I came to teaching from an unusual direction. Before moving into education I spent six years in quantitative finance and central banking, including at the Bank of England, work that demanded genuine command of mathematics well beyond the exam syllabus.

I now teach full time in a specialist setting, working every day with young people who have autism, ADHD and complex social, emotional and mental health needs. It is where my two backgrounds meet: the analytical rigour of a former quant, and the judgement it takes to reach a child who has stepped away from learning.

The results speak for the approach. One student moved from a grade C to a grade A at A Level Physics. Another, who had refused mathematics altogether, returned to willing daily participation. A third, highly able but acutely anxious, found the confidence to sit Higher Tier papers. In each case the work began the same way: understanding why the child had stepped back, long before the grade.

These are the children I choose to teach, and the ones I understand best.

Qualifications

• First Class BSc (Hons) Mathematics, Queen Mary University of London

• PGCE Mathematics with QTS, King's College London

• IMA Teaching Scholar

• Four years as a governor at a specialist SEN school

• Enhanced DBS clearance