I have always loved English, and even now I can never pass a bookshop without buying more books than I could possibly read. However, becoming an English teacher caught me quite by surprise. Over a decade ago, I found myself volunteering at a local school to help students as they learnt to read, and in those weekly lunchbreak sessions something just clicked for me. It was meant to be. Within a few short months I had made up my mind and bravely boarded a plane to Bangkok to teach English as a foreign language. There is something about that extraordinary blend of teaching and international travel that was irresistible to me, and what began as an adventure quickly crystallised into a brand-new career.
Keen to hone my skills in the classroom, I swapped the lush tropics of Thailand for the craggy mountains of South Korea and the intensity of the academy system in Seoul. After three years in the Far East, I returned to the UK to undertake my PGCE as an English teacher, falling in love with my very first placement school in Hampshire, and staying there for four years.
Away from school I am an amateur artist and photographer (with the emphasis very much on amateur), slowly sketching my way around the world, one country at a time. With the world tentatively opening up once more and a brand new adventure in the UAE, I cannot wait to get creative.
BA (Hons) English
After a decade in the classroom, choosing a defining moment is a near impossible task. Of course, the thrill of helping students grasp new concepts in my subject is endless, and it’s hard to beat the excitement of taking students on water sports trips to the south of France, or trekking across the English countryside as a leader for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. However, a few years ago I had the rare opportunity to invite my favourite childhood author, Robin Jarvis, to my school. He met with my students, read from his latest novel, shared his methods and presented some of the extraordinary artwork that he creates to fuel his imagination when writing. I even managed to have him sign a well-read copy of his earliest novel that I had cherished for over twenty years. My students were enraptured, and a new generation of fans were born. Magical.
Safa British School – Jumeirah | All Rights Reserved © 2022 |