Ms Tina Cooper

Bachelor of Education Degree (Hons)

Principal, Dempsey

Tina Cooper joins Invictus as the Dempsey Hill and Sentosa campus Principal from July 2020 with oversight for both school sites, staff and children.

Previous experience includes senior leadership roles as Head of Primary and Deputy Head in the UK, Spain, Russia and Singapore.

Further experience includes the development of materials for teacher professional development for a new school start up in Beijing as well as curriculum mapping and whole school tracking of pupil progress.

Tina has delivered professional development workshops on safeguarding, development and progression of reading and writing through guided and personalised work for children. She was a Lead Teacher for English in the UK and supported 3 other Primary schools whilst maintaining her teaching Deputy Head role.

Tina holds a Bachelor of Education Degree (Hons) as well as the National Professional Qualification for Headship. Tina has a passion for teaching English and holds a CELTA, Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults as well as Young Learners.

Dr Nicholas Duggan

Founding Principal, Centrium

Dr Nicholas Duggan is a highly qualified academic and an experienced international school Principal. He is additionally an accomplished musician, as a composer and performer. His academic qualifications include an LTCL, GDLM and PhD, in Music and two master’s degrees, one in English Language Teaching and one in Educational Leadership and Management. He is also a qualified UK teacher with a PGCE in Secondary Music with qualified teacher status (QTS).

Dr Duggan’s teaching career has spanned a number of schools in different parts of the world. He taught in Kenya and Thailand before joining the British Army as a Musician with the Irish Guards. He then returned to the world of education and held senior positions at schools in Kuwait, Thailand and Italy. In 2009, Dr Duggan became Founding Principal of the Satit Prasarnmit International School in Bangkok. More recently, Dr Duggan has been Secondary School Principal of Yew Chung International School in Beijing, Headteacher of St George’s British School Malaga and Headmaster of the first British Independent Boarding School in India, in partnership with King’s College Taunton in the UK.

Dr Duggan joins us with a wealth of experience and a clear vision of how educational success is achieved; authentic learning experiences in a happy and safe environment, where students take responsibility for their learning, become critical thinkers and challenge themselves beyond their expectations.

Dr Duggan, his wife and 8-year old son are immensely excited about coming to Singapore where they plan to settle and put down some roots in the community.

Ms Chia Puay Leng

Founding Vice Principal, Bilingual Programme

Ms Chia Puay Leng joins Invictus as the Vice Principal of our Centrium campus and Head of Bilingual Programme.

Before joining Invictus, Ms Chia was the Director of Chinese Programmes at Repton Schoolhouse (at both Alexandra and Bukit Timah Campuses) and headed the Chinese curriculum for the bilingual programme. From 2010-2018, she was Head of Chinese at St. Joseph’s International Institution Elementary School (SJIIES) and the Head of Asian Languages at St. Joseph’s International Institution (2007–2009). Ms Chia played an instrumental role in developing the Chinese curriculum in both schools from Prep 1 to Grade 10, leading a team of dedicated teachers to create a conducive and effective environment for learning Chinese. As a result of her efforts, SJIIES became the first school in Singapore to offer daily Chinese lessons.

In addition to her experience at SJII, Ms Chia also taught students from the ages of 4 to 18 at the United World College of South East Asia. She worked with preschool children from the ages of 18 months to 6 years when she was the director and centre supervisor at the Experiential Learning Centre. Ms Chia is passionate about nurturing students to become confident and fluent Chinese learners.

Ms Suriyani Rahamat

Bachelor of Science in Biology and Chemistry, Nanyang Technological University
Master of Education in Science Education

Founding Vice Principal, Secondary

Ms Suriyani Rahamat has been an educator for 23 years in government and international schools in Singapore. Prior to joining Invictus, she was the Assistant Principal (Academic) at SIM International Academy, an international school offering the International General Certificate for Secondary Education (IGCSE) and the Cambridge International AS and A-Level Programmes.

Ms Suriyani was also the Assistant Vice-Principal (Academic), and International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme Coordinator at the School of the Arts, Singapore (SOTA). Her portfolio included strategic planning, policymaking, curriculum design, professional development, and accreditation and evaluation processes. She is currently a member of the IB Educator Network and conducts IB workshops and school verification visits for the IBO.

Ms Suriyani holds a Master of Education in Science Education and received the Singapore Teachers Union Gold Medal upon completing the programme. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), majoring in Biology and Chemistry where she also received the Economic Development Board Book Prize for Biology at NTU. Apart from being a trained educator for national schools, Ms Suriyani is trained in international programmes, both in the IB Diploma and Career-Related Programme and the IGCSE in Biology and Chemistry.

In addition to her Diploma in Departmental Management from the National Institute of Education, Singapore; she is trained in curriculum frameworks, Understanding by Design, Teaching for Understanding and is a Future Problem-Solving Coach.

Ms Laura Appleton

Bachelor of Education (Primary): Deakin University, Australia

Founding Vice Principal, Sentosa

Ms Laura Appleton is an American teacher who has taught in South Korea, Belgium, England and Singapore.

Ms Appleton finds the international school environment a great place to learn about and explore different cultures. She feels the school should be a place to bring the community together and encourage understanding and respect amongst all the pupils. Ms Appleton's enthusiasm for reading and writing can be seen in the classroom and she hopes to instil the same love of words in her students.

When Ms Appleton is not teaching, she is busy at home with her husband and two young boys. She enjoys cooking, reading, and exploring new places with her family.