What do physics, investment banking and accounting, and the international baccalaureate diploma programme have in common? As editor Chad Merchant found, if it’s at Sri KDU, the answer is Dr Richard Levett, IB Coordinator. Here, we get some insight from this unusually diverse educator.

Dr Levett, your Doctorate is in Physics. What got you interested in this field of science.?

I always was interested in how the world works and that is partly due to my parents. My father loves building things and we did lots of experiments at home. He was a very argumentative person who used what I now know is called the Socratic method to debate almost anything. Physics is the science of everything and what else would I study? But I do love History and nearly went down that route instead. What won it
for Physics was probably Star Trek!

You also spent quite some time as an accountant working in investment banking. Why such different careers, and more importantly, why the return to education?

To be honest, school – and especially exams – rather bored me as a child, and I only really got excited by Physics at University when I did a final year project for which I won the best project award. That drove me to experimental research. I have always liked a new challenge though, and like most of my peers, went out into the real world at that time to seek new challenges. Interestingly, 70% of Physics PhDs in the UK end up in industry or finance. The skill sets you have to build for a Physics PhD are very valuable in finance, banking, and consulting; I chose accounting to help develop my managerial and personal skills more. KPMG did that, and I enjoyed my four years with them despite having to take even more exams. Investment banking is a very demanding area and I enjoyed the cut and thrust of a career in finance but somehow after a while it gets rather easy. Fate led to falling in love with a teacher that led me to Thailand for a career break and teaching English as a Foreign Language to primary students. To everyone’s surprise, especially mine, I liked it a lot and I returned to the UK to train as a science teacher.

As the IB Coordinator at Sri KDU, what are some of your key responsibilities?

The pastoral and academic welfare of students as a whole is a key part of the role. Quality control is essential for academic excellence, including learning walks, observations, monitoring of results, student voice and lesson planning, and more. I have Extended Essay, TOK, and CAS Coordinators to work with who take care of these very important areas. After that comes the big one, getting them into the best Universities! Sri KDU also provides structured support for writing personal statements and university applications including interviews.

For readers unfamiliar with IB, can you tell us a little about the programme and what the benefits are for students in the IB diploma programme.

The biggest advantage is that IBDP is an education, not just a way into University. At its core is an approach to teaching and learning that builds real critical thinking, open mindedness, and the willingness to take intellectual risks. In my opinion, for overseas students it has real extra value as students have to start at University in a strange country with no friends and usually very little support. IBDP students hit the ground running. Extended Essays teach them how to plan and write large assessments. Creative Action and Service (CAS) builds confidence to jump in socially, join exciting new clubs and make the best of University socially. Theory of Knowledge (TOK) is the strangest component as IBDP graduates report that it often takes up to 10 years for students to fully realise the great impact it had on them when they are in their first career position. The biggest complaint received from IBDP graduates is often that the first year of University is too easy. You never hear A-level students say that! Statistically, IBDP graduates are twice as more likely to be in a top 20 UK University than A-level students and 20% get firsts compared to 12% of A-level students. IBDP students are also twice as more likely to be studying medicine than A-level students. Entrance rates into Oxford, one of the few Universities to publish such statistics, are more than three times higher for IBDP graduates than for A-level holders from Malaysia.

What advantages does Sri KDU offer for students interested in an IB diploma?

We have a very personalised approach in the classroom with small classes typically 5-12 students and lessons are very dynamic. We focus on building University ready students and we take CAS very seriously that reflects my corporate past. The effect of this is seen in our results as our average last year was 36 points with a small but diverse group, those who had two AAs in Maths/English scored 38 average (world average 30). Last year we had a student obtain an offer into Kings College London on 34 points for Pharmacy, which shocked even me, but we have found over the years a good reference and personal statement from a good CAS programme is worth points in effect from the offers we get.

Read more:

• How Garden International School is Driving Innovation in the Classroom
• 3 Things You Might Not Know about Nexus International School
• Malaysia’s International Schools Receiving Global Attention

Source: The Expat magazine August 2015