OUR ENGLISH TEACHERS
Ms Nawirah Nordeen
Education Consultant / Teacher
Biography
Ms Nawirah Nordeen completed her degree in Psychology with Magna Cum Laude. Always passionate about teaching English and committed to her students, she has guided hundreds of students since she started teaching in 2012.
Ms Nawirah Nordeen teaches in the primary and secondary programme at Cognitus Academy. Having been an English tutor since 2012, she has developed a passion for teaching the language and a love for nurturing young learners.
As an avid reader and writer, Ms Nawirah continues to have a fascination for the English Language and enjoys sharing its nuances with others.
After achieving A* and A’s for her PSLE, she attended Tanjong Katong Girls’ School where her sterling O Level results opened doors for her to Meridian Junior College.
Inspired by her teachers and driven by a passion for the subject, Ms Nawirah aced her General Paper. After great ponderance at the post-A Levels crossroads, Ms Nawirah was led by a curiosity to understand human behaviour and eventually decided to read Psychology in university where she graduated in 2017 with Magna Cum Laude.
Apart from academic rigour, her Bachelor course gave her an opportunity to intern in London. Her internship with the UK government exposed her to multiple facets of British schools and affirmed her desire to connect and work with youths.
With proper guidance and diligence, Ms Nawirah believes that every student has the ability to unleash great potential. She strongly advocates for strong literacy and effective communication skills, which set up youths for lifelong success
Ms Shabbna Feroz Khan
Education Consultant / Teacher
Biography
Ms Shabbna earned her degree from the National University of Singapore, majoring in philosophy with a minor in English Literature. Before that, she achieved a sterling academic record for English scoring A* for PSLE, A1 for O Levels and 7 out of 7 for IB English at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent).
An English Language and English Literature tutor since 2013, Shabbna strongly recognises that each child has a distinct voice and dedicates herself to honing and nurturing her students’ individual voices.
Academically, Shabbna has always excelled in the English Language and humanities. Attaining an A* and A1 for English Language in the PSLE and O Level examinations respectively, she headed to Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) where she graduated with an IB Diploma, scoring a 7 in English A1 at the Higher Level.
It was at the National University of Singapore that Shabbna found a discipline that quenched her thirst for knowledge – Philosophy. She values and encourages questioning and independent thinking, often employing the Socratic method in her teaching.
She supplemented her hunger for all things antiquity with a Minor in English Literature, which further fuelled her passion for the English Language. Every lesson she conducts becomes an opportunity to rub off good reading habits on her students.
With a strong inclination towards social service, Shabbna opted for an internship with the Ministry of Social and Family Development in 2013 where she saw first-hand the hardship some children had to endure. The experience still plays a key role in motivating her to work with children.
In every lesson, Shabbna wishes to impart her love for the language to her students, with the aim that they, too, will grow to develop their voice, speak, and be heard.
Ms Heidi Boon
Education Consultant / Teacher
Biography
Ms Boon graduated with a degree in English from the National University of Singapore, and has more than a decade of experience teaching English privately. As a certified MOE relief teacher, she has also taught at Anglo-Chinese School and River Valley High. She was also a teacher and centre manager for an established English Language centre.
Ms Heidi Boon has taught classes at the Vietnamese embassy and given private lessons to the ambassador’s children. Deeply passionate about the use and teaching of the English Language, Ms Boon also writes for online publications and bespoke articles for private clients.
Ms Ong
Education Consultant / Teacher
Biography
Ms Ong teaches English and Math in Cognitus Academy. A trained teacher, Ms Ong has taught in MOE schools for 12 years and has accumulated 15 years of teaching in private education settings. She has also received the Most Caring Teacher Award from the Academy of Teachers in Singapore for two consecutive years, as well as the Outstanding Teacher Award conferred by MOE, which is one of the most distinguished awards for recognising the professionalism of Singapore teachers.
Passionate about nurturing young minds, she believes that every child is unique and should be taught in their own way. Having been an educator for more than a decade, she believes that students thrive on encouragement to strive towards their personal best and achieve their goals.
Ms Ong is also a strong believer of developing her students’ values and virtues while guiding them towards academic success. For her dedication, creativity and effectiveness as a teacher, Ms Ong was nominated by parents and students for the prestigious Outstanding Youth in Education Award. Tireless in giving her best to her students, she received the Most Caring Teacher Award from the Academy of Teachers in Singapore for two consecutive years, as well as the Outstanding Teacher Award conferred by MOE, which is one of the most distinguished awards for recognising the professionalism of Singapore teachers.
A lifelong learner, Ms Ong enjoys reading education-related articles from international conferences to stay abreast of new approaches and innovative pedagogies.
Ms Cheryl Wong
Education Consultant / Teacher
Biography
Ms Cheryl Wong teaches English at the Primary and Secondary level at Cognitus Academy. Her love for the language is evident in her excellent English results, scoring A* for English at PSLE, A1 at O Level, and A for General Paper at the A Level. Ms Wong’s passion for the language inspires her students to enjoy the language and excel in their English examinations.
A Theatre Studies major from the National University of Singapore, her love for teaching started from volunteering at social services and community theatre projects. Ms Wong melds her expertise in teaching English with her knowledge of theatre and drama, and constantly seeks new pedagogy to combine both in order to ignite greater interests for the English language in her students.
Being in Cognitus Academy gives Ms Wong the opportunity to teach English in her most natural way because she believes in the role of the arts and humanities in developing critical thinking, communication skills and empathy in students.
Mr Stewart Teng
Head of Mathematics Curriculum
Biography
As an experienced Mathematics educator of more than 20 years, Mr Teng has coached hundreds of Primary and Secondary students towards scoring distinctions for their Maths exams.
It is no surprise that students who apply his methods consistently score distinctions in their Maths exams. In fact, his students’ distinction rates of 88% for PSLE students and 80% for O Level students are way above national averages.
A testament to an illustrious career in the Ministry of Education, Mr Teng has been awarded the prestigious Outstanding Youth in Education (OYEA) Award and made vital contributions to education in his capacity as Head of Department and Vice-Principal (Designate) of one of the top performing schools in Singapore. Throughout his stellar MOE career, Mr Teng’s passion in maths education never wavered.
After leaving the MOE fraternity, Mr Teng co-founded and built one of the most impactful Maths programmes and had the opportunity to help even more students improve their mathematical understanding and Maths exam results. He also had the chance to conduct training for Maths HODs and teachers in schools, so that his methods can enable teachers to teach Maths better.
Mr Joel Chang
Education Consultant / Teacher
Biography
Mr Joel Chang teaches Mathematics at the Secondary and Pre-University levels.
A Mathematics fanatic since primary school, he deeply enjoys the rigour of learning complex levels of Mathematics, allowing him to consistently ace Mathematics and graduate from NUS with First Class Honours (projected).
Learning Mathematics at an advanced level gives Mr Chang the opportunity to combine his passion for mathematical theory and application through his research on machine learning.
Always the enthusiastic Mathematics teacher, Mr Chang has taught Mathematics at various levels of understanding—from high school students to university undergraduates—equipping students to form insightful connections intuitively and propels them to excel academically. Mr Chang finds deep satisfaction in igniting interest in Mathematics among his students, and pushing them to explore concepts beyond the school curriculum.
Ms Joanna Lee
Education Consultant / Teacher
Biography
Joanna has more than 10 years of teaching experience in school enrichment programmes and conducting school workshops. She is passionate about nurturing and training students to be independent learners reaching their fullest potentials.
Joanna is a dedicated teacher, specialising in helping students to stretch beyond their perceived capabilities. They are motivated under her guidance as she breaks down Maths concepts into bite sized basics that are easy to understand. She enjoys building students’ confidence, which is the key to their success.
Our experienced teachers have consistently helped hundreds of students across
Primary, Secondary and Junior College levels improve on their English, Math and GP results.
Talk to us to find out how a trial lesson can set your child
towards the path of massive improvement.