Born and educated in Lincolnshire, I have lived in the market town of Newark in Nottinghamshire for most of my life. We all talk down on our home town at times but, for me, Newark is exactly that: home. I am proud of and passionate about my town and the East Midlands and contributing in any way I can to its development is a motivation for me. This is why I'm delighted to be a teacher at one of my local schools which has seen such progress over the last 5/6 years. It's an honour to serve my community in this way.

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Family and friends are important to me and I was fortunate and privileged enough to grow up in a household with three strong parental figures in my life: my mum, my grandma and my grandad. They have shaped my morality, my sense of responsibility and duty to my family, friends, community, nation and as a global citizen.

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My passions are: news and current affairs, sustainability and climate change, social justice, keeping active at the gym and football (Arsenal - unfortunately).

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TEACHING: Back in 2018 I kept reporting that there was a severe shortage of teachers and I wanted to play my part in helping this national crisis. Despite not having a degree in Geography, I decided to become a teacher in the subject due to my passion and interest in nature, climate change and sustainability. I worked hard to ensure I became an expert in the subject as well as an effective teacher employing the latest and most effective teaching pedagogy. I gained my Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and my PGCE from the University of Nottingham in 2020 which then led me to completing my Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) year during one of the most tumultuous years in the history of education as a result of COVID-19. Since then, I have been on an an incredible journey running the school's Eco group and being part of the team that secured our school as being called "Outstanding" by Ofsted for the first time in its history.

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UNIVERSITY: After taking a gap year working in a supermarket in order to save up some money, I studied Journalism BA (Hons) at the University of Lincoln between 2014-2017. I graduated with a first-class honours in 2017 as well as completing the NCTJ Diploma with grades A-C in all modules. My course was accredited by the NCTJ (National Council for the Training of Journalists), the BJTC (Broadcast Journalism Training Council) and the PPA (Professional Publishers Association) while also being recognised for excellence by the European Journalism Training Association.

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A LEVELs: I achieved grades B-B-C for my A Levels in English language, Geography and Economics respectively, despite missing a lot of school due to difficult family circumstances at the time. Frustratingly, I ended up being a total of five marks off achieving A-A-B but, hey, that's the way things go sometimes. It's fine margins. In my AS Levels, I finished with a grade B in History and a C in General Studies.

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GCSEs: I finished my GCSEs with a total of 1 x A*, 6 x A and 3 x B. I also passed my ECDL (European Computer Driving License) course which proved my competency in using both basic and more advanced functions of Microsoft Office, Windows operating systems and the internet.

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