I always loved playing outdoors and nature and by the time I began teacher training in the early 90s I'd enjoyed camping holidays to the coast and countryside all over Great Britain. I'd been introduced to wild camping, expeditions, caving and rock-climbing through school and the Scouts. A keen cyclist, I was an “early adopter” of mountainbikes.
At Newcastle University Mountaineering Club I was an improving climber breaking into the extreme rock-climbing grades, enjoying Scottish winter climbing and the European Alps. I completed teacher training (in geography and outdoor activities) at Leeds University where I began to gain outdoor leadership qualifications and co-led a young people's expedition to the Cordillera Apolobamba, Bolivia.
Since 1994 I’ve taught in many areas of mainstream and alternative education and continued to enjoy mountain activities throughout the UK, Europe, Scandinavia and in the USA.
My outdoor leadership qualifications and the processes of gaining them have defined my identity as a teacher. I have always sought opportunities to apply my skills in enrichment activities with students. When opportunities to teach outdoors have been limited my awards have influenced my approaches and provided me with the personal qualities to do a good job.
More recently, my outdoor leadership qualifications have allowed me to change career. I'm currently enjoying phase two as a freelance outdoor educator.