Sport & Physical Education

Since secondary school and a Year 10 work placement, I have always known that teaching was a career that I wanted to pursue for a two main reasons: my love for sport and my fascination in how students learn. As subject leader of PE my passion lies within sport and fitness, and I gain great pleasure in teaching across both theory and practical elements that we deliver as a department. I have been teaching at the Academy for nearly 8 years, and I continue to be driven and enthusiastic and take great satisfaction from witnessing the students’ continuing development and progression across all elements of education. I believe my energy and enthusiasm are what spurs me on to make the Sixth Form the best it can be. Out of school I particularly enjoy running, going to the gym and socialising with friends. I am a keen enthusiast for travelling and sampling various cultures throughout the world.

PE is an integral part of the school curriculum; it provides students with the opportunity of developing their skills in sport and also helps develop qualities such as teamwork, leadership and communication. I have always had a passion for PE and sport ever since the age of 10, when I begun to have aspirations of being a PE teacher. I enjoy all aspects of PE, but my favourite would have to be GCSE and A level PE courses, because they are a combination of both theoretical and practical elements and it allows me to transfer my knowledge of both these areas to the pupils in my class. I do this by maximizing pupil participation and differentiating to suit all pupils needs to ensure everyone gets the best of their PE experience.

I have now been teaching for 13 years, with the last 7 of those here at Accrington Academy as Subject Leader for PE and currently as Director of Sport working with the School Sports Partnership, National Governing Bodies and using Sport to drive other improvements here at the school. I teach all ages across the school, including BTEC Sport at Level 3 in the Sixth Form. Extra-curricular and giving pupils the same opportunities I had at school are important for me. I enjoy being a Sixth Form tutor, seeing our pupils take the final steps in their education journey here at the Academy and then onto University. I am married to Emma and have 2 children, Matthew and Millie. Family is the priority in life but I also like the social butterfly lifestyle taking every opportunity to enjoy life. Sport and Leisure is a big part of my life, taking part in numerous activities.

From a very young age I have had a passion for sport and exercise. I have always wanted to become a PE teacher and inspire others to have a love for all things active. My favourite part of teaching PE is working with students with a wide variety of talent and skills and encouraging them to reach their potential. I like to ensure my lessons are creative and fun to keep pupils engaged throughout their time in PE. My aim is to ensure that students enjoy taking part in physical activity, understanding the benefits that it can have, and can maintain this mindset long into the future.

I have had a passion for Physical Education and Sport for as long as I can remember, especially enjoying my time at Sixth Form College, where I had a fantastic teacher who made both practical and theory elements fun and interesting! I have always been an active person and encourage others around me to be active also. I currently take part in Crossfit and look forward to entering some competitions soon as my skill level increases. My favourite aspect to the PE curriculum is Fitness Training as well as Anatomy and Physiology. I find it really interesting to learn about the body and how it can be affected by exercise, so much so that I still enjoy taking the time to research and broaden my own knowledge base. Hopefully students will find that this passion and enthusiasm for these topics is evident within my teaching.

After studying GCSE and A Level Physical Education I decided to complete a degree in Secondary Physical Education with Qualified Teacher Status to become a secondary PE teacher. I studied for three years at the University of Cumbria and completed secondary placements in a variety of schools before beginning my teaching career at Accrington Academy. I specialise in Dance, Gymnastics and Cheerleading and also have my Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award and B.E.L.A. I love learning about Anatomy and Physiology and educating about choices to a healthy lifestyle.

I have had a passion for Physical Education and Sport for as long as I can remember, especially enjoying my time at Secondary School, where I had a fantastic teacher! My experiences throughout my early life really spurred me onto become a Teacher with a love for sport. I particularly enjoy seeing pupils reach their potential and introducing them to new sports and talents that they were not aware they had. My favourite sports are football and skiing, whereby I am a ski instructor and often head out to Europe at Easter to work. I support Blackburn Rovers and try to see as many games as I can throughout the season. I really enjoy travelling to new places in the world and soaking up their culture, I have recently returned from Poland whereby I visited Auschwitz, which was a very harrowing experience.