GCSEPod - Education Anywhere

“I live in a classroom in North Somerset and occasionally get to see my wife and two children. My teaching career started in 2001 and I teach Maths and Statistics to students aged 11 to 18, having taken a joint honours degree in Music and Maths. This led me to want to find connections between Maths and other subjects, and sometimes even everyday life! I particularly enjoy finding ways to use probability to surprise students with unexpected answers. Hobbies of mine include Tae-Kwon-Do, playing drums, magic tricks and balloon modelling. The material on GCSEPod is a great way to engage students by using modern technology for revision. There are those out there that say Maths is dull and while this can be true, there are a wide variety of ways to make it fun, interesting and relevant; you just need to find someone that can do that for you!”

Dave Gale – Maths

“I am now in my fifth year of teaching. I am a trained Religious Studies secondary school teacher but have also taught Humanities, History and Geography. I am passionate about teaching and have always had an avid interest in writing and was the Films Editor for the most popular newspaper at the University of York. Having lived in China for two years and after travelling throughout the Buddhist countries in Southeast Asia extensively, I consider myself to have gathered a sound knowledge of Buddhism. I chose to become involved in writing for GCSEPod because it combines both my writing skills and my passion for Religious Studies and Buddhism.”

Jonathan Beaufort-Jones – RS

“I have taught History and Sociology for the past four years. My specialist areas of study are Yugoslavia, the United States and the Soviet Union. I wanted to be involved in GCSEPod as I am interested in using ICT as a means of engaging students and raising achievement by addressing a range of different learning styles. As an auditory learner myself, I felt this was an exciting opportunity to be at the forefront of an innovative and progressive development in learning. Viva la revolution!”

Cathal Doyle – History

“I am a History teacher and e-learning staff tutor at a school in South Yorkshire. I have experience of teaching many different courses to students from age 11 to 18 across the main exam boards. I’m a regular presenter at the Schools History Project conference and love trying out new ways of integrating technology into my classroom environment!”

Doug Belshaw – History

“My teaching career spans twenty years of successfully steering students through GCSE English, both Language and Literature. I also teach Key Stage 3 and take great pleasure in my Key Stage 5 Literature work. Currently, I co-ordinate all aspects of the English GCSE examination for my department. My interest in writing for GCSEPod was sparked by the fact that it is a new student-centred approach to learning which is flexible enough to be fitted into any teenager’s hectic lifestyle and definitely ‘on trend.’”

Kym Parnell – English

“I have been a teacher for four years and I work in a Church of England School in Shaw, Oldham. I love my job and the subject that I teach because it is so relevant to today’s society. I like the fact that it gives students a chance to express their own opinions, which quite often they are unable to do in other subjects. I chose to become involved with GCSEPod because I felt my knowledge of the examination system would be beneficial to students. I am a team leader for Edexcel and mark three other papers over the summer and so I have a great depth of knowledge which helped me to write the information. ”

Samantha Read – RS

“I am a History teacher in Essex. I have experience of teaching a variety of examination specifications and I’m a regular presenter at the Schools History Project conference. I am known for using a wide variety of techniques to help my students learn and this is one of the reasons why I became involved in the project.”

Nick Dennis – History

“I have been head of Maths for 7 years at a mixed comprehensive school. I teach from year 7 all the way to A level, and enjoy teaching Number and Algebra. I love being in the classroom with students of all abilities and thrive on the challenge of making Maths accessible. There are many ways to learn and gather knowledge and then apply it. My job is to tap into as many students as possible with their varied ways of learning. I jumped at the opportunity to write for GCSEPod as it made me think very hard about the way I could explain Maths through a podcast. I hope I have made it more accessible to many.”

Mark Cheesman – Maths

“I am currently an English teacher in a large Secondary school in Wales. I teach the whole range of ages and abilities, but particularly enjoy the challenges of teaching GCSE. I have taught English in many different countries but finally decided to stay put in the UK in order to focus on working with young people in British schools. I decided to get involved in this project because I think that learning on-the-go will be an effective and far more realistic approach to revision!”

Nicola Worgan – English