Rachael Denton

Rachael Denton, Deputy Curriculum Leader for Science describes why Tollbar is an ideal place for launching your career.

I did my teacher training here in 1997 and really enjoyed myself. The staff were really helpful and there were lots of resources available. I was then offered a teaching position in 1998. I took up my first teaching at Tollbar because I had enjoyed my teaching placement here so much. I stayed at Tollbar for a further 3 years, where I further developed my teaching skills. I was able to build up a huge number of teaching resources as all staff in the department shared good practice. I was well supported in the department and learned a variety of classroom management skills to support my teaching.

After discussion with the HOF I decided to extend my teaching skills to teaching physics as well as biology. I was given fantastic support when beginning my retraining as a physics teacher (this I continued in my next school and now teach both subjects to A level). I was provided with plenty of INSET training which taught me how to teach rather than what to teach.

When I decided to relocate in 2000 (to be close to my family), I left Tollbar with lots of great memories and some regret. I relocated to Dewsbury and stayed there for 5 years. I was very successful in my new school; this was due to all the skills I had learnt and developed during my time at Tollbar. I was quickly promoted within my new department, motivated by the skills I could share from working at Tollbar. After 5 years of working in Dewsbury my boyfriend and I decided to move back to Lincolnshire (he had a new job working in Hull) and knew that if I moved jobs the only place I would want to work at was Tollbar.