黑料社

I attended an excellent rural Staffordshire comprehensive school and did well enough to gain access to the most popular English degree course in the country. At Nottingham I was captivated by the study of local author D H Lawrence and worked with his biographer John Worthen, and both these figures continue to influence my own writing practise which continues alongside my teaching today.

I worked in political PR in London after graduation before moving into teaching, also in London. London is a superb place to cut your teeth as a teacher, requiring diverse skills - and humanity! So discipline and flexibility, but also collaboration and individual resilience and commitment. Teaching is a passport into different worlds and I have enjoyed working in schools from Newham Borough to Hampstead and Buenos Aires since. It has been a two way process and I have learned from colleagues and students from the widest range of cultures, interests and languages. I continue to teach in schools periodically, alongside tutoring and writing, and work hard to keep curricular knowledge relevant and up to date.

I always wanted to write and since 2012 have managed to dovetail work as a teacher and tutor with work as a writer and journalist. I think these multiple working lives are complementary, and hopefully give perspective on each other. I write for international magazines, write books for Penguin, write blogs and zines - a restless interest in live and dynamic expression.

My students enjoy their lessons and achieve excellent results. I know the importance of exams and how to approach them, but never lose sight of the centrality of reading and enjoyment within English.

Students appreciate my lively subject knowledge and enthusiasm, and I pride myself on being able to communicate clearly with young people. I enjoy teaching and my practise is based on fostering intellectual curiosity and confidence, and approaching tasks with a sense of humour. Student needs are paramount and I work closely with parents to identify these before designing lessons and resources accordingly.

I'm often busy on writing projects. Recent features include work on astronauts, a World Cup winning rock climber and a robot orchestra. I continue to write for Monocle and Konfect, among other publications, am associate editor at Hole & Corner magazine. I'm currently finishing a book commission on mountain culture. I'm a great fan of the outdoors and when not in London I'm often in the mountains somewhere.