ALUMNI NEWS

Thank
you CTC
for making
me what I
am today
Justin Kon (left
CTC in 1976)
In This Issue
Catching up with
former staff and
students
Focus on retiring
tutorsDr Sherratt and
Mrs Hayes
Report from recent
Alumni events
Principals Welcome
I am delighted to be writing this as the new Principal of CTC although I have
now been here since April. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first few weeks
here: the students are delightful and all have been well focused on their
studies so we are looking at some excellent results in August.
You might like to know that my own background fits the CTC profile quite
well. I was born in the USA (my father was a British diplomat there) and for
many years I worked in Singapore at the United World College there. More
recently I was head of a Round Square school committed to a set of IDEALS
the I of which was to promote internationalism and international
understanding. I love the international mix of students here at CTC.
I am lucky to have inherited such an interesting place. We face some
challenging times but the essential foundation blocks are in place. Over the
next few weeks we will be spending quite a lot of money on refurbishing
areas of the College like the student common room, a new reception area,
better classrooms and hidden things like the electricity supply and much
better Wi-Fi provision. It is very important that the College presents itself
well and our students have access to the best facilities and a wider range of
activities over the coming months. I will be busy over the summer holidays
working on the Colleges next development plan which I will share with you
in due course, but one aspect of it will focus on the development of our
alumni relations.
Sadly we have two colleagues who are retiring this term after many years
service: Dr Doris Sherratt, Head of Biology, and Mrs Heather Hayes, Head
of Economics, Business Studies and Accounting. Between them they have
served CTC for an amazing 71 years. I know you will join me in wishing
them a long and happy retirement. For sure CTC has a stable and settled
staff.
If you are ever in London then do please think of coming to see the College;
it is always best to let us know beforehand! I do hope to meet many of you
in the coming months and years.
Mark Eagers
Principal@ctc.ac.uk

CTC Alumni Newsletter Issue 2 July 2014




Name and subject taught
Mary Pillai, Mathematics
During which years were you
a member of staff at CTC?
1988-2011

How have you been spending
your time since retiring?
Basically having fun! I travel, play
badminton, do country rambling,
Pilates, read, go to the theatre,
cinema, ballet, art galleries,
museums, parks, meet up with old
friends make new friends..
Oh yes I nearly forgot, Im back at
CTC as an external member of the Trust Council.
What did you like most about working at CTC?
I liked the students, especially the hard working ones, and I liked my great team of mathematics
teachers. I had handpicked everyone of those teachers and it was fun bossing them around! I also liked
having rice and curry for lunch every day
What did you like least about working at CTC?
I did not like writing reports, taking minutes at tutors meetings, doing staff appraisals nor marking
endless papers.
Which student or class do you remember most clearly from your time at CTC, and why?
I can remember many/most of my students over the years and remember most of them fondly. I probably
remember my Malaysian students more than any other nationality as I often saw them on my numerous
trips to Malaysia. Whenever I was on the same flight as them, they would always offer to help me with
my luggage and ask if I needed a lift from the airport.
I also remember my Latvian students as they came to welcome me at my hotel on my first night in Riga
when I did a week long Mathematics Induction Course. That trip will be remembered for the volcanic
ash flight
cancellations and
my 38 hour coach
trip home. If I were
to pick one student
from the very, very
many who were
special to me it
would be Yimong
Aye from
Mynamar. Although
very humble,
Yimong was one of
the kindest,
cleverest students
that ever came to
CTC. She was the
top student in
Chemistry at
Somerville College, Oxford and went on to Harvard. She chose Chemistry over Mathematics but I
did not hold that against her.


What is your most amusing memory of your time at CTC?
I once had a GCSE student who thought the formula sheet was her weekly test and spent 45
minutes trying to solve it. Another GCSE student was rummaging around in his bag trying to find his
homework when he pulled out a goldfish. Or perhaps it was the time that I started a lesson with no
students. I had warned my Kings College Foundation Group that I was tired of them turning up late
and I would start my lesson without them. I had been teaching for 15 minutes when the first student
arrived!











Name and nationality

Justin Kon Khoon Jin,
Malaysian.

During which years
were you a student at CTC?
December 1975 June 1976.
What have you been up to since leaving CTC?

After completing my ALevel at CTC, I left for the University of Essex in September 1976 to pursue my
tertiary education.

Upon my return to Malaysia in 1978, I worked for a distributor of Mercedes Benz vehicles as a
Management Executive for 2 years. In 1980, I joined a diversified local conglomerate as a Corporate
Executive for slightly over 5 years.

In 1986, I started my career with a German international logistics company as its Managing Director in
Malaysia for almost 20 years. In 2005, I formed my own logistics company and I have been working
here ever since.
Most difficult thing to get used to when you first arrived at CTC?
I come from a tropical country with almost perpetual summer-like weather throughout the year. I found
the cold English winter, with short hours of daylight, as the most difficult thing for me to get accustomed
to when I first arrived at CTC.
Unlike most students, I came to the U.K in December which did not give me time for transition to adapt
to the changing weather and its surrounding. But now, I miss the cold, crisp air of winter morning at
times.
Most valuable lesson learned at CTC?
The most valuable lesson I learnt at CTC is that it has taught me the skills to think outside the box ;
emphasing on critical, creative and analytical learning.
Justin, pictured with local host Mrs
Dabin and her pet dogs..Circa 1976
Justin, Mrs Dabin and fellow student Tay Hua
Hui. Tay is now a Gastroentoroligist at
Gleneagles Medical Centre in Singapore
The teachers focused on the students from the very start of the course. They made learning very

interesting and they were very passionate in the subjects they taught. The small tutorial class allowed
students to interact and participate actively in the learning process which we all gained from it
immeasurably.

Which tutor do you remember most clearly from your time at CTC, and why?

Mr Andrew Stuart , my tutor for Economics subject,had made great impact on me. When I joined his class
in December 1975, I had a lot to catch up and he patiently guarded me and marked all the essays that I
did in my spare time. He was always there to help me whenever I ran into obstacles in my studies. He
was strict but very approachable and helpful. I owe CTC a great depth of gratitude for the excellent
teaching staff who are best placed to help me in realising my dream. I am happily married with two
children who arein the legal profession.
Thank you CTC for making me what I am today.
What is your most amusing memory of your time at CTC?

I found the free and open discussion in tutorial classes at CTC very amusing. The English students are
usually very vocal and they often argue with the tutor. This makes for a
lively, interesting and sometime quite heated debate.
Generally speaking, students from Southeast Asia tend to be more inhibitive and less expressive but they
warm up quite quickly and join the fray.
I remembered an English student arguing vehemently with Mr Roger Osborne, the then Principal, in the
Students Committee meeting. As a student from Malaysia, our educational system does not encourage us
to be critical or expressive, let alone challenging
the view point of the College Principal.

Justin with his wife Margaret at the Topicana Golf and Country
Resort in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Alumni Re-Union Dinners

In January 2014, CTC held three successful alumni re-union dinners in Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City and
Hanoi.

Prominent amongst the invited guests were Mr & Mrs Ong (above), who sent all three of their children to
CTC.
In Vietnam, the college was celebrating the 20th anniversary of its first visit in 1994
Guest of Honour at the dinner in Ho Chi Minh City was Mr Huyen,
the Vice-Principal of Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted,
seen here with 4 students from CTCs outstanding vintage of 2007.
Amongst other Le Hong Phong ex-pupils at the dinner was Nguyen
Chi Hieu (in centre of picture below left), CTCs most successful
student ever. In 2004, he was the UKs top A-level student and
featured in all of the national daily newspapers. He went on to
become the top graduate of the LSE in 2007 and won a full
scholarship to Stanford University in the USA
The event in Singapore was
to mark the 20th
anniversary of CTCs
partnership with Dr James
Loh of Unidegree
Consultancy. Dr Loh
(pictured here with Mario Di
Clemente) is the colleges
exclusive representative in
Singapore.
Hanoi
The event in Hanoi brought together the heads and deputy heads of Hanois top high schools as well
as students who were at CTC back in 1995. Guests of Honour (in picture below) included Mr Dung,
the Vice-President of the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce who helped David Wilson obtain a visa
for his first visit to Vietnam in January 1994, Mrs Nga, the Vice-Principal of the Foreign Language
Specialising School and Mrs Oanh, Principal of Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted.
When Mr Wilson first visited the school in1994,
Mrs Oanh was a Russian teacher, and he helped
her gain a scholarship to the UK to re-train as an
English teacher. Now, twenty years later, she
has become Principal of the school.
Like Le Hong Phong in Ho Chi Minh City,Hanoi
-Amsterdam has sent many outstanding
scholars to CTC in the intervening 20 years!
One of the highlights of the dinner was a slideshow presented by Mr Wilson and entitled Down
Memory Lane; in it, he told the story behind CTCs success in Vietnam, where the college went
from one student in 1995 to 46 in 2012:
Students attending the
Hanoi dinner included Hang
- a top student from 1995
(bottom left) - and An - a
100% scholarship winner
who graduated in 2013
(bottom right).
Both girls came to us from
Hanoi Amsterdam High
An was the events MC
and was interviewed by
Hanoi Television
Further photographs from the 2014 Alumni events can be seen on the college Facebook page



Name and subject taught
Doris Sherratt
A level biology
What prompted you to apply for a job at CTC?
To find a position that involved small group tuition. I had done quite a lot of this type of teaching whilst doing my
PhD and I found I preferred it to research.

When did you start working at CTC.

September 1976 when my current students parents were probably children

What have you enjoyed the most about working at CTC?
Working with students who have come to us from very different backgrounds. When I first came to CTC the
students were mainly home retake students and I had to help them overcome the disappointment of not getting a
place at university first time round. They had to learn to put their work first and their other commitments e.g. rugby
second.
The type of students changed over the years and now the challenges are different, the overseas students are not
used to thinking for themselves and I still enjoy helping them to become independent learners rather than rote
learners.

What have you like least about working at CTC?
The marking, but it is a means to an end. Unless the students try, make mistakes and learn by their
mistakes,progress cannot be made

Which student or class do you remember most clearly from your time at CTC, and why?

Two classes are memorable. Both classes were predominantly boys (with apologies to my current girly groups)
which I like because they are usually much more logical than girls but boys hate to learn. The first was about my
second or third year at CTC, a group that were totally uncontrollable, so I used to give them lots of essays (no short
answers in those days) I would mark the essays and then we would discuss the topic of the essay and anything
else relevant. An OFSTED inspector would probably like this approach these days but then it was not normal.
Anyway, much to my surprise the tactic worked they all did well and many of them went on to read medicine. I
remember seeing one of them at a reunion event and he apologised for the group because he now realised how
Head of Biology Dr Sherratt reflects on
38 years at CTC

difficult they had been.

The second was a group of Malaysian/Singaporean boys who got on well but a number of them could not stop asking
demanding questions which used to slow up the lessons considerably. Anyway we got through the syllabus and
generally they did well and went off to read medicine or other science subjects. For a number of years they used to turn
up, on mass to say hello, disturbing the lesson I was trying to give.

What is your most amusing/significant memory of your time at CTC?
When David Wilson was Principal we used to have an end of year barbecue at his home. Most years the weather was
good, but one year it RAINED, a bit like the last Winter. David moved the barbecue to his Summer House that was on an
island in the middle of a pond. There was a train of people trying not to get wet, crossing stepping stones to get to the
Summer House and then crossing back across the pond with their meal. I dont think anyone fell in.
What do you think you will most miss about CTC ?
It has got to be the students, all sorts but each individual and different. I think our current students parents are very
brave because they send their children half way across the world in order to get a good education. I think we should be
grateful to them and be very proud of the progress these young people make.



Name and subject taught
Heather Hayes - Economics

When did you start working at CTC?
The first time was 1981 to 1984. Then again from 1989 to 2014.
What have you like most about working at CTC?
Teaching small groups of students who are highly motivated and interested in my subject. It has
also been rewarding for me to learn about other countries and cultures from students who have
come here from such a wide variety of countries.

What have you like least about working at CTC?
All the marking of Economics essays. They take so long to read and correct. I also l disliked the
fact that B53 used to be very cold in the winter and too hot in the summer. We have new boiler
now so it is has been very cosy in the winter.

What is your most amusing/significant memory of your time at CTC?
When I served on the Students Committee many years ago we used to organise a Christmas
Ball. This took place on a river boat on the Thames. We hired coaches from Croydon to West-
minster Pier and spent the evening cruising up to the Thames Barrier. It was always cold but the
students enjoyed seeing the lights of London from the river. (There were many empty desks as
the next days test periods)!!!

What do you think you will most miss about CTC ?
The company of students - including their moaning about homework and test periods. I will also
miss the chatter and company of the Staff Room.
This year Heather Hayes retires from CTC . We take a
look back at her time at the college

Keeping
in Touch

CTC London
Water Tower Hill
Croydon
Surrey
CR0 5SX
020 8688 5284
alumni@ctc.ac.uk
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www.ctc.ac.uk
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The next
issue will be
sent in
January
2015