english and drama
at the greenwich free school
Welcome! This is my blog as Co-Head of English and Drama at The Greenwich Free School, a mixed comprehensive school located in south London. I hope you will enjoy learning about the GFS curriculum and the activities of our pupils and staff. I would love to hear your thoughts so please get in touch if you have any questions or comments. You can also view the school website, including links to the websites of other staff members, using the link below:
my philosophy
the highest quality teaching for every child
All children deserve an excellent education which challenges and inspires them and which will enable them to live successful and fulfilling lives. Unfortunately, the truth is that, in the UK, socio-economic factors are still the strongest determinant of a child's success in education and beyond. That is why I began my teaching career with the organisation Teach First, a charity which seeks to address educational disadvantage by training teachers to work effectively in challenging schools across the UK. I am deeply committed to ensuring that every child who enters my classroom leaves as a confident, capable, life-long learner with an intrinsic belief in their own value and their ability to contribute positively to their community. This is true regardless of a child's background or starting point. I joined The Greenwich Free School in 2012 because the ethos of high expectations at GFS is more than simply a catch-phrase; it is embedded in the fabric and culture of the school and informs everything that we do.
mastery of language is the key to success
The philosopher Paul Ricoeur wrote that language at once reveals and conceals the nature of what it is to be human. For me, learning English is all about grappling with language and wrestling to uncover its meaning in order to more deeply understand both ourselves and the world in which we find ourselves. It is my aim that all students will leave my classroom with a deep love of language and a mastery of words. On the following pages you can see examples of some of the ways in which we try to achieve this at GFS.