Out of all the career paths to choose from in the world, why do I feel teaching is the right choice for me? Honestly, I always knew I wanted to work with children however I didn’t quite realise I wanted to teach until later on in life.

Studying to become a primary teacher wasn’t quite the image I pictured doing whilst growing up. To be honest, I never knew what I wanted to go into. It wasn’t until secondary school, when I became a classroom assistant and started to explore the world of teaching that the interest struck me. Working with young children in a primary school was eye opening and only then did I realise how enjoyable and rewarding this profession can be. This played a big part in my decision to go to university and study primary education. However, I still felt I needed more experience working with children.

Sport has been a massive part of my life. I developed a love for sport the moment I was thrown into a P.E class. At an early age I took particular interest in swimming and since then have continued to train and compete. Through my swimming, I had many opportunities to help coach younger swimmers in my club during their training sessions. I got to witness their progression in technique and confidence in the water. After secondary school I decided to take a year out and trained to become a swimming teacher. I loved it! I was responsible for managing my own classes and preparing lessons for children as young as 4 years of age. By going through these processes every week, this gave me a valuable insight into how much preparation and work goes into teaching.

All these experiences only further confirmed the fact that I wanted to pursue a career working with children as I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. It is incredibly rewarding when you have helped a child develop and succeed whether it may be academically or in sport. Being part of their learning journey and being that role model in their lives, in my opinion, is quite special.