Siobhán Loughran

Wellington College Belfast

School website: https://wellingtoncollegebelfast.org/
Subject or primary school year: Biology/Science.
Your place of birth: Belfast.
Studied at: QUB.
First job: Video rental store.
What it taught me: Self-reliance and initiative as a solo worker on a late shift. 
Family/status: Married with children.
Best advice you could give someone thinking of a teaching career: Continually assess the impact of workload. Advances in both education and technology mean that what could potentially be achieved has grown exponentially, while our capacity both physically and emotionally as human beings has limits. Simply do your best, your pupils will recognise it and can ask no more. Maximise learning through practical work where possible – no-one likes to be lectured to and thankfully science is the art of discovery. Release your inner nerd – genuine enthusiasm is both obvious and contagious. 

I obtained my BSc Hons in Biological Sciences from QUB in 2011 and graduated with a PGCE in 2012. I have been fortunate enough to have been teaching Science and Biology to A-Level since then and am passionate about promoting the uptake of STEM subjects and addressing gender inequalities in this field. Science education delivered through subject specialists ensures that pupils leave school equipped with the critical thinking skills and capabilities to allow them to engage meaningfully as workers, researchers and global citizens. As such, it is essential that teaching remains an attractive option for our best and brightest and that the current recruitment issues are addressed.