Nicola
Chemistry, Science, GCSE, A Level
My career in Science began, as a 13 year old, on the day that I chose Single Sciences as a GCSE option. There was never an alternative path for me! I studied Materials Engineering at the University of Birmingham where I absolutely fell in love with the subject. I graduated at the top of my class, with a first-class honours degree, before studying for a Masters and starting a career in the industry. I worked in many different environments, from a state-of-the-art silicon chip factory to a hot and dirty aluminium foundry. I learnt so much from my time industry, but I missed research, so I went back to university to complete a PhD. Teaching was never far away though, as I volunteered with local secondary schools, running STEM clubs and Young Enterprise groups. I was an industrial advisor for the WISE society, mentoring 6th form students on university residential courses and I ran Science labs at Thinktank in Birmingham and worked in the planetarium at the Glasgow Science Centre.
I graduated with a PGCE with distinction at the University of Aberdeen and worked as a Physics/Chemistry teacher in several state schools in Scotland, teaching at all Key Stages. In 2011 I made the move to International teaching and I have been teaching the British Curriculum in Spain for the last ten years, nine of these as head of KS3 Science.
My specialities are KS3 Science and Chemistry at KS4 and KS5. I have been regularly tutoring outside the classroom for the last six years. I am also an A level examiner for a UK exam board. At the core of my teaching is to always put myself in the position of my pupil and to never forget that this is the first time around for them. It is my job to find out what they do and don’t know and, after 15 years of experience, I know exactly the right questions to ask! Science seems like a huge subject, but it’s the same principles that are repeated over and over, so making sure that my pupils have a strong foundation on which to build is a priority.