Our Team | Regent Independent School & Sixth Form College

Senior Management

Mrs Tharshiny Pankaj - Managing Director

Co-Principal and Proprietor, Regent Independent College & Managing Director, Regent Group

Mrs Tharshiny Pankaj, BSc (Hons)

Mrs Tharshiny Pankaj is a graduate of Brunel University where she studied Computer Sciences. In 1998 she took the post of ICT & Computing Teacher at a sixth form college. In 2000 she played a large part in the founding of Regent Independent College and was essential in the development of the College into what it has become today. Mrs Pankaj is also heavily involved in the development of our other organisations within Regent Group. She has been the Co-Principal of Regent Independent College since October 2019.

Co-Principal and Proprietor, Regent Independent College & CEO, Regent Group

Dr Selva Pankaj, FRSA, FCMA, CGMA, MBA, Hon EdD, Hon DLitt

Dr Selva Pankaj, a graduate of the University of SDA Bocconi/Middlesex, University, and a qualified Chartered Accountant taught Business and Accounting in 2000 when the College first opened. He also acted as an examiner and undertaken the role of visiting lecturer at various universities. When Regent Independent College was founded, Dr Pankaj was very much involved in all aspects of the college and had a thorough overview of the teaching. At the beginning of 2009, after many years working in the financial and property investments sector, Dr Pankaj decided to return to the College as part of the senior management team. He has been the Co-Principal of Regent Independent College since October 2019.

Assistant to Principal

Mrs Alka Tailor

Alka joined Regent Group when the business was initially incorporated, in 2000. During her tenure she has delivered in a number of vital roles that have been key to the Group growing into the diversified organisation it is today. Alka has a special interest in client care, she supports the Director in building new business relationships with clients, both in the UK and abroad. Alka uses her experience and passion for helping others in reaching their full potential, to offer valuable advice to team members as key decisions are being made.

EA to Principal, Compliance, UCAS Advisor and Designated Safeguarding Lead

Miss Caroline Shepheard, BA (Hons)

Miss Shepheard joined Regent Group in 2009 and works across a number of Regent’s divisions. Previous to joining the organisation, she worked for a large and well-known department store, gaining significant retail and customer service experience, as well as undertaking other administrative posts whilst in pursuit of her studies.

Recruitment/Admission Manager and Careers Advisor

Mr Nirajh Nelson

Nirajh joined Regent Group in 2010 as Centre Manager of Regent Learning Centre (RLC) Harrow and helped grow the business to its maximum capacity before leaving the organisation in 2014 to follow his passion for recruitment. He worked in a number of organisations, successfully increasing their revenue and achieving his set targets, which included projects in the public sector.

Nirajh re-joined Regent Group in 2017 as part of the Business Development & Sales team, predominately concentrating on pre-18 projects across Regent Group campuses. Currently Nirajh works as a Recruitment/Admission Manager and Careers Advisor for the company, his primary objective is assisting the company to meet its strategic goals.

Academic Manager and Deputy Safeguarding Lead

Mr Amit Obhrai, BSc

Mr Obhrai joined Regent Independent College several years ago, teaching students on a private tuition basis and leading Easter Revision courses. His ability to get students high grades was pleasing and he was invited to join Regent Independent College as a full time team member. He has also previously tutored for Elite Tutors.

Academic Administrator

Mrs Lynne Bonfim, TESOL

Mrs Bonfim is an administrative professional with over twenty years of experience, including roles where she managed reception and undertook administrative duties for a variety of companies from small, local companies to global organisations. She also has experience in a nursery setting.

Finance Manager

Mrs Paras Patel, BEng, MBA, ACCA

Mrs Patel joined Regent Group in 2008 as a Finance Manager and since then she has managed all financial aspects of the Group’s businesses. She has an ACCA Qualification, an MBA in Finance and an Engineering degree and previously worked in the real estate sector.

HR Manager

Mrs Jaishree Patel, BA, PG Diploma

Jaishree joined Regent Group in May 2019 having worked for the last 17 years in the FE Sector. During her time in FE she has seen a dramatic changes in the FE sector and has been involved a number of restructuring and reorganisations. She had responsibilities for safeguarding and recruitment. She has also worked in the NHS recruiting Medical Personnel and working as a Generalist.

Examinations Officer and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

Mrs Maja Skibinska, MSc

Ms Skibinska joined Regent Group in 2014, worked on several technical and data management projects within Regent Group, now has moved to a new role of Examinations Officer. Prior to joining Regent Group, Maja worked in the IT sector, where she gained over 6 years of experience and proficiency in Microsoft Office and SharePoint programs, as well as designing Online Applications.

Marketing Manager

Ms Rasika Umamahesh, BSc, PG Diploma, MS

Rasika is an experienced marketing professional and joined Group in May 2015. In addition to the strategic marketing efforts, she directs branding, advertising, digital marketing, social media and website development efforts. She manages events, internal communications, PR, award entries and more. She holds a number of industry specific qualifications and has more than 18 years of experience (more than 13 of them being in the education marketing industry) in both domestic and international markets.

Estates Manager

Mr Harpal Degun, BA

Harpal has a BA Honours degree in Politics & Management and has spent 15 years working in Further Education as student services, Participation and Social services. In his career he has worked for Brixton College, Ealing Hammersmith West London College, and Ealing Council. He also has a postgraduate from Brunel university in Youth & Community services and is a Graduate in Chartered Senior Management level 5. His passion in construction led him to further enhance his career in Project management and design & Build services. He spent 10 years working for Ealing council developing Community buildings into state of the art Social services centres for young people and children. He is fully qualified in Site Management Training safety Scheme, IOSH. He has managed public and private sector portfolio commercial properties.

Teaching Staff

Art

Mrs Anita Obhrai, BA, MA

Mrs Obhrai joins Regent Independent College with more than 36 years of experience as Head of Art and Design. Most recently she has taught Art to GCSE and A Level and has held the post of Edexcel GCE Examiner for Art & Design. Her expertise also extends to drawing and painting, clay modelling and Art History.

Biology

Dr Clare Harvey, BSc, PhD

Dr Harvey joins us with 10 years’ experience teaching biology in London. She is passionate about Biology and encouraging students to achieve to their potential. Her previous experience of working in biomedical research in the UK and in Spain is used to illustrate the concepts being taught and to show the breath of opportunities that a degree in a biological subject can lead to. She has also worked as an examiner for OCR.

Business

Mrs Fariha Quddus, MBA, NVQ, FEL

Mrs Quddus joined Regent Independent College in 2013 having worked with a significant number of tutoring organisations teaching GCSE and A-Level in Business Studies and Economics across all the various exam boards. Her other professional experience includes teaching Health & Social care qualifications and roles in the social sector.

Chemistry

Mr Dilip Joshi, BSc, MSc, PhD & QTS

Mr Joshi brings considerable expertise to the Regent Independent College team. Having most recently held the post of Chemistry teacher at high-achieving North London Collegiate School for eight years, preceded by five years as Head of Science at Stanmore College, he has also published a number of research papers.

Economics

Tim Griffiths MA (Cantab), PGCE (Oxon)

Tim Griffiths is a graduate of Cambridge University and has a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education from Oxford University. He was Head of Department at the Royal Masonic School before becoming Deputy Headmaster at Rickmansworth School for 22 years, where he taught A-level Economics and oversaw all university applications. Mr Griffiths has sat on an interview panel for undergraduate admissions in Law at Oxford University and for many years advised as a Boarding Headmaster for officer recruitment to the Royal Air Force at Cranwell. After retiring, he taught A-level Economics at The Queens’ School Bushey. Mr Griffiths came to Regent Independent College to teach Economics in 2014 and each year he advises students on their applications to university.

English

Mrs Mikki Shahid, BA, PGCE

Mrs Shahid has been teaching English to students at Regent Independent College since 2001 and has been intrinsic to the success of many of our students. In addition to her work for the College, she also carries out teaching for our sister division, Regent Learning Centre.

Mrs Susan Roberts, BA, MA, MPhil

Mrs Roberts has worked with a number of educational establishments including Amersham and Wycombe College and Greenhill College, as well as having worked in the undergraduate education sector. Additionally, she has produced a number of conference papers.

Further Maths

Mr Kumar Kandiah, BSc, MSC, PGCE

Mr Kandiah has been at Regent Independent College since its inception, teaching GCSE and A Level Mathematics and has seen many students pass through the College. Previous to joining Regent Independent College he worked for Ealing College and has worked for Edexcel as an examiner.

Government & Politics

Mr Anthony Burrett, BA, MSc

Mr Burrett has over twelve years of experience in teaching History and Government and Politics in schools and colleges, his most recent post pre-Regent Independent College being at the historical David Game College. However, his teaching spans back to the mid-1980s when he also spent time teaching at undergraduate level.

History

Mr Anthony Burrett, BA, MSc

Mr Alexander Campbell, BA

Mr Alexander Campbell graduated from University of Stirling in November 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in History. He has a number of years of Tutoring experience. He joined Regent Independent College in September 2019 as a History Teacher.

Maths

Mr Kumar Kandiah, BSc, MSC, PGCE

Mr Amit Obhrai, BSc (Academic Manager and Deputy Safeguarding Lead)

Physics

Mr Shubraj Chuckowree, MSc

Mr Shubraj Chuckowree has an MSc in Mathematics & Physics from Moscow State University. He has a vast and very successful experience in teaching Mathematics, Statistics, Mechanics & Physics up to A2-Level. He is also a fully qualified teacher of Russian as a foreign language. He joined Regent Independent College in October 2019 as a Physics Teacher.

Psychology and Sociology

Mrs Premila Patel, BA, MSc

Mrs Patel, who has more than ten years of experience as a teacher and tutor, joined Regent Independent College from a local tutorial college where she held the post of Head of Psychology and Sociology. Whilst there, she was mainly responsible for the A-level teaching but also held the role of Tutor within the College.

Science

Dr Clare Harvey, BSc, PhD

SEN

Mrs Stavroula Alachiotos-Merchant, BA, MSc

Mrs Stavroula Alachiotos-Mercant has a BA in English & Ancient Greek from University of Wales. She is a fully qualified SEN teacher. In 2005 she received a Diploma from University of Southampton in MSc Specific Learning Difficulties (Dyslexia). She joined Regent Independent College in September 2015.