Academy of Excellence: Embedding excellence as a habit among young minds

 Founders Tamara Jayasinghe and Adam Kenny

‘Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today’. At the Academy of Excellence, it is believed, promoted, and ensured to strive for nothing but excellence among its students.

The recently launched Academy of Excellence (AOE) is a platform established with a group of young, qualified professionals with years of experience in education. Specialising in diverse yet relevant subjects within the current education syllabus, the teachers of AOE offer much more than generic knowledge on each subject. The institute’s aim extends beyond a mere examination pass and expands to students being subject matter experts and is presented with the opportunity to relate to the present environment of the relative industry. Subjects ranging from Biology, Math and Law (and many more) are taught by means of novel and creative forms, making it a holistic approach for teaching and learning.

Most significantly, owing to the prevailing situation of COVID-19 and the unfortunate disruption in education; the formation of such an educational institution has been pivotal to help shape young minds and also to offer a stabilised learning experience. Founders Tamara Jayasinghe and Adam Kenny are a dynamic duo with astounding focus and enthusiasm towards the cause. Tamara, bright and intuitive, is a graduate in Medical Genetics from The University of Melbourne, Australia. Followed by years of experience in the field of Bio Medical Science, she found her true passion and love for teaching. With what began with tutoring one student, soon grew to over hundred students. This most definitely didn’t limit Tamara in any way, but only nurtured her passion towards teaching.

“I believe that teaching shouldn’t be limited to theory or simply the content of a book, it should be explained and taught in the sense of tangible use and practicality in the real world. Whilst this may be easier said than done – I enjoy this challenge, it drives me to be a better teacher, to encourage curiosity and soon to really understand the content of each subject for my students. Together a likeminded and enthusiastic panel of teachers, we formed The Academy of Excellence to bring out the best in teaching and learning,” she said. 

Supporting this vision, Adam’s background of project management (in travel, hospitality and sales) and passion towards building and formulating start-ups made AOE come to life. The duo, bring their separate areas of expertise to the table and are now ready to take this venture to the next stage. 

Having ventured into this little dream of offering scholastic excellence, Tamara expanded the scope of AOE with talented and driven individuals; now the powerhouse team comprises of Chamindra Senanayake (Math), Anishka De Zylva (IELTS/SATs), Joshua Foenander (Psychology) and Marlon Ratwatte (Law). Together, the team of teachers provide a comprehensive and purposeful learning experience for students of ordinary and advance level students.

Teacher panel, from left: Marlon Ratwatte, Anishka De Zylva, Tamara Jayasinghe,Joshua Foenander and Chamindra Senanayake