Hi,

Meet Miss Elly, our Founder and Head English Tutor

Miss Elly began her career in law after receiving a prestigious scholarship and serving as an in-house legal counsel for a government agency in Singapore. During her undergraduate studies at Singapore Management University, she distinguished herself by winning multiple awards and competitions.

After 5 years in legal practice, Miss Elly chose to pivot to education, driven by her observation that English proficiency standards in Singapore could be significantly improved. With over 7 years of experience as a private English tutor, she has developed a structured, proven, and effective method to teach English to both children and adults.

In addition to tutoring local students, Miss Elly has also taught English to Chinese students preparing to study in Singapore, further broadening her expertise in language education.

Teaching Experience

Education

  • Singapore Management University Aug 2008 – Apr 2014

  • Awarded MND-HDB Undergraduate Scholarship

  • Magna Cum Laude (High Distinctions) for double degree in Bachelor of Laws & Bachelor of Social Science (Political Science)

  • LLB GPA 3.7 /4.0

  • School of Law Dean’s List Award recipient for Academic Years (AY) 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011 & 2011-2012

  • School of Law High Commendation Award for Year Three Research Paper recipient for AY 2010-2011

  • Research Assistant for Associate Law Professor Basil C. Bitas for his book on Comparative Law for AY 2009-2010

  • Joint Winner of the LexisNexis Prize for The Student with The Best Year Two Law Research Paper in AY 2009-2010

  • First Team in the Howard Hunter Moot Court Competition in AY 2009-2010

  • First in the Supreme Court of Singapore Living Courthouse Essay Competition in AY 2008-2009

  • 7 years of tutoring experience (English specialist), with an additional 5 years as a practicing lawyer in Singapore — total of 12 years of professional English usage.

  • Taught more than 100+ school students across Primary, Secondary, and IB levels, alongside adult learners from diverse professional backgrounds, such as government officials, lawyers, accounting directors, bankers, hospital administrative executives, music teachers, HR executives, beauty salon directors, and engineers.

  • Extensive experience teaching both local (MOE syllabus) and international students (AEIS, IB, international schools).

  • Taught students from top schools including St. Joseph's Institution, Hwa Chong Institution (International), Raffles Junior College, Nan Hua High School, and Pei Cai Secondary School, as well as international schools such as Canadian International School and Australian International School.

  • Coached 20 international students (China) for AEIS and international school admissions with a 95% acceptance rate.

Students’ Academic Achievements

  • PSLE:

    • Multiple students achieved AL2 / A grades in English

    • Significant improvements (e.g., E → B in Math within 2 months)

    • Progress Award recipient for English improvement

  • Secondary & JC:

    • Student from Nan Hua High School improved from B4 to A1, ranking 1st in class

    • Student from Pei Cai Secondary School improved from F/D to A1, became Top 6 in cohort, and received MOE Edusave Scholarship

    • Raffles Junior College student achieved A in General Paper

  • IB & International:

    • Hwa Chong Institution (International) student scored 6/7 in IB English

    • Successful placements into top schools including HCI (International)

  • Competitions & Admissions:

    • A student came in Top 50 out of 1500+ participants in SOTA Creative Writing Competition

    • 95% success rate for AEIS and international school admissions (including CIS, AIS)

The Summa Philosophy

The word summa comes from Latin, signifying the highest, the pinnacle, or the ultimate level of attainment.
It evokes the summit of excellence rather than ordinary success.

At The Summa Academy, we embrace this tradition. Education is not the accumulation of information, but the disciplined, unwavering pursuit of the highest quality. True mastery is achieved through clarity of thought, depth of understanding, and consistency of effort.

We believe every student is capable of reaching their summa—not as a fixed endpoint, but as an ongoing commitment to superior standards. Our role is to guide, refine, and elevate each learner, shaping not only strong academic outcomes, but individuals who think critically, perform with precision, and strive always for the highest quality.