ACADEMIC New faces
He taught at Hagley College before joining College in Term 1, 2019. “There is clarity of vision here that I really like – Each boy at his best – and I enjoy working in an environment that focuses on inspiring personal and academic excellence. The opportunities here are incredible for students and staff.” Zac enjoys playing cue sports, especially snooker; he keeps a small marine aquarium with lots of colourful corals and a clownfish; and his favourite book is 1984 by George Orwell.
British-born, Tom trained and worked as a scuba diving instructor in Australia and Southeast Asia on leaving school, developing a passion for marine science, and going on to complete an honours degree at Newcastle University. A Commonwealth Scholarship to study for a PhD in marine biochemistry at Victoria University, Wellington, brought him to New Zealand, and during his studies he discovered his passion for statistics. “I saw how fundamental concepts in probability and general mathematics could be applied to answer novel and important questions.” He mentored undergraduate and postgraduate students during his PhD studies and even more actively during a postdoctoral position in the USA. “I realised the teaching and mentoring opportunities were the highlights every week, and in 2017 I took the leap into full time teaching.” His introduction was in a private high school in Rarotonga and in 2018 he moved to Christchurch and enrolled at the New Zealand Graduate School of Education to complete his Graduate Diploma (secondary). Tom loves the outdoors and likes nothing better than escaping to the Alps to hike and climb. He and his wife belong to the Canterbury Mountaineering Club. In winter they snowboard and in summer they cycle and swim.
Zac Knight
Assistant HoD English
Zac Knight’s love for reading and writing wasn’t automatic. “It was a journey with plenty of ups and downs; in fact, it wasn’t until university that I chose to excel in the subject.” Those experiences prepared him beautifully to understand exactly what it feels like to find aspects of the subject challenging, “which means there is an acuteness to my practice that I really pride myself on.” Zac is English-born, emigrating to New Zealand 10 years ago, and completing his last year of secondary education at Rangiora High School. “The idea of working in education has always excited me, so I attended university with a clear goal to become a teacher.”
Dr Tom Hawkins
Mathematics and Statistics
Fifteen years of teaching in some form or other precede
Tom Hawkins foray into his first formalised school teaching career position at College.
Christ’s College Canterbury
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