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Current Staffing | New Staff
New Staff
Stephen and Elisa Viner
My name is Stephen Viner. I will be joining BISAK in September 2010 as Head of Secondary. I will be joined by my wife Elisa and our two children, Daniel and Catherine. Daniel is almost 5 and will be joining Year 1. Catherine was born in October 2009. I have worked in a variety of schools from Inner City London to leafy St Albans. All have offered me a range of experiences that I shall bring with me to BISAK. I have been a Deputy Headteacher since 2003 and I have worked in a number of schools in challenging circumstances and helped schools move from the Ofsted ‘notice to improve’ to ‘Good’ mark. More recently, at my present school, I led key areas in achieving their Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ mark, in particular for teaching and learning and care, guidance and support. Elisa is currently on maternity leave but is looking forward to returning to work part time. She currently teaches in a school not far from where we live in London. Elisa is a fluent speaker of Spanish and will be assisting the school in introducing it as a subject at BISAK.
We are very excited (and apprehensive!) about our move to Saudi Arabia.We look forward to meeting you all in September
Ayub Qureshi
I hold an Honours degree in Applied Physics. I have taught, Physics to A & IB level; Design Technology to A-level, specialising in Digital Microelectronics, Computer Control, Pneumatics and Hydraulics; Graphic Design to A-level, specialising in Computer Graphics using Corel Draw and Airbrush Illustrations; Mathematics to A-level and 2D & 3D modelling using AutoCAD, ProDesktop 2000 and Solid Works. I take particular interest, due to my background, in establishing links with local Industry and Universities so that students of all ages can benefit from such visits and open doors in their minds to the real world as future citizens. Love to cook and share Italian, Indian and French cuisine. Keen gardener and enjoy different cultures / travel. Enjoy films like Ghandi, a Passage to India, Jodha Akbar, the Green Mile, the Parent Trap etc.. I like to play Cricket, Squash, Table Tennis, Tennis and Badminton. I am an avid supporter of MUFC and the Six Nation Rugby Tournament.
Dufney Botha
I am a South African qualified teacher with experience teaching in the United Kingdom, the UAE and South Africa. Throughout this time I have been teaching mainly Year 1 classes and I have taught secondary Mathematics for 2 years as well. I believe that every child has specific needs and I try my utmost best to address these needs by differentiating during lessons. As John Lubbock once said: “The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn”. I enjoy coaching sport and taking part in it especially netball. I am looking forward to teaching at BISAK.
Edward Botha
I am a South African qualified teacher with 7 years experience in Primary school teaching. I have a vast International teaching experience. I have taught in South Africa, the United Kingdom and most recently the UAE. I have a passion for teaching and I believe to teach is to touch lives forever. I am passionate about helping children to develop and use their talents to create a sense of curiosity, tolerance, belonging, meaning and contribution within their communities so that they will grow into adults who are bright and shining lights in their world. I enjoy traveling and I am especially interested in all kinds of sport. I am also a qualified Rugby and Cricket coach. I am very excited about teaching at BISAK and contribute meaningfully.
Chris Watson
My name is Chris Watson and I am a very experienced teacher. Most of my teaching has been in New Zealand with junior school students. I have spent the last couple of years working in the UAE. My expertise is in teaching Literacy- especially early reading and writing skills, Numeracy and ICT. I am a dedicated, loyal teacher. I will provide a structured, stimulating learning environment where the children are motivated to learn. I will identify each child’s learning needs and scaffold lessons to meet these. I encourage children to take responsibility for their learning and behaviour. I am looking forward to working with the children at the British International School and becoming part of the school community.
Lisel Kinghorn
My name is Liesl Kinghorn. I am originally from Port Elizabeth, South Africa. I qualified as a teacher in 1988 and have 20 years teaching experience. The bulk of my experience (15 years) was gained teaching at various schools in and around Port Elizabeth, South Africa. During 2005, I moved to the Middle East. I spent two years teaching in the Sultanate of Oman. For the last three years I have been teaching in the United Arab Emirates. I enjoy travelling, reading and cooking. I am looking forward to joining the KS2 team at BISAK in September 2010.
Luis Acosta-Ravenscoft
British Qualified teacher (QTS) with 25 teaching, lecturing and training experience. I have taught in two internationalschools in the past. Post graduate specialist in Fine and Applied Arts. Interests in visual culture, jazz music, travel and cooking
Tammy Naidoo
I graduated with a teaching degree, specialising in primary education, in South Africa where I also taught for 3 years. For the past 9 years, I have taught in the UK where I attained my Qualified Teacher’s Status. I have taught classes ranging from Yr 2 - Yr6 in the different primary phase subjects. I have contributed to whole school development when leading History and Geography, Raising Achievement and Assessment and most recently numeracy. I believe that one never stops learning and that educating myself helps me in my role as an educator. In this regard, I recently attained my Masters in Education. I enjoy musical theatre, love reading and travelling, and keeping fit.
Janet Blake
My name is Janet Blake and I come from Portsmouth in England. I have been teaching for twenty two years and have had the opportunity to teach all over the world including Zambia, Singapore and Bratislava. I am currently working in Kuwait where I teach a mixed Year 2 class. I have been at my present school for the past five years. My hobbies include reading and the theatre and I enjoy all sport especially swimming, tennis and football. I am very much looking forward to coming to Saudi Arabia, joining the team at BISAK and meeting with all of you.
Jon Leak
Having commenced my career as a civil engineer, I retrained as a mathematics and Physical Education teacher. For the last 18 years I have been teaching internationally having worked in Zimbabwe, Colombia, Uzbekistan and Borneo Malaysia. In all my schools I have been extensively involved in extra-curricular activities, primarily in the sporting field.
Rosemary Brown-Afari
An educator since 1994, I have had the pleasure of teaching and tutoring in the UK (1994-2001, 2009-2010), and USA (2001-Jan2009). With years of experience teaching history and other humanities at KS3, GCSE, IB, ‘A’ Levels, AS Levels and beyond my repertoire of knowledge is fairly extensive. The thesis for my Masters programme “The Delivery of Historical Understanding” gave me a great insight into how history is taught in schools and colleges, and I have learnt to adapt my style according to the needs of the pupils I come across. Over the years I have made good use of problem based learning styles to challenge the gifted students. I have learnt that universal intellectual standards must be applied to thinking whenever one is interested in checking the quality of reasoning about a problem, issue, or situation. Working in a Diagnostic Centre as a teacher and tutor gave me the opportunity to work with students with varying supportive needs such (ADHD, ADD, Dyslexia etc) Although a historian at heart, one is not a luddite, but rather an advocate of ICT who enjoys using a wide variety of techniques and software to stimulate pupils’ learning experience. One hopes to continue this innovative approach to teaching, while challenging and inspiring the minds of the future at BISAK.
Brain McNulty
I'm Brian McNulty and I'm joining the primary staff in September. I've over 30 years teaching experience and have spent much of the last 25 years teaching either in Spain or Arabia, in international schools. I'm teaching in Doha, Qatar at the moment and spend the Summers in my house in the mountains outside Granada in Spain. Due to my experience in international schools, I'm very interested in the language side of teaching and enjoy teaching English. I speak Spanish as well and am happy to help those who want to improve their language skills. I also enjoy sports and drama. I look forward to meeting you all in September, adios.
Allison Thomas
We are pleased to welcome Ms. Allison Thomas to the Year 3 Team for September 2010. Ms. Thomas hails from wintry Winnipeg in middle of the Canadian Prairies, but grew up in both Riyadh and Al Khobar as a child. Although trained in Canada, Ms. Thomas longed to return to the Middle East and has most recently been teaching primary at a bilingual school in Kuwait. Ms. Thomas is an Early and Middle Years specialist who has also enjoyed working with Grade 1 and 6 children in Canada. In addition to her teaching qualifications, Ms. Thomas holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Manitoba and an Administrative Studies degree from the University of Winnipeg. She has been quite involved with Drama at her schools, and tells us that she looks forward to getting involved with another exciting production at BISAK next year! Ms. Thomas also enjoys playing and coaching volleyball, and would love to get involved next season. In her down time, Ms. Thomas enjoys running, cooking, the sea, and studying French and Arabic. She looks forward to returning to Al Khobar.
Stuart Ashford
My name is Stuart Ashford and I am the new Head of PE. I am originally from the Isle of Wight, UK. I gained my B.Sc Honours Degree from Roehampton Institute (Sports Science with Education) and I was awarded a PGCE in Physical Education from De Montfort University, Bedford, UK. I started my teaching career in the UK before moving abroad for six years and then returning to teach in the UK again. After working for three years in the UK I once again moved overseas. I have worked at The British School Muscat, Oman; Cebu International School, Philippines, Al Ain English Speaking School, U.A.E, Tianjin Rego International School, China and Ecole Chantemerle, Switzerland. I have served in various capacities as a teacher including PE, French & Geography. Furthermore, I have been Athletics Director in a number of schools, Head of Department, Head of Year & Head of Sixth Form. My experience covers both small and large schools, which has involved IB, International, French, American and British curriculum models. I am married with a daughter at University and I will be joined by my wife Annaliza.
David Hart
After leaving university David worked in the book trade and for a financial dot-com before training to become an English Teacher at King's College London in 2004. Since then he has taught at several high-achieving secondary schools in Gloucestershire and London and also taken a Master's degree in Victorian Literature. David's interests include travel and creative writing, and he is currently researching a book based on a series of strange incidents in a Victorian asylum.
Micheal Bardi
I have extensive Teaching Experience spanning over 15 years. The last 7-8 years have been in the United Kingdom where I have a proven, successful track record – Teaching English Language and Literature up to A-Levels, with my students achieving very high grades in their final GCSE and AS/A2 Examinations.. I am leaving my current School in a Middle Management position as Assistant Core Curriculum Leader in the English Faculty. I am also an Examiner with the AQA in English Language.I have a passion for Teaching as I enjoy the fact that there is never a dull moment with teenagers in a classroom. I love the jokes, the highly intellectual debates on various topics, the elastic nature of the human brain, the building of mutual love and respect etc. These are the memories I treasure and the reason my ‘romance’ with Teaching is forever! I am married to Ife Bardi, a Chartered Accountant, with two sons – Derek and William (8 and 5 respectively).
