No one forgets a great teacher and our school’s success is based on professionalism and the formal yet friendly relationship between pupils and our teachers. All staff have the interests of every child at heart, both in and out of the classroom.
30 seconds with…Clare Finch (formerly Mears)
Position within school:
Year 7 Lead
Name 3 things that are great about your job:
- Working with a range of different students from different backgrounds.
- Helping students progress both academically and personally, celebrating a range of different achievements with them.
- Every day is different; no day is the same.
Interests outside school:
- Textiles – making things
- Cooking – both the making and the eating
- Cinema – I do love a marvel film!
- Spending time with my family, friends and pug
Biggest inspiration and why:
Stephen Hawking’s; no matter what challenges he had, he achieved incredible things and defeated the ‘odds’
One thing in the world would change and why:
Get rid of personal judgement; so that everyone can grow and be who they want to be without worrying about what others think!
30 seconds with…Grace Lyttle
Position within school:
ADOTL Maths and ICT
Name 3 things that are great about your job:
- Learning about new technology
- Watching students be enthused by ICT and using new technology
- When students achieve or exceed their target grade
Interests outside school:
- Going back to Ireland to visit family and friends
- Reading
- Shopping
- Cooking
Biggest inspiration and why:
My Mum and Dad- Both worked full time to support a big Irish family, they always encouraged me and my siblings to be the best we could be. My Mum always knew I would be a teacher, and reassured me that moving to England to become a teacher was a step in the right direction!
One thing in the world would change and why:
Poverty
30 seconds with…Rosco Hunt
Position within School:
Lead PE
3 things great about my job:
- Spending time outdoors!
- Seeing young people grow and develop through sport
- Wearing shorts to work in the summer!
Interests outside of school:
- Football
- Peaky Blinders!
- Seeing friends and family
One thing I would change in the world and why:
I would get rid of smart phones because people are becoming obsessed with them and losing their social skills!
30 seconds with…Miss Brooksbank
Position within school:
Teacher of Geography and Lead Teacher for Teaching and Learning
Name 3 things that are great about your job:
- Helping a student and seeing them make progress. There is nothing better within a classroom than seeing a student go from not understanding to realising they can actually do it.
- Changing a student’s opinion on my subject. Some come in saying that they don’t like geography and that they can’t do it. It is so rewarding when you see the same student either picking it as a GCSE option down the line, or writing a thank you note saying it is one of their favourite subjects.
- Working with other teachers to make the school become the best that we can be. We have a great team of teachers here and we all work hard to achieve this.
Interests outside school:
I enjoy city breaks and being able to experience different places and cultures, which is so important in geography. I also like spending time with my friends and catching up. As I am not originally from down here, I also enjoy going home and seeing my old school friends.
Biggest inspiration and why:
My biggest inspirations in life are those people who show resilience. Malala Yousafzai grew up in an area of Pakistan, where the Taliban had banned young girls from attending school. Malala became an advocate for girls’ education when she herself was still a child. This resulted in the Taliban issuing a death threat against her. On October 9, 2012, a gunman shot Malala whilst she was sat on a school bus waiting to travel home from school. She survived and has continued to speak out on the importance of education, her words “one child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world,“ I hold dear. My second inspiration is a little closer to home, my mum. At a relatively young age, I lost my father and my mum always encouraged me, my brother and my sister to achieve our goals, no matter the unforeseen obstacles which we can often face.
30 seconds with…Judith Bundock
Position within school:
PA to the Head Teacher
Name 3 things that are great about your job:
- Every day is different with daily challenges
- I like the people I work with, and how much they care about the students, the families, and each other
- I enjoy seeing children learn and grow through school to become confident, articulate young adults
Interests outside school:
I enjoy martial arts, travel, and spending time with my family
Biggest inspiration and why:
My mum! She came from a small northern town and was the first woman in her family to leave and move to London with her husband to start a new life; first to learn to drive; first to holiday abroad and first to own her own home. She was a bit of a pioneer in her younger days and remained an inspiration to me all my life.
One thing in the world would change and why:
I would dearly love to see all people show compassion, respect and tolerance to everyone, no matter their religion, race, sex or nationality. Simple really!
30 seconds with…Alison Mansfield
Position within school:
Chef Manager
Name 3 things that are great about your job:
- We have a laugh
- I am very busy
- I feel I make a difference
Interests outside school:
- Toby carvery!
- Reading
- Theatre
- Spending time with friends and family
Biggest inspiration and why:
My family, they are kind, honest, affectionate and loyal.
One thing in the world would change and why:
Homelessness, everyone deserves a place to call home and to sleep!
30 seconds with…Brandie Noseworthy
Position within school
History Teacher and Yr 8 Form Tutor
Name 3 things that are great about your job:
- New challenges every day.
- Being able to watch students’ progress and excitement about their learning.
- Being able to build professional relationships with students so that I can help guide them through the rollercoaster of their teenage years.
Interests outside school:
My interests outside of school are: going to historical sites and places, coffee with friends, yoga, binge watching a Netflix series, and cosying up with a good book.
Biggest inspiration and why:
The first person that inspires me is Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She is known for her extensive work fighting for the rights of women. She inspires me because even though she faces extreme violence every day, she is not afraid to speak out about oppression.
The second person that inspires me is my Mom, Susan. She was a single mother who was completely dedicated to making sure that I was provided with whatever I needed to accomplish my very best.
One thing in the world I would change and why:
One thing in the world I would change would be to make more people empathetic. I would also make it so that people realise that their voice matters.
30 seconds with…Jack Burnell
Position within school:
KS4 Coordinator for mathematics, and 10O form tutor.
Name 3 things that are great about your job:
- I get to do mathematics everyday.
- I get to see people learn and have that moment where everything clicks into place
- I laugh every day. I think the children of this school have some of the best senses of humour.
Interests outside school:
- I love football, playing it or watching it.
- I enjoy films. I have to see every action or comedy film there is (especially the Marvel films!)
- Also don’t mind a cheeky game, I love a bit of Mario.
Biggest inspiration and why:
The kids, I wouldn’t be in this job if it wasn’t for them. Sometimes they drive me up the wall, I won’t deny it. But when I see them progress and make the right steps into becoming a successful adult. Nothing makes me more proud.
One thing in the world would change and why:
I would change the way people think about the world. Too many people care about only themselves and money. I think the world would be a much nicer place if more people spent their time helping each other instead of themselves.
30 seconds with…Wayne Smith
Position within school:
Senior IT Technician
Name 3 things that are great about your job:
- Friendly Staff / Students
- Diversity of Challenges on a Day to Day Basis
- Walking in to the smiling faces of the Canteen Staff always make me feel better for the rest of the day.
Interests outside school:
- Motor Sport
- Reading
- Movies
Biggest inspiration and why:
Lewis Hamilton he just keeps on trying to be the best he can be.
One thing in the world would change and why:
Take away all Social & Economic Differences.
Whatever the differences between people we should learn to live in harmony with each other. It shouldn’t matter if anyone is different to you, you should respect them the way you would like to be respected.
30 seconds with…Steve Warner
Position within school:
Deputy Head – Behaviour For Learning
Name 3 things that are great about your job:
- I like to think I can make a difference to the future of students
- Every day is different – there is never a dull moment!
- It’s hard work, but I enjoy my job
Interests outside school:
Sport – Growing up I played a lot of football, hockey, rugby and golf. These days I play a little footie in goal, swing a golf club and ski. I’ll also watch any sport live!
Cooking – I do all the cooking at home!
Travel – Have travelled widely across Europe and North America and also visited Africa and Asia.
Biggest inspiration and why:
My grand father – a true gentle giant who was a man of such wisdom and compassion. He lived a eventful life serving as a fireman and was never afraid to keep us entertained with a tale or two! He was also a good cricketer and I spent hours either playing or watching sport with him. Always impeccably dressed in shirt and tie – an amazing man!
One thing in the world would change and why:
Reduce global inequalities to make the world a fairer place! This would help reduce hardship and conflict and make it a happier place for us all!
