Mr Worthington: A Pillar of our School

Amid a flurry of excitement and fast-paced change, Mr. Worthington has been the one pillar of stability at GG. His contagious passion for physics has invigorated many young physicists over the course of more than 24 years at the school.   

 

His excellence as a teacher is not coincidental; the teaching profession has been his dream ever since the age of 12. Unfortunately, his parents and teachers envisioned his future differently, and he was initially forced to follow a different path. 

 

The path was one of many meanders. Fresh out of high school in England, he enrolled in a metallurgy course at the University of Brunel, London, studying the physical and chemical properties of metallic elements. Uninterested, he dropped out halfway through the course. Next followed a multitude of seemingly unrelated yet fascinating jobs: picking apples at an orchard, working at a factory for Estée Lauder, kitchen designer, lab technician in a university geology department, security guard for visiting rock bands, manager of an industrial cleaning company, and even a police officer. 

 

Unexpectedly, the turning point came about during a trip to Australia, where he realised that he wanted to combine both travelling and work, and thus he stepped foot on the journey to his long-awaited dream job. He obtained his teaching degree at the University of Portsmouth, completing a master’s degree at the University of Bath a while later. The rest, as we know, is history.

 

Teaching at the school that both of his children attended has been ‘fantastic’, he recalls. It was particularly enjoyable “to be able to see them go through all the opportunities they had in school and be available to see the sports days, the matches, the plays, and the musical events without much difficulty”. 

 

On the contrary, he believes it may have been uncomfortable for the children themselves at times. Having their father as their teacher potentially evoked discomfort as they had to dissociate from the home dynamic when in school, displaying all the formalities typical of a normal student-teacher interaction. He has taught both of his children at some point in their time at Greengates, and it isn’t uncommon for classmates to tease or even be weirded out by the revelation that their friend’s father is their teacher. 

 

Interestingly, his general attitude towards the new school system is positive and hopeful, thanks to the “opportunities that have already arrived, and the opportunities that are in the pipeline”. He believes the Nord Anglia education network creates the possibility of excellent global connections for both students and staff, particularly useful for students who are forced to move around frequently. There is notable excitement from his side regarding the potential prospect of upgrades to school facilities and equipment through increased investment. Additionally, he is ‘looking forward to the science department and the STEAM [science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics] department being remodelled and revamped’.

 

However, if there is one thing he misses about the old version of the school, it’s the selection of excellent teachers who left the school in response to the old management; ‘they would have been great, still being here, if the previous management hadn't been the way they were’. 

 

Undoubtedly, Mexico holds a special place in his heart. Not only is it a “beautiful country with so much to see and do”, but it is also the birthplace of his beloved wife and home to great food and people.  Along with his family, he tries to ‘get out and about as much as possible’, often travelling across the country and engaging in activities such as mountain biking and rafting. Although he does mention, with a cautious tone, how he ‘worr[ies] about security more and more’ these days. 

 

Once his daughter Maya graduates this year, he plans to use his newly-found freedom to ‘travel more’.

 

No one knows what our school’s future entails, but we earnestly hope that Mr. Worthington will remain a part of the teaching faculty for at least a couple more years.