Torie

Have you ever wondered where science can take you? I`m a qualified science teacher currently working in academic publishing as an editor. I was previously teaching at an International School in China. I can teach all 3 sciences to GCSE with chemistry specialism for A-level.

I have PGCE chemistry from Bradford (with QTS), MSc in Archaeological Information Systems (with merit) from York, and BA in Archaeological Science (2:1) from York.

Along with my husband, a physics/maths teacher, I wrote the book "How To Homeschool In the UK" which releases in January 2021 to support parents during this difficult time, and I am currently working on a book of at-home science experiments. Science is my passion, and I love nothing more than helping students to understand science so they can be as excited about it as I am.

I hope to do a MEd next year to complement my current qualifications, and I already know I want to specialise in teaching and learning. I am committed to lifelong learning and am currently studying mathematics with the Open University.

Willing to travel: 50 miles

Experience: PGCE Secondary Chemistry with QTS (2013) Bradford

My experience began at high school (Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School, Buckinghamshire) where I tutored Year 9 students who were struggling to achieve in maths. I have done about 150 hours of tutoring since then. At university, I was the one helping my fellow students to understand the set texts and explaining how to structure an essay etc and in the evenings, I could be found in the pathology lab trying to determine the cause of death for various skeletons or debating the finer points of archaeological science with the other students.

I trained as a chemistry teacher in 2013, and taught at schools in Leeds, York and Bradford, to pay my way through my MSc in Archaeological Information Systems (science), which I finished with a merit! At the same time, I became fascinated with academic publishing and interned at the academic journal Internet Archaeology, where I was an editorial assistant for a year.

On completing my MSc in 2017, I moved to China with my husband where we both taught at an international boarding school, and I regularly tutored my classes in my "time off" to ensure my girls understood the material they were learning for A-level Chemistry. Since women were under-represented in science at the school, and I was the only female science teacher in my house, I found myself helping with A-level Maths, Physics and Biology, too. While I was in China, I felt like something was missing with the teaching I was doing. At the time, I pivoted into a maternity cover for a primary class and found teaching at primary level fulfilling and exciting in a way I`d never experienced in the secondary classroom.

I would now say I`m a KS2 to GCSE specialist; these are the age groups I enjoy teaching and where I bring out the best in my students. I have taught AQA, OCR and Edexcel GCSE single, double, triple and BTEC levels 2/3 science as well as AQA and Edexcel A-level chemistry and the Edexcel international syllabus.

After China, I was on maternity until April 2020, and since then, I have found freelance work as a science editor.