John O'Boyle

First job: At 13, in a petrol station/shop. First professional job – retail manager. First teaching job – Secondary Drama and English teacher.

What it taught me: Work ethic. I'm very much self-made from humble beginnings and have worked very hard to get where I am now, I am a workoholic. I've been told I have the work ethic of a workhorse.

Family/status: Single; my pupils are my 'wains'.

Best advice anyone ever gave you: The children who need the most love will often ask for it in the most unloving way, don't take it personally and show the child that you're determined to not give up on them.

Best advice you could give someone thinking of a teaching career: When it all feels too much, concentrate on the positive impact you're having for your pupils, you could be making the world of difference to a child's life without even realising it.

John O’Boyle is a P5 teacher who has taught in both Secondary and Primary but has found his niche with younger learners. John went into teaching belatedly after what he jokingly calls his ‘early mid-life crisis’. The aspiration to become a teacher had always been in the back of his mind and eight years ago he made the leap into education and has never looked back. Since qualifying with his PGCE John has gone on to complete an MA in English Literature and is currently finishing his MEd with a piece of action-research on behalf of the Goliath Trust’s Digital Learning Hub (GDLH). Within his role of GDLH co-chair John is jointly leading a campaign to improve digital provision for pupils in NI with an aim of overcoming the digital divide and improve parity of provision for the most vulnerable pupils in NI. With his GDLH colleagues, he strives to equip his pupils and those in all Goliath schools with the digital literacy, computational thinking and technical problem-solving skills that will improve their educational outcomes and empower them for successful careers in the 21st century job market.