I was a maths teacher for 11 years, having gained a PGCE in secondary education from Leeds University and done my teaching practice in a secondary school in Wakefield. This page provides a short summary of the institutions that I taught in.
Holland Park School, 1989 – 1991
I taught at Holland Park School in west London for two years, where I was first employed by the ILEA (Inner London Education Authority), and then by Kensington and Chelsea borough.
The school is situated on the edge of the beautiful Holland Park, and has a diverse intake of students from all backgrounds. When I taught at the school, there were over 50 languages spoken.
I taught maths at KS3, GCSE and A level, and had a responsibility for creating EAL materials. At KS3 and GCSE, the SMILE programme was used , which was based on individualised learning paths, similar to the KMP and SMP programmes.
Canterbury College, 1991 – 1993
I moved from teaching in the state school sector to further education, and became a lecturer in maths at Canterbury College, moving down to this lovely cathedral city near the east Kent coast.
I taught maths to GCSE resit students, as well as A level and on the GNVQ Construction programme. I also taught some physics, and delivered a Maths for Scientists course.
Croydon College, 1993 – 2000
Continuing with further education, I taught maths at one of the largest colleges in the country. Situated in cosmopolitan Croydon on the edge of south London, Croydon College is hugely diverse, attracting students from Lambeth borough to leafy Surrey.
I was located first in Selhurst and later to central Croydon opposite the Fairfield Halls.
While here, I taught A level, GCSE resits , also GNVQ programmes in Art and Design, and Leisure and Tourism. GCSEs were largely delivered within an Open Learning environment, where students had an individualised programme of study. I also taught on the Access to Higher Education programme, where I taught adults who were returning to education and needed a GCSE equivalent in maths and English to go on to do degrees, perhaps in nursing or teaching.