Jemma Lewis

Jemma holds an undergraduate degree in marine biology and oceanography and a master’s degree in applied ocean science. Her graduate research examined the impact of human disturbance on shorebird behavior during the covid-19 lockdowns in South Africa, and her work has been published in Scientific Reports, part of the Nature portfolio. This research background informs her approach to teaching science as a living discipline—one shaped by observation, ethics, and careful thinking.

Jemma’s teaching career began organically through the ocean, where she worked as a surfing instructor during school holidays while simultaneously tutoring high school students in mathematics, science, and piano. Following her undergraduate studies, Jemma spent two years living in the remote Mentawai Islands of Indonesia as a private homeschool teacher for a family with two teenage boys. In this role, she designed and taught a full academic program primarily aligned with the Cambridge IGCSE curriculum, covering subjects such as biology, physics, mathematics, English, and environmental sciences. Working one-to-one in an immersive setting sharpened her ability to adapt curriculum to student interests, learning styles, and long-term goals.

Alongside her academic teaching, Jemma continues to work as a marine researcher and has managed surfing and ocean education programs at high-end resorts in the Maldives and Indonesia. Through this work, she introduces learners of all ages to the ocean as both a scientific system and a source of wonder. These experiences strongly shape her teaching at Cicero, where she integrates project-based learning, field-informed inquiry, and place-based exploration into every course she builds.

Jemma brings to her students a rare combination of academic rigor, global experience, and genuine enthusiasm for learning. She is especially passionate about helping students see science not as a fixed body of knowledge, but as a tool for understanding—and caring for—the world they inhabit.