About Me
Drawing on over two decades of experience in education, I've cultivated a strong ability to understand others' needs and respond to them with effective, practical solutions. Coupled with a recent, intensive refresh of my coding and computer science knowledge - specifically through the Boot.dev back-end development course in Python and Go - I am now seeking opportunities to merge this insight with my passion for creating effective software. My approach to work and life is empathetic, pragmatic and optimistic: I like to delve into a problem to understand it thoroughly, prototyping rapidly to find innovative, elegant and performant solutions. I am passionate about finding ways for technology to enhance the various facets of our lives, without distraction or incumberance.
Featured Projects
Droplet (School Noticeboard App)
A full-stack web application to streamline school communication using a Go REST API (featuring JWT auth, RBAC, PostgreSQL with sqlc, transactions). Containerised with Docker and deployed to Render.
Bookup (Book Recommendation App with AI)
Combines Python, Flask, Redis, SQLite, Ollama LLM and SpaCy packages to take a list of books a user enjoys and provide recommendations for their next read.
TfL Bunching Detector
A command-line tool that analyses live London bus arrival data using the Transport for London API to detect and report instances of bus bunching on specific routes or stops. Features include stop/route search, configurable bunching threshold, and tabular output of bunching events.
Work Experience
Software Developer (freelance)
April 2025 - current, Cubic Street Ltd, London
- Building a Go HTTP redirect service on Google App Engine to track advertisement clicks, handling dynamic URL substitution, HMAC verification and SQL database integration, via Google Cloud Platform.
Head of Science and Technology
Sep 2020 - Mar 2025, Eaton House the Manor Girls’ School, London
- Curriculum leader for Science and Computing for pupils aged 4 to 11.
- Trained and supported 30+ teachers in using technology, increasing classroom technology integration, including Lego Education Prime robotics kits, coding in Scratch, introducing Google Workspace for Education, various AI tools and migrating to a new school MIS.
Deputy Head Upper School
Sep 2017 - Aug 2020, Newton Preparatory School, London
- Responsible for day-to-day school management, including staffing, events, safeguarding, pastoral care and behaviour management.
- Senior member of a working group that delivered a plan to improve the use of technology throughout the school, including introducing one-to-one devices for pupils and staff.
- Developed two original applications in Google Apps Script (JavaScript) for automating daily tasks and risk assessment processes, saving an estimated 10 hours per week.
Head of Science, Head of Year, Head of Co-Curricular Activities
Sep 2013 - Aug 2017, Newton Preparatory School, London
- Managed teams of staff in an academic capacity, as well as having pastoral oversight for Year 6 pupils and their form tutors.
- Introduced annual STEAM Week to promote interest in careers and learning related to science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics, coordinating events involving local businesses, professionals, and academics.
- Administrator for the school’s Google Workspace for Education account.
Science Teacher
Sep 2010 - Aug 2013, Newton Preparatory School, London
- Delivered engaging curriculum and successfully prepared students aged 7-13 for entrance exams to prestigious senior schools.
- Became a Google Certified Teacher for Google Workspace for Education (previously Google Apps for Education).
Primary School Teacher
Oct 2007 - Aug 2010, Christchurch Primary School, Brick Lane, London
Assistant Language Teacher
Jul 2002 - Mar 2006, JET Programme, Nara & Hyogo Prefectures, Japan
Education & Certifications
Boot.dev Backend Developer Career Path
Passed 09/04/2025. Covers Python, Go, SQL, Memory Management in C, Functional Programming, OO Programming, Data Structures and Algorithms, HTTP Clients, Servers, and more.
BSc (Hons) Computer Science (2002)
Awarded 2:1, University of Manchester. Final year project: using AI techniques to analyse web log files to determine how effectively users can reach their destination page.
Post-graduate Diploma STEM Education (2024)
Awarded Pass with Merit, King's College University, London. Courses included 'Policies and Practice in STEM Education', 'Use of Technology in Education, and 'Making and Creating'.
PGCE Primary Education with Modern Foreign Languages (2007)
University of East Anglia, Norwich.
Other certifications include: Certificate in 'Improving gender balance in computer science' from the National Centre for Computing Education 'I belong' programme, First aid certificate (paediatric) (valid until March 2027).
Skills
Programming languages: (recent) Python, Go, JavaScript, SQL; (during undergraduate degree) Java, C, Prolog.
Google Workspace for Education administration. Intermediate Japanese and German language proficiency.