I knew of the school because I used to live in the area and have friends who attended the school as children. As such, I have witnessed the schools long overdue rebuild. Despite this, I remember when I first entered the building I was extremely surprised by the facilities that the school could offer.

Since this time I have been able to develop my professional skills and am currently the Curriculum Leader for Maths at Allerton Grange School. Throughout the period working at Allerton Grange I have been given every opportunity to develop in my career and, with that, my aspirations to improve as a teacher.

Opportunities I have undertaken so far include

a) SEN Champion

b) Numeracy link

c) Leader of Key Stage 3

d) Learning Development Leader

e) Leader of Key Stage 4

f) Curriculum Leader

For me, Allerton Grange offers a great opportunity for any student because of the quality of teaching and the high levels of motivation amongst staff members, within the Maths department and throughout the school. In addition to this, the school provides opportunities for students of all backgrounds to be given the best possible Mathematics education.

My development has also been aided by strong teaching experience within the Maths department. Other staff members bring their own individuality to teaching and this allows the department to be constantly evolving. All staff members strive to improve and work tirelessly to ensure all students are offered the best diet of Mathematics that will not only get them through exams at the highest level of progress, but more importantly, provides the life skills and knowledge that will help them in everyday life outside of school.

On a national perspective teaching seems to rarely be offered the respect and understanding it deserves. Teaching demands an unending motivation for the betterment of all students and for all teachers it extends far beyond the 3pm home time bell. Despite this, Allerton Grange is a school which offers growth for the most determined and development for all who, despite the negative press, still engage in every day of their working lives with the aim to make students futures brighter. I am proud to be part of an organisation with these fundamentals.

After leaving the Northern School of Contemporary Dance at eighteen, I ventured on a career that would allow me to explore the different disciplines of Science. My venture took me to London, where I studied Biology and Chemistry at A level. I returned to Leeds and studied a BSc Hons Applied Biology at the University of Leeds. This degree course marked a life changing period in my life, as it opened up many different doors to an array of careers. The course also allowed me to study a diverse range of science disciplines, such as Genetics, Botany, Physiology, Haematology and Biochemistry.

After completing my BSc, I studied an MSc in Oncology. It was during one of my presentations on this course that I realised I had a passion to teach. I applied once again to the University of Leeds to do a PGCE in Secondary Science and that was seventeen years ago. A career in teaching is fulfilling, rewarding and exciting. I have a career that incorporates both of my passions, Science and teaching. With a degree of tenacity, positivity and hard work and I achieved a career in Science, which fundamentally improves the lives of young people.

At present, I am the KS4 Science Leader, which means I manage and coordinate the teaching, learning and progress of all Year 10 and 11 students. I have been teaching at Allerton Grange for nine years and each day brings rewards and successes. It's great to work in a school that has such a diverse range of nationalities, cultures and socio-economic backgrounds.

I believe I am role model to many students and therefore I have a responsibility to always be aspirational in everything I do. As I encourage and support students from all backgrounds to achieve their full potentials, I ensure that I also achieve this for myself.

I applied for a job at Allerton Grange for a number of reasons: I appreciate the diversity of students, the commitment to improvement and the dedication to literacy.

I think Allerton Grange is a brilliant place to work due to the high expectations and aspiration to succeed. The school has a calm and productive environment where students feel proud of what they achieve. I feel extremely motivated and fully supported by my department.

I completed my NQT year in the RS department and 2 years later became Head of Department. My subject has a very high profile in our school compared to other RS departments and this is what has led to us having such long-standing staff in our team. We work together to ensure that the students get the best learning experience possible. Alongside this, I am a Learning Development Leader on the Teaching and Learning team and have responsibility for delivering CPD, and coaching and mentoring new and experienced members of staff.

I wanted to work at Allerton Grange because of the diversity of the intake. RS is very relevant to the students in our school and it is a great challenge to foster the spiritual and moral development of such a broad variety of young people. Now that I have been here for 10 years, it is much more than that - our students are a wonderful bunch, who often have the ability to teach us new ways of thinking about things. We don't just teach students at Allerton Grange; we help them to grow into the person they have the potential to be. Regardless of the barriers that some of them face, we recognise that all of our students have the ability to succeed and they deserve to succeed.