Emma Thorogood has taught at Chigwell School for two years - she speaks about teaching Physical Geography interactively, her role as Head of UCAS during applications season, and working with the newly formed Sustainability Committee.
Emma teaches Geography at Chigwell School – she is currently in her second year at Chigwell but has enjoyed six years of teaching at other schools in the local area. She has always wanted to be a teacher, deciding at the age of sixteen and never wavering upon the decision. Having studied both Geography and Psychology at Exeter University, Emma decided that teaching and Geography had her heart.
Emma speaks about her favourite part of teaching geography and championing interactive lessons “Pretty much every single geography element under the sun has something to do with what’s on the news or in the media which makes it engaging and inspiring for the pupils”.
“It’s a visual subject so sometimes we make things like a pop-up river basin and earthquake–proof buildings modelled with jelly The subject can take you to lots of places and it has real-life relevance too. Sometimes students return from holiday and say ‘I saw an oxbow lake’ and show photos. That’s really nice as it demonstrates that teaching goes beyond the classroom. Indeed, I don’t want teaching to just be constrained by the four walls of the classroom but instead for it to be all-encompassing. That’s why we have the Iceland trip, GCSE trips to Walton-on-the-Naze and we are developing some more KS3 trips too.”
Following the completion of her PGCE at Cambridge, Emma also completed a Masters in Education during her second year of teaching. Her project focused on overcoming secondary school pupils’ misconceptions about rivers. She tries to grasp every opportunity and uses a mantra of “if I thought I would regret not doing it, then I should do it.”
It is this mentality that has allowed Emma to become both Head of UCAS and Sustainability Lead which involves close interaction and supervision of the student-led Sustainability Committee. She also marks GCSE Physical Geography exam papers over the summer as a team leader which “helps my teaching as I know the mark scheme criteria inside-out and understand exactly what the examiner is looking for.”
Emma explains that she loves her job and enjoys teaching at Chigwell, “the values at this school - happiness, kindness and the sense of community - are really prevalent in everything we do here”. She adds that there’s a “positive competitiveness between the students which really helps them excel.”
Learning to balance her role as well as all of her additional responsibilities has been a process “as I’m building up resources and becoming more familiar with policies and which staff to contact. There’s a never-ending to-do list but it’s all about prioritising and self-commitment.”
Regarding the Head of UCAS role, Emma describes, “I really enjoy working with students on a one-to-one basis. When you think about university, that’s really the end point of everyone’s school career so it’s important to help students achieve their ambition It’s nice seeing where students want to go, their aspirations, and supporting them on the way. I like to have a different aspect to the job which isn’t just in the classroom and brings in a pastoral element.”
Emma supports the student-led Sustainability Committee – they meet weekly to discuss ideas, projects and raise awareness. The school is supported by Arup, a global consultancy firm that is working to advise Chigwell on a new sustainability strategy. “One of our Year 7 students have named the project: ‘Project Seed’. We’re all hoping that once the plan is in place, this will put Chigwell on a different pedestal and really allow our sustainability vision to flourish.”
“The students have had lots of ideas about food waste, traffic, and creating a wildlife garden, rather than big ideas that aren’t practically feasible. We want small ideas where the students can see the actual change that is happening.”
Emma describes the joy of witnessing a “light-bulb moment” and feeling fulfilment from teaching: “Every day is different and that’s exciting.” She explains that teaching is a lifestyle, a positive life choice, and definitely a career she sees herself continuing.