I suppose the most unique fact about me is my degree, which is in Spanish Studies and Mathematics which I achieved in July 2013 (or at the time of posting this, next Tuesday) from the University of Lancaster. This has given me a much broader range of skills and experiences than if I had taken on simply a Spanish or mathematics degree, unfortunately the mandatory year abroad of a language degree didn't give me any experience in teaching mathematics in a foreign language - I was an English Language Assistant in a secondary school in Catalunya - although it has given me experience in dealing with children whose first language is not my own - something which I have faced head-on in the Summer of 2013 upon volunteering at my old junior school where a Thai student has joined.
My PgCE at the University of Cumbria (Lancaster's campus, so really not a big move for me) will focus very much on the teaching of mathematics however I also plan to keep up my languages, in particular Spanish (which I have been studying for 11 years) and Catalan/Valencian (3 years), in my first year I also minored in Italian and I plan to learn French, German and Polish in my spare time (but believe me, I have taken on board all assurances as to how difficult this may well be to manage!)
Moving into the more personal area, I was born and have lived almost all my life in Huddersfield, that is, up until my village became part of Holmfirth, I attended Holmfirth High School, gaining a broad range of GCSEs including an A in maths in year 9 - still a crowning achievement - and a further A in statistics in year 10. These are among grades from A* in electronics and Spanish to, well, an F in art. From there I went to Greenhead College to study my A-Levels, achieving As in maths, further maths and Spanish along with a B in physics and a B at AS-Level in computing. From there I went straight to Lancaster to take on my degree including a year as an ELA in a secondary school in Amposta - almost equidistant between Barcelona and Valencia. Highly recommended if you find yourself in Spain with nothing to do for a few days, as you do.
Outside academia I have my Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award and am hoping to achieve the Silver and Gold awards, and I am also a qualified football referee, a career path which I hope to pursue to the very top (but I can't play the sport to save my life!) I'll also use this as an excuse to learn so many languages - imagine an international level referee with 7 languages under his belt!
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