MEET THE TEACHER

Q: What subject(s) do you teach? A: I teach maths to Years 6, 9 and 11. I have also managed Kingsley’s Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programme for the last six years.

Q: What qualifications do you have? A: I grew up in South Africa. After completing my matriculation (final year of high school), I trained as a teacher with the Faculty of Education at the University of Pretoria. It took me four years to complete my training - then, when I moved to the UK in 1999, I had to re-qualify!

Q: Tell us more about your childhood in South Africa A: I lived in Malelane - a small town on the southern border of the Kruger National Park. I went to my local primary school, where I was Deputy Head Girl, but then had to go to boarding school in Nelspruit as it was the nearest secondary school. I caught the bus at 5am on a Monday and couldn’t wait to get home at the end of the week. I was a keen long-distance runner. I trained on the sugar cane farms with my dad driving behind me as it was quite dangerous - it wasn’t unusual to have to jump into the car to avoid a buffalo or a baboon! At school I trained with the boys to challenge me. I competed at national level and held long-standing records for the 1500m and 3000m races.

Q: Why did you decide to become a maths teacher? A: I always wanted to teach. I didn’t find maths easy at school, but teaching positions were hard to come by in South Africa unless you were a maths or science teacher. It might seem like a terrible foundation on which to become a maths teacher, but having developed strategies to learn and understand mathematical concepts myself, I’m in a good position to teach others.

Q: How did you feel when you visited Kingsley for the first time? A: My first UK-based teaching position was at a large comprehensive school in Birmingham. It was on the verge of going into ‘special measures’ so it was an interesting start to my career in the UK. When I visited Kingsley for the first time I couldn’t believe a school like this existed. The prospect of being able to teach without the constant distraction of behavioural issues was very appealing. My interview day coincided with a member of staff turning 60 and she had promised the girls she would do a birthday handstand in the garden - which she did! When I was offered the job (in September 2005), I knew I was about to become part of something special.

Q: If you had to describe Kingsley in three words, what would they be? A: Caring, family, high expectations. Sorry, that’s four! Q: Can you tell me about your role as Duke of Edinburgh Manager? A: It goes without saying that I enjoy camping and spending time outdoors, but DofE is about so much more than the expeditions; the girls take on a range of challenges and seeing how they grow as a result of these makes all of the hard work worthwhile. I have supported students through all three award levels, from Bronze to Silver to Gold. Interestingly, many of them say they found Bronze the most difficult. Although the awards get progressively harder, the girls become much better at preparing themselves for the expeditions, coping with setbacks, seeking out suitable volunteering opportunities and engaging with other aspects of the programme.

Q: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? A: I love walking with my little dog, Daisy - especially first thing in the morning when you can watch the sunrise. I also enjoy photography and sketching - and then there’s gardening. I can lose myself in the garden for hours! Growing my own vegetables has been great for my mental wellbeing. I’ve grown masses of lettuces, cucumbers, radishes, beetroots and chillies. My last crop of tomatoes got blight due to the wet weather and I was very upset! Now that my vegetable garden’s established, I’m hoping to have a bumper crop next year.

Q: What items are on your bucket list? A: I want to take art classes and complete a photography course to learn to use my camera properly. I love travelling; New Zealand and Norway are on my wish list. Over the summer I accompanied the girls on their World Challenge expedition to Costa Rica, which was incredible (read more on page 65). I have previously accompanied trips to Namibia, Thailand/Laos/South China/Vietnam and India.

Q: What’s your favourite food? A: I like a good steak (but it’s got to be rare!) and I enjoy seafood and salad. I missed my salad on World Challenge because it’s one of the foods you’re advised to avoid. In India we ate LOTS of curry including paneer for breakfast. After a month of curries I really didn’t want to see another one for a while. When my husband offered to treat me to a meal in an Indian restaurant shortly after arriving home, I told him I’d have to give it a miss!

Q: Do you have a favourite book or film? A: I enjoy puzzles (killer sudoku, spider solitaire and blockduko) more than reading. However, two of my favourite books are ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ and ‘Kringe in die bos’ (a very famous Afrikaans book). I cried so much when I read these. I enjoy action films including the Mission Impossible and James Bond movies.