Author profiles

Cambridge Outlook magazine

Cambridge Outlook, published three times a year, is for Cambridge schools worldwide. Every issue of the magazine explores an educational theme, with contributions from teachers, school leaders and academics. The magazine also includes all the latest information about events, training and teacher support.

Andrew Coombe joined Cambridge International as Deputy Director Marketing, Communications and Customers in July 2017. Andrew has a strong background in international business development, marketing and customer service operations. He has over 25 years’ experience of leading strategy, sales and marketing teams principally in the global markets of automotive manufacturers and in education.

Simon Armitage

Simon Armitage is a Geography teacher and Assistant Head at The Perse School. He has a particular interest in the field of international education.

Sophie Armstrong

Sophie joined Cambridge International Examinations as a Graduate Trainee in September 2014. She studied English at Queen Mary College, University of London.

Shahid Ashraf

Shahid is a Senior Manager in Pakistan. Before working at Cambridge International Examinations, he worked with the British Council both in Pakistan and the UAE. He holds a Master's degree in Economics from the University of Karachi and an MBA in Marketing from M.A. University also in Karachi.

Melissa Balzano

Melissa Balzano is Training Events Coordinator for Cambridge International Examinations.

Abigail Barnett

Abigail Barnett is Deputy Director, Curriculum Programmes. She is responsible for the development of Cambridge Primary and Cambridge Secondary 1 programmes, and for leading curriculum reform as part of our Education Services. Abigail started her career in education as a secondary school English teacher in the UK. She also lived in Bangkok for five years teaching in a British International school and worked as a secondary school English advisor for Essex LA on returning to the UK before joining Cambridge International Examinations.

Paul Beedle

Paul is Head of Professional Development Qualifications at Cambridge International Examinations. He has a PhD in Social Anthropology and an MEd in Educational Assessment.

Claudia Bickford-Smith

Claudia Bickford-Smith is the Director of Development at Cambridge. She is responsible for leading the development of new qualifications, in partnership with Cambridge schools around the world. Claudia worked in the NGO education sector and then in educational publishing in South Africa from the mid-1990s, until she moved to the UK in 2008. She then joined Cambridge University Press, where she was Director of the International Education business unit. She took overall financial and strategic responsibility for developing learner and teacher resources for classrooms in over 160 countries which follow the Cambridge International Examinations system. Claudia holds a History degree from the University of Cape Town, where her postgraduate research focused on the impact of syllabuses introduced by missionaries on schools and communities in rural South Africa.

Georgie Billings

Georgie is a Senior Assessment Advisor at Cambridge International Examinations. She previously worked in at the Standards and Testing Agency within the Department of Education, where she developed National Curriculum Tests in Reading.

Nivedita Bose

Nivedita Bose is our Professional Development Manager, South Asia. She is responsible for promoting and nurturing all professional development activities in the region. Nivedita gained a Master of Science degree in Organic Chemistry, and a Bachelor of Education degree from Delhi University between 1992 and 1995. Since then, she has spent over 20 years teaching in schools across India. Along with classroom teaching Nivedita engaged with curriculum development and has written science course books for the Indian National Curriculum. She has also been actively involved in teacher training and has been a trainer and programme leader for Cambridge PDQ in teaching and learning.

Lynda Bramwell

Lynda has been Cambridge International’s School Liaison Manager since 2015 and has worked in the education sector throughout her career as both a teacher and an editor in education publishing. She is passionate about the importance of the role of teachers and learners in the development of new products and services.

Chris Brown

Chris is Head of Online Professional Learning at Cambridge and he has over 10 years experience in developing online learning communities and products. He has lived and worked in a number of countries across Europe, South America and Asia.

Paul Bullen-Smith

Paul is a Group Manager, Development at Cambridge International, responsible for responsible for the development and review of all our Business, Humanities and Social Science qualifications. He has worked at Cambridge Assessment both in assessment and syllabus development for nine years, prior to that he had nine years as a teacher and Head of Department, and before moving into the educational world he had 20 years’ experience in business, primarily in sales, marketing and general management roles.

Esther Chesterman

Esther taught Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge International A Level for a number of years in international schools and colleges. She is currently an Education Officer for Cambridge. Her main role is to oversee the assessment of Cambridge Professional Development Qualifications.

Amy Cook

Amy is Training Support Coordinator – Exams officers at Cambridge and has been with the organisation since May 2016. Before that, she taught English as a Second Language in the UK with a particular focus on using technology in the classroom.

Tony Cotton

Tony Cotton is a teacher of mathematics and a teacher of teachers of mathematics. He is lucky enough to have worked in over 30 different countries. He learns most about teaching mathematics from the learners he works with.

David Darwent

Prior to working in higher education, David taught in schools and colleges for over 16 years. He is interested in all aspects of teacher professional development but has a particular passion for helping teachers engage with some of the most hard to reach students.

Lee Davis

Lee is Deputy Director, Education at Cambridge International Examinations. Prior to joining us in 2014, he held several high profile positions including Director of Academic Planning at The Aga Khan Academies and Head of Online Professional Learning at the International Baccalaureate Organisation.

James de Winter

James de Winter works at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge leading the Secondary Physics PGCE initial teacher education course as well as teaching on the Primary PGCE course.

James Doubleday

James leads work matching Cambridge International Examination’s education system improvement capability with national level consultancy and project requirements. James’s previous experience includes responsibility for the design and delivery of services supporting education reforms in the UK and internationally for OCR and Pearson. He was a senior policy advisor at the Equality and Human Rights Commission and has taught inter-disciplinary research methodology courses at Cambridge University.

Kevin Ebenezer

Kevin Ebenezer joined Cambridge Assessment International Education in 2013 as Assessment Product Manager in the International Projects Team, before joining the Recognitions Team as the Recognitions Manager for the UK and Ireland. Prior to this, Kevin worked in international schools as a Guidance Counsellor, and Assistant Head of School, where he helped many students with the university application process, and developed a deep understanding of international admissions

Jonathan Ellams

Jonathan works at Parkside Federation Academies in Cambridge as Professional Development Lead, Professional Tutor and Specialist Leader in Education. He is also the Programme Leader for Cambridge qualifications. He teaches English and Film and still very much loves his time in the classroom.

Paul Ellis

Paul Ellis is Head of Teaching & Learning at Cambridge Assessment International Education. He is in charge of the worldwide recruitment and development of teacher-trainers, the general professional development of teachers, and directs the educational content of our schools’ conferences. He taught in the UK and France for 10 years, has Master’s degrees in Modern Languages, Education and Business Administration, and has held senior positions in the provision of international education since 2006.

Andrew Field

Andrew is eLearning Manager at Cambridge International Examinations. He has fifteen years’ teaching experience, originally as History teacher then Head of Faculty for Computing and IT. He was an Adobe Educational Leader for ten years, developing a range of eLearning materials and resources.

Andrew Gillespie

Andrew Gillespie is a Director of Studies and Head of Business at d'Overbroeck's, Oxford. He has a strong interest in both Business and Economics at all levels from IGCSE through to degree and has written and lectured extensively in these areas.

Professor Jonathan Glazzard

Professor Jonathan Glazzard currently leads on research in The Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools. Prior to his appointment at Leeds Beckett University Jonathan led Initial Teacher Education programmes in the primary phase at the University of Huddersfield from 2005-15.

Lauren Harris

Lauren is an Education Officer at Cambridge International Examinations. She has a BA in French and Hispanic Studies and an MPhil in Latin American Studies.

Kevin Hawkins

Kevin Hawkins has worked with children and adolescents in various contexts for over 30 years as a teacher, school head, and social worker, in the UK, Europe, and Africa. Kevin started teaching mindful awareness to students, teachers, and parents in 2008, and in 2012 he co-founded MindWell which supports educational communities in developing wellbeing through mindfulness and social-emotional learning.

Lexie Hoskins

Lexie is the Digital Content Co-ordinator at Cambridge International Examinations. She has worked in digital communications for seven years and is responsible for Cambridge's social media and digital marketing strategy.

Laura Humpleby

Laura is a Development Officer (Curriculum Support) at Cambridge International and joined the organisation in January 2018. She previously worked as a Secondary Modern Foreign Languages teacher and Deputy Head of Faculty in Cambridgeshire.

Pramod Kanakath

Pramod is Head of the High School English Department at Binus School. He has taught English since 2000 and started teaching the Cambridge syllabus in Indonesia in 2005, preparing students for Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second Language, First Language English, Checkpoint and Cambridge International AS & A Level.

Thomas Kennedy

Thomas Kennedy is the Social Media Manager for Cambridge Assessment International Education. A former English teacher and published author he has worked for the company since June 2017.

Steve King

Steve King is Head of Education Services: Central and North Asia for Cambridge International Examinations. Prior to joining Cambridge he designed and implemented online and blended professional development programmes for public sector teachers of English, working with local and national education authorities worldwide. He has also worked in educational publishing, teaching and teacher training

Dr Martina Kuvalja

Martina is a senior researcher in one of the assessment standards teams in Cambridge Assessment. Previously, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher investigating metacognition and self-regulation in young children and as an independent consultant.

Rob Linsdell

Rob has been Head of Business Insight at Cambridge since 2011 & previously worked in a strategic marketing role for OCR. Rob’s team manage our market research, pricing & CRM functions. Rob has been writing as a hobby since he was a teenager; his debut novel Close of Play was published in March 2014.

Ems Lord

Ems has been the Director of NRICH since 2015, following her previous role leading one of the country's largest Mathematics Specialist Teacher Programmes. Ems has taught mathematics across the key stages, from Early Years to A Level Further Mathematics, and has worked in a variety of settings including a hospital school.

Lucila Marquez

Lucila is Senior Manager, Latin America (Southern Cone & Andes). She has worked with Cambridge for almost 3 years, and her role includes developing awareness of Cambridge programmes and qualifications in the school sector, and working closely with our Associates in her region.

Fleur Mclennan

Fleur studied a BA, majoring in Australian Politics and History. She has a post-graduate degree in secondary teaching (English and Humanities) and 18 years teaching experience around the world. Fleur is an international teacher trainer with Cambridge International Examinations.

Jessica Minaeian

Jessica is a Development Officer (Curriculum Support) at Cambridge International and joined the organisation in April 2018. She previously worked as a Secondary English Teacher and Whole School Literacy Co-ordinator in both Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire

Hema Mistry

Hema is the Teaching and Learning Support Officer at Cambridge International Examinations. She contributes to the professional development courses and resources, and supports colleagues with trainer recruitment. Hema is also responsible for the ECIS International Teacher Certificate.

Nicola Morgan

Nicola Morgan is an international speaker and author on topics including: the teenage brain, teenage stress and mental health, wellbeing in schools, reading for pleasure and the reading brain and the effects of the internet and digital distraction. As well as her fiction and non-fiction, she has created the classroom materials, Brain Sticks and Stress Well for Schools.

Janet Morris

Janet Morris is Director, International Network at Cambridge International Examinations. Her role includes managing the business insight, business development, marketing, customer support functions and all our regional offices.

Daniel Morrish

Dr Daniel Morrish is a Development Manager at Cambridge International Examinations. Daniel is part of the team responsible for the development of Cambridge ICT Starters as well as bespoke ICT and Computing syllabuses for ministries and other bodies. He has worked at Cambridge Assessment since 2009.

Marc Neesam

Marc works in the Curriculum Programmes team as a Development Manager. He is a science specialist (Chemistry degrees from the University of Nottingham and the University of York) and has taught in primary schools in the UK and has worked with a Learned Society to develop primary science support materials

Zoe Neville-Smith

Zoe is Marketing Communications Manager (UK and Europe) for Cambridge International Examinations.

Raed Omar

Raed is Senior Manager, Saudi Arabia & Bahrain. He has over 10 years' experience in the education sector and a postgraduate diploma in marketing communications form Middlesex University London.

Michael O’Sullivan

Michael O'Sullivan was appointed Chief Executive of Cambridge International Examinations in April 2013. He has a BA in French and German from Brasenose College, Oxford, an MPhil in Linguistics from Wolfson College, Cambridge, and is a fluent Mandarin speaker.

Lisa Peter

Lisa Peter is the International Lecturer in Shakespeare Studies at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. She has developed sessions and workshops especially designed for language learners of all levels. She specialises in Shakespeare translations and the reception of Shakespeare around the world.

Helen Rees-Bidder

Helen Rees-Bidder is an independent educational consultant, senior examiner and lead trainer for Cambridge Assessment International Education. She was a teacher of English and Drama for 27 years.

Julie Reid

Julie is an Education Officer within the Teaching and Learning team. Her role involves the recruitment, induction and development of Cambridge trainers.

James Riley

James is Head of Geography at The Perse School. He is an active member of the Geographical Association, lecturing at conferences and organising events across Cambridge. His specialist interests are in climate change and the role of technology in education.

Carl Saxton

Carl is a Development Officer (Curriculum Support) at Cambridge International and joined the organisation in November 2015. He has a PhD in chemistry and has been developing teaching and learning resources (5–19) for both the UK and international markets for over five years.

Stuart Shaw

Before leading a research team in the area of mainstream international examinations, Stuart worked on a range of Cambridge ESOL products with specific skill responsibilities for Writing. He is particularly interested in demonstrating how Cambridge Assessment seeks to meet the demands of validity in their tests.

Jack Skelhon

Jack is the Online Professional Development Coordinator (courses) at Cambridge. His roles involves developing, improving and maintaining online courses. Jack's main hobby is video game development, focusing primarily on level design, game-play, and player psychology.

Dominique Slade

Dominique is Head of Technical and Vocational Pathways and part of the Education Services team at Cambridge Assessment International Education.

Anna Smith

Anna Smith is Education Manager at Cambridge International Examinations. She has almost twenty years’ experience as a teacher and leader, and was a principal of an international Sixth Form for five years.

Tristian Stobie

Tristian is Director, Education at Cambridge Assessment International Education . He leads the development of our education strategy for schools, supporting Cambridge teachers and learners.

Sarah Talbot

Sarah is an Education Officer in the teaching and learning team at Cambridge Assessment International Education. Prior to joining Cambridge, Sarah taught history to students aged from 13 to 18. Sarah has recently completed a Master’s degree in Education with Cambridge University.

Sarah Turner

Sarah is an Education Manager in the Professional Development Qualifications (PDQ) Team, where she works closely with centres to ensure the quality of the Cambridge PDQs. Sarah is from a teaching background having spent fifteen years as a secondary school English teacher prior to joining Cambridge Assessment.

Marcus Vice

Marcus is the Pricing Manager in the Business Insight team at Cambridge International Examinations. He has a BSc in Business Economics and Finance from Loughborough University.

Rachel West

Rachel recently joined Cambridge having taught art for 15 years to students aged between 16 and 19. Before that she taught in Nigeria between 1998 – 2000 under the auspices of Voluntary Services Overseas.

David Weston

David Weston is the Chief Executive of the Teacher Development Trust. He is Chair of the UK Department for Education’s Teacher Professional Development Expert Group. David is a former teacher and is currently a governor of both a primary and a secondary school. Follow him on Twitter at @informed_edu and follow the Trust at @TeacherDevTrust

Lin Whyte

Lin Whyte is an independent education consultant and a former headteacher. She works in a range of educational organisations including the National College of Teaching and School Leadership, and Cambridge International Examinations.

Mark Winterbottom

Mark joined the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge in 2002 and teaches on the Science/Biology secondary PGCE course and on the BA in educational studies. His research interests are in ICT and the psychology of education.

Ellen Wong

Ellen is the Head of Science Department at Westlake International School in Malaysia and joined the school in 2013. She has taught Mathematics and Science at secondary schools for ten years and is currently teaching Cambridge IGCSE Chemistry and Cambridge International AS and A Level Chemistry.

Iain Wyder

Iain has been teaching Cambridge programmes and qualifications in China since 2006. His primary focus is on Economics at both Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge International A Level.