Current Job Title & Employer

Assistant Headteacher and French teacher at Heartlands High School, Haringey

Dame Alice Owen’s Class of....

2009

Brief description of your path after Owen’s.

I studied Law and French Law at UCL between 2009-2013, including a year abroad in Aix en Provence, France for my Erasmus year. Completed PGCE in Languages at the Institute of Education in 2013, as well as my Masters in Teaching at UCL Institute of Education in 2020. Started teaching French and German in 2014 in Walthamstow, progressing to become a Head of Year in 2016. I successfully applied for the position of Assistant Headteacher in 2022, where I have been ever since.

How your path led you to where you are now?

I had always intended on studying Law at university and becoming a lawyer. However, combining my law degree with a language proved invaluable, as I decided during my degree that I didn’t want to follow the well-trodden path of becoming a lawyer in the City. I explored the possibility of teaching and, given my background in Languages, it was a natural fit!

Did your time at Owen’s inspire any particular skills or attributes?

My love for languages was fostered, developed and cultivated in the classrooms of Owens. Teachers like Herr Stegner, Madame Sweeney, Herr Godfrey and Frau Möller had a huge impact on my education and I take their anecdotes and lessons with me into the classroom as a teacher now.. 

Favourite Owen’s memory?

So many to choose from! The numerous trips to France and Germany, including the school exchanges, the responsibility given to us as sixth formers, German lessons with Herr Godfrey in Years 12 and 13, French lessons with Madame Sweeney and the 699 bus rides to school - my overriding memory, however, is one of a school that just felt like home.