What led you to be a teacher?
I had some affinity with English as a subject and I had often coached young people in various sports, so I realised I could do the job. As a way of testing the waters, I did a year in an Independent Boarding School in Kent, mostly as an assistant housemaster in a boarding house, then teaching English, Drama, Geography and PE. I loved it and went on to enjoy and pass my PGCE at Leeds University.
What's the best part of your job?
The holidays! Actually, it is always the young people, the students, I work with on a day to day basis, the things they say, the things they know, the things they create.
If you weren't a teacher, what would you be doing now?
I have no idea. Writing? Travelling? Running my own bookshop and café!
What's your most memorable moment as a teacher?
Teaching a small girl in primary school how to draw her first number 3 (tip: bunny ears). It was one of the first moments it occurred to me that my input could make a difference to people’s lives. Teaching is still a noble, honourable and invaluable thing.
What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?
When teaching, a lot of the time, less is more. Shut up.
How do you live adventurously?
Sadly, not sky-diving or bungee-jumping, driving expensive, high-powered vehicles, or cavorting on luxury yachts with celebrities. I swim and bathe in cold water; see new places; go on meandering night drives; stay curious and engaged with the world around me; absorb new ideas in my reading; say what I think – sometimes.
What is one subject you are curious about?
Etymology – where words come from, how they evolve, their meanings and potential and actual usage.
What is one cause you care passionately about?
The environment.
What is one misconception people have about you?
I do not know. That I am nice. Or that I am posh. Or that because I am an English Teacher I have read everything. I haven’t.
What surprises you about Sidcot?
Nothing. Everything they say is true (Good Schools Guide!).
What makes you proud of Sidcot?
The way it accommodates a range of students from many different nations, different abilities and different identities.
How would you like to be remembered by your students?
Just remembered would be nice. That they enjoyed my lessons, learned a thing or two. I was gentle and kind. I was a good teacher.
If you had one word to sum up Sidcot, what would it be?
Fortunate.
If you had one word to sum up yourself what would it be?
Fortunate.
What notable individual would you invite to a dinner party and why?
Miriam Margoyles: I suspect I would be mocked and humbled, but there would not be a dull moment, and there would be much laughter. She always has startling stories to tell.