Elaine Lambert – 25 years experience.

I grew up in Northern Ireland, studying English Literature, Geography and History at A level. I spent four years in higher education, achieving a 2:1 B.A Honours in English and American Literature (Kent), a P.G.C.E (Oxford), a T.E.F.L (Oxford) and later an M.A unit (Bath) which focused on encouraging boys to read.

I started my teaching career at Wycliffe College, followed by a year at Kenton College in Kenya where I ran an Arts Festival and also enjoyed travelling across the country from the Masai Mara to Mombasa. On my return to England, I taught at Bristol Grammar School where I was given the responsibility of teacher in charge of Key Stage 3 English. I then took up a position at Stroud High School, (a prestigious girls’ grammar school) later becoming the Deputy Head of English. Having had two children during this time, I left in 2007 to devote some time to my sons. During this time, I worked for a number of examination boards: International Baccalaureate, AQA, WJEC (now Eduqas) and Cambridge International Examinations. When my youngest son started nursery I then became Head of English at a small independent school.

I also worked with a local children’s home providing education for girls in care. During this time, I was also promoted to Senior Moderator at AQA for English Literature coursework. Finally, I returned to where I started, Wycliffe College, where I became the Head of English and ran a number of events such as the Carnegie Shadowing scheme, the Author’s Apprentice, Creative Writing A level, Poetry by Heart and the ESU Debating competitions, to name a few.