Sydney Michael Atkins

With over fourteen years of experience in teaching, staff and pupil development, Sydney first joined Modern in 2008, where he served in many capacities such as Academic Coordinator, Senior Supervisor, IBDP EE Coordinator, and Examiner for the IB Examinations. In 2015, he also served as the Chief Examination Officer of the ICSE examination in Dubai.

In 2017, Sydney transferred to GEMS Our Own English High School, Al Ain, where he served as Vice Principal for two and a half years, helping to improve the school’s ADEK rating in thirty-three inspection parameters.

In 2020, Sydney returned to home-base as Vice Principal of GEMS Modern Academy.

Sydney has worked across the ICSE, CBSE, IB, and IGCSE curricula and is particularly passionate about educational technology and its potential to revolutionize learning. In 2014, Sydney was certified as a Leading-Edge Digital Educator by the US-based company CUE. He also holds a degree in Communication from Trinity College, London.

In 2016, Sydney was listed as a ‘Reading, Writing and Social Media Influencer’ by Klear.com, a UK-based influencer database. He was the recipient of the ‘Stanford University Exceptional Educator Award’ in 2016 and the ‘Outstanding Educator Award’ from the University of Chicago in 2020.

Sydney is often invited to speak publicly at conferences, webinars, on the radio, and on podcasts. His articles and columns appear frequently on educational websites, Gulf News, Khaleej Times, and magazines like WKND and The Source. Sydney is an avid social media user where he promotes his passions for world travel, literature, awareness about rare diseases, and educational leadership.