Ex-BSCS student now has former head as ‘boss’

Photo of Dave Baker with Amelia Newport at Charborough Road Primary School.

One of the first cohort of students to attend Bradley Stoke Community School (BSCS) has found that she now has her former headteacher as ‘boss’ after taking on her first full-time job since completing her A-levels at the school.

Amelia Newport, who started at BSCS in 2005 and progressed to be amongst the first entrants into the school’s brand new Post-16 centre in 2010, is now a fully qualified teacher on the staff of Charborough Road Primary School.

The Filton primary, like BSCS, is a member of the Olympus Academy Trust (OAT), which means that Amelia is now on first name terms with her ultimate boss, OAT chief executive officer Dave Baker, who was her headteacher during her early years at BSCS.

Her new job is the latest in a series of educational ‘firsts’ for Amelia, which began when she started at Bradley Stoke’s Wheatfield Primary School when it first opened its doors in 1998.

Speaking to the Journal, Amelia explained how she believes learning in brand new environments inspired her to make the most of the educational opportunities on offer and eventually take up teaching as a profession: “Growing up I always liked school and a massive part of that was the teachers who dedicated their time to giving me the best possible education I could have received. I was lucky enough to go to not only one, but two brand new schools built in the Bradley Stoke area.”

“At BSCS, I was fortunate to enjoy a purpose built building with a team who had created a unique and fun learning environment. It was there that I was able to begin to looking into the possibility of becoming a teacher, the career I’d wanted since I turned 7 after having a string of fantastic and enthusiastic teachers at Wheatfield Primary School.”

After finishing her GCSEs, Amelia studied English Language, History and Geography in the BSCS sixth form. This was followed by a three-year undergraduate degree course at the University of the West of England where she studied Education, Learning and Development.

Amelia continued: “My degree focused on the importance of student voice in teaching and how to work with children to build the best learning environments for them using their ideas and understanding. During my dissertation work I actually went back to Wheatfield and used its fantastic parental engagement skills for the basis of my thesis. It was surreal to go back and be sat across from Mrs (Lois) Haydon, one of the women who had made me want to teach in the first place nearly fifteen years previously.”

Her first degree was followed by an Early Years PGCE (also taken at UWE), incorporating placements at two local primary schools, which she successfully completed in 2016.
Initially working as a supply teacher, Amelia spent some time at Charborough Road and says she soon “fell in love with the school”. After teaching part-time in the Reception class, she was thrilled to be offered a full-time teaching post in Year 2 from September 2017.

Reflecting on how things have worked out, Amelia said: “What I didn’t expect when I started out on my teaching journey was to end up working for my high school headteacher! As I had moved on from Bradley Stoke Community School to university they had become an independent academy and began working with a wide range of schools in the surrounding area, including Charborough Road. It was rather surreal attending my sister’s prom and seeing Dave for the first time in years and have him congratulate me on ‘becoming one of the team.”

“Now, whenever I attend OAT meetings, I am surrounded by the people who inspired me to become what I am today and helped me achieve this goal, which is strange in itself, but also makes me feel extremely proud that I can stand next to these people and say: ‘I did it, I’m a teacher now!’”

“I just need to make sure I don’t slip up and call Dave ‘Sir’, which would be totally embarrassing!”

Mr Baker commented: “It is always fantastic to hear from former students and celebrate their different paths in life and huge successes. It is a particular pleasure to see one of our own students now successfully teaching in one of our schools and we wish Amelia a rewarding career in teaching.”

Photo: Dave Baker with Amelia Newport at Charborough Road Primary School

This article originally appeared in the December 2017 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine (on pages 14 & 15). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to 9,500 homes in Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke and Stoke Lodge. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.

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