Alan Williams

I am a secondary physics teacher in south west wales. For the lower years I teach all three sciences combined but from year 9 (aged 13) through to year 13 (aged 18) I teach solely physics. I also teach the diploma in medical science as I have a background in biophysics.

Dyffryn Taf is a medium sized public comprehensive school. Most of the students come from nearby villages with some students traveling in from further afield thanks to the school’s short distance from a train station. Here is a link to the school website (https://www.dyffryntaf.org/).

When I studied for my degree, I got into science outreach. This involved going to local schools and doing science experiments and hosting stay over science camps. I really enjoyed working with young people. This led me to apply to train as a teacher the at the end of my course.

One of the interesting things with smaller schools is that everything is much more tightly knitted together and the teaching is much more personal. At the moment, the most visible challenge is supporting some of the students trying to balance working on the family farm with digital learning.