What is your job title?

Head of Year 10, Head of House, Charities and Community Service, Geography Teacher.

What is your role? What does your job involve?

I have just started as Head of Year 10, which I am really enjoying. It is really lovely to be able to work with our students outside of a ‘Geography’ academic role.

I really love overseeing the House side of things as I am ‘slightly’ competitive and enjoy the good-natured rivalry between the Houses, obviously Meridian is the best!

It is also really rewarding to be in charge of the charity side of things in school and to see our students get behind so many worthy causes.

How long have you worked here? Tell us about your career path.

This is my fourth year at Blackheath High School. I started as just a teacher of Geography but have been Head of House and Bronze DofE Coordinator, which have allowed me to develop the skills to take on my current roles within the school.

How does your previous experience benefit the school?

I have previously been Head of Department and I worked in a large forward-thinking International school. It has allowed me to bring the skills I learned to Blackheath High School, especially in helping with the development of the Geography curriculum on Firefly and I have also helped lots of departments with learning how to use Firefly.

What do you like most about your job?

The variety in my different roles. It means I am in the fortunate position to get to work with students in lots of different ways. Also, trying to inspire students with wonder of Geography of course! 

What makes working here at Blackheath High School so rewarding and enjoyable?

Working in a smaller school means that we are in the unique position of being able to get to know nearly all the students in the school well, even those that we have not taught before. So, I really like the community feel within the school and all the great work colleagues too! There is never a day where someone, either student or staff has not made me laugh, which makes work very enjoyable.

What has been your biggest achievement at Blackheath High School?

Getting asked to present at the Firefly roadshow with Mrs Stevens, to showcase how we use the platform in Geography at Blackheath High School. We got to speak to teachers from across South East England and the founders of Firefly, which was nerve-wracking, but very rewarding. Also winning the House debate for Meridian House with Buffy in Year 11.

What has been your biggest challenge at Blackheath High School?

Not having my own classroom has meant I have had to develop a different organisation system with my resources.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

It’s probably an obvious one for a Geography teacher, but travel. I used to live in Thailand, so South East Asia is a particular favourite place for me. There is nothing better than boarding a plane somewhere new for an adventure!

Tell me something surprising about yourself

I lived in Yemen for a year when I was 5 - 6 years old which was pretty cool.