion into boarding life and I learned so much from those skilled practitioners around me over time.

Having seemingly done reasonably well over a period of time, I began wondering about leading a school of my own, and in 2017, I joined Shrewsbury International School Bangkok as Principal. This incredible school right alongside the River of Kings in central Bangkok provided a vibrant and varied experience that shaped me and our family. Molly graduated from the school in 2020 to go to Loughborough (where Sam and I met) and Amy will be attending Oxford this year after a quiet but wonderful education at Shrewsbury.

So here we are in Singapore with an empty nest, but plenty of enthusiasm for another great experience.

What has impressed you about the school since you joined?

Having been appointed in 2021, I spent nearly a year getting to know the school through Zoom or Teams and so the only thing I had to go on were the people – they are seriously impressive! The opportunity to reform the Senior School Leadership Team afforded me many conversations with senior leaders and hugely capable middle leaders. Upon arriving on a visit in April and again now as term starts, everything I saw online is real, the people at Tanglin make the school. The students are bright, inquisitive, polite, and energetic and the parents I’ve met so far have been incredibly welcoming.

I was attracted to apply to the role by the ambitions of the governing body and this has already been reaffirmed in early exchanges. I look forward to supporting CEO Craig Considine in delivering on the promise that Tanglin should be a leader in global education.

What will be your main focus in 2022/23?

It is crucial in any new role to listen and learn. Tanglin is already a great school and as such, it would be arrogant and naïve to impose myself without regard for what is already in place or what has gone before. My focus is to build on the good work established through the pandemic and in the short term ensure that we come out of a challenging time confidently and safely. I have already signalled my intent around moving swiftly to widen the experiences of our students and it was great to be with the Year 7s on their activity day. » “ My focus is to build on the good work established through the pandemic and in the short term ensure that we come out of a challenging time confidently and safely. ”

Equally, the academic domain requires us to ensure that the Class of 2023 can compete in a university market that has seen some turbulence in recent times. This requires the combination of academic aspiration and the messaging that comes with that (such as Claire Russell’s excellent initiative “The Year of the Pen”), and strongly supporting and refining the excellent pastoral systems at Tanglin to provide secure pathways for all.

What are your future plans for Senior School?

In a nutshell, I aim to make an already great school, even greater. So much of what happens at Tanglin is already offering a great education to the students and providing life chances that are the envy of many schools worldwide. Given my experience in various settings, I will seek to continue driving forward academic aspiration in a proportionate and realistic manner, but also seek to provide a much broader and deeper experience for all students.

Education is a wonderful and complex open-ended task, and so if any school claims to have ‘mastered it’, they have not understood the brief and will swiftly become irrelevant. I wish to see the Tanglin Senior School, so well supported by our brilliant Infant and Junior provision, be at the cutting edge of education progress and reform across the region and subsequently in a global field. We have the people, the resources, and the determination so this should be an exciting journey.

LAURA HEYWORTH HEAD OF MIDDLE SCHOOL (YEAR 7-YEAR 9)

What was your story before Tanglin?

I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, even when I was in primary school I found great joy trying to teach my younger sibling things I had been learning at school! So for me school was about realising what my true academic passions were, and I found them in Biology and Geography. I grew up (literally) in the great outdoors, spending almost every weekend in the Lake District fells. Growing up in that part of the world has shaped me hugely as a person; I care deeply about nature, the environment and sustainability. This led me to a degree in Zoology at Durham, and from there to starting out in my teaching career in the North East of England where I progressed to leading a Biology department after two years. After a decade teaching in the UK, I followed my now husband to Singapore, switching from academic to pastoral leadership as a Head of Grade at SJI International. Here I began to fully understand how wellbeing underpins achievement. I am passionate about a holistic approach to learning and so prior to my move to Tanglin, I took on the role of Co-ordinator of Learning (IGCSE) spanning the academic and pastoral areas of Year 10 and 11. This experience across a wide variety of school contexts will help me to lead and drive the vision for Middle School at Tanglin.

What has impressed you about the school since you joined?

I have been impressed by many things, but what has stood out most is the quality of the staff who are so willing to go above and beyond to support the students’ wellbeing and provide a multitude of opportunities to ensure they are stretched, challenged and given the best platform possible to realise their potential, both inside and outside the classroom. Every morning before school starts, students get fantastic coaching in the swimming pool and every evening students are out on the playing field being guided through a host of different sports. I've already been wowed by drama productions and music concerts, and have been thrilled to be a judge in the Middle School English speaking competition. All of these enriching opportunities take a huge amount of time and dedication from the wonderful staff we have at Tanglin. I have also been impressed by seeing the students living the school’s core values of respect, responsibility, and purpose. The students are motivated, enthusiastic, happy people and I’ve found them to be very welcoming to new staff and students. The absence

of mobile phones in students' hands around the school site is a delight – it’s refreshing to be warmly greeted by students when passing them on the corridors, which wouldn’t happen if their heads were to be looking down at their phones! It is very apparent that the students are proud to be at Tanglin, and I'm equally proud to work at the school.

What will be your main focus for Middle School in 2022/23?

The concept of a Middle School, rather than a Key Stage 3, is relatively new for Tanglin. My main focus this year is to work with the pastoral and leadership team to establish a clear vision of what the Middle School stands for. In doing this, the personal and academic growth of the students will be a key focus. Wellbeing underpins achievement, so if we focus on ensuring every child has the support they need to develop their strengths, while also being encouraged to try new things in and out of the classroom, they will grow as individuals and learn more about themselves as they progress. This will enable them to make more informed choices moving into Upper School.

What are your future plans for Middle School?

Although I’ve only been at Tanglin for a short time, I can already see that the Middle School is fantastic. Having said that, I believe we should always seek ways to improve, refine and stay relevant. I'm passionate about improving student understanding of service learning and how they can identify with the UN sustainable development goals; ensuring we are preparing children not only for learning and the rigour of the examination years, but also ensuring students develop their understanding of global issues and engaging with them in a meaningful way. Tanglin's vision to aspire to be the best school in the world resonates strongly with me. The world is changing at an ever-increasing pace and therefore the future plans of the Middle School will have agility, flexibility and growth at the core of what we do.

RACHEL TURPIN DEPUTY HEAD OF JUNIOR SCHOOL

What was your story before Tanglin?

Before Tanglin, I had been teaching for 25 years in the UK. I started out in the state system in Kingston, Surrey, before moving to Thomas’s Battersea, a leading London prep school, in 2004. I became the Head of its Middle School from 2013, where I oversaw the academic, pastoral, and operational needs of Years 3-5.

I then moved to Singapore in August 2022, kicking off a new and exciting adventure for myself and my family. I had visited previously as a young backpacker after university but never since, so this move was definitely a leap of faith! A few ex-colleagues currently work in Singapore as teachers and many friends have links to Singapore. Their positive reflections were integral to our decision to relocate, and they all put Tanglin on the map for us. Tanglin has a very strong reputation back in the UK and following my own research, it became clear to me that Tanglin would be a perfect match. I was lucky that the Deputy Headship came up when it did.

What has impressed you about the school since you joined?

To me, education is all about outstanding pastoral care and an inspiring curriculum. When you get those right, the children fly and they develop the skills they need for life – confidence, collaboration, creativity, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking. Tanglin has children’s wellbeing at the heart of all they do, and I have been so impressed with their focus on emotional development.

I have only been at Tanglin for a few months, but every day has been exciting. It has been incredibly busy as I try to get on top of new systems and get to know the pupils and the staff, but I am loving the energy here at Tanglin. The staff are determined to push forward and embrace change, challenging pedagogy and ensuring that their teaching style is forward-thinking. There is a real sense of camaraderie within the Junior School and a lot of laughter. I bring a lot of experience to Tanglin but every day I feel challenged and that is what I was looking for.

What will be your main focus for Junior School?

Currently, we are working on improving our methods of feedback to the children so that we are responding to their work with greater effect. I am working with the staff, using research to trial different methods to help the children meet personal targets to aid progress. We are trying to move away from the more traditional marking in books, which has proven to be ineffective. I am keen to further the journey of technology in the classroom at Tanglin, now that every pupil has their own device, and I look forward to embedding our 3-14 Curriculum, with a review of the overarching topics. I am passionate about offering a creative curriculum and have had a lot of experience with an inquiry approach, so that will be a longer-term goal.

What are your future plans for Junior School?

With the Tanglin Centenary Building opening soon, the Junior School is turning its attention to a new Arts Hub. I am so excited to be part of those discussions as we focus on our broad curriculum and think about designing a space that will inspire our pupils and staff. Moving away from London and the stressful 11+/13+ process, I know that the pupils of Tanglin are so lucky – they have superb resources and so many opportunities, including a range of CCA activities, without the pressures of exams at such an early age. That is very special. ■