Mrs Laura Heighway – Head of Maths
I graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2015 with a degree in Mathematics and then went straight into teacher training at the University of Oxford. I did my first training placement at The Bicester School and was offered a job here after I finished my PGCE.
In my second year of college I decided to do an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) on Biomathematics. Mathematics is our way of interpreting the natural patterns we see. As part of my EPQ, I looked at butterfly wings, honeycomb and the golden angle in plants. It is because of this project that I am now slightly obsessed with butterflies! I want to incorporate concepts like this into my lessons to make my students just as interested in maths as I am.
In my spare time I enjoy reading fantasy novels and watching Disney movies. I am still trying to find a way to integrate Disney into my maths lessons!
Mr Lewis Wallington – 2nd in Maths
I graduated from The University of Birmingham with a joint degree in both Mathematics and Music, having always had a passion for both subjects. I also knew that I wanted to help people through education and spent two years supporting students with special educational needs before returning to The University of Birmingham to complete my teacher training. As a teacher, I am interested in the ways we can best promote understanding of difficult mathematical topics and I always like to encourage my students to think deeply about the maths they are working on.
Outside of teaching I am a keen musician, mainly playing in brass bands, and enjoy going for walks exploring our countryside.
Mr Timothy Cooper – 3rd in Maths
I graduated with a BA in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge in the summer of 2020. I completed my PGCE at the University of Oxford the following year, during which I joined The Bicester School on placement. I was then offered a job here from September 2021.
I loved maths at school and I was always interested in solving mathematical problems. In particular, I used to enjoy the opportunity to take part in maths challenges and I hope to be able to renew that enjoyment as a teacher. In general, I try to promote an enthusiasm and appreciation for mathematics throughout my lessons, which seems to be missing all too much in wider society!
Outside of work, I’m a big fan of football and most other sports, as well as catching up with the latest shows on Netflix.
Nicola Le Brun – Deputy Headteacher
Nicola graduated from Loughborough University with a BSc in Maths and Management before completing her teacher training and then moving into her first teaching post.
She spent the first eight years of her career teaching in Bicester, taking on various roles until she became Head of Maths. To gain wider experiences and take on new challenges, Nicola spent the past four years teaching elsewhere and is excited to have returned to The Bicester School in her new senior role.
As Deputy Headteacher, Nicola is working closely with teachers and students to ensure everyone has the best opportunity to fulfil their academic potential.
Mr Phil Hollindale – Assistant Head
Phil graduated from Newcastle University with a BSc in Mathematics and Statistics before working for five years as a Government Statistician in The Department of Environment.
After gaining his teaching qualification from the University of Oxford in 1996, he taught in both state and independent schools before arriving at The Bicester School in 2004 as Head of Mathematics. In this role he oversaw a dramatic improvement in exam results during his time in charge. As Assistant Headteacher, his responsibilities now include timetabling and academic data.
Phil hugely enjoys working with young people and sharing with them his love of mathematics. He says: “It is a subject which is often misunderstood. For me, it is not fundamentally about learning sets of rules; it is about developing a way of thinking which can help to more deeply understand all kinds of situations and problems in the world around you. I love trying to develop an appreciation of the subject in pupils and I also love the fact that I use my subject knowledge, practically, within my leadership role in order to support the school’s work to help all our pupils reach their full potential”
Mrs Nicola Laverick – SENCo and Assistant DSL
Maths in the classroom should be about building students confidence so that they are unafraid and will challenge themselves to “have a go”. Maths in the early stages should be about having fun but also working hard.
“I don’t get it” is a banned phrase unless it is followed up with “I understand up to this bit but after that…”. As then we have something with which to can work towards “I get it now”.
Mrs Helen Holding
After studying Mathematics and Computing at De Montfort University, Helen worked for a variety of organisations, designing and testing computer systems, including the BBC and Citizens Advice. Although she enjoyed computing, she had always wanted to teach and had a real passion for mathematics at school, so in 2006 she retrained as a mathematics teacher.
Helen previously worked at The Hazeley Academy in Milton Keynes as an Advanced Skills Teacher, helping the mathematics department get the best results across the city. She moved to The Bicester School in 2015.
Helen says: “Teaching is truly the best job I have ever had; inspiring and encouraging, supporting and guiding, different every day, what’s not to love about teaching! Always keen to learn new things myself, I started playing the saxophone recently and play in a local band each week.”
Mrs Andrea Williscroft – Assistant SENCo KS3
Many students find maths difficult because there is a wrong and right answer, making the work seem black and white. This can discourage many students from trying, as they fear they will get it wrong. It is our job to encourage students to “have a go” without feeling anxious that they may not get the right answer the first time.
One rule Andrea has in her class is that when a student is sharing their answer with the class, they never tell them they are wrong: “We wait until they are finished and then help them see their mistake by questioning how they came to the answer, and ask other students to share how they answered the question. It is important that all students feel free to share their answers and thoughts without fear they will be told they are wrong.”
Mrs Georgiana Ristea
The question that most students ask me is how exactly Maths is helping them in real life; well, what Maths is teaching the students is actually logical thinking and reasoning skills; making connections, having a structured way of thinking and how to take a thought or idea through a chain of logical reasoning and see to what great discovery it is leading!
Students will, without exception, use their skills achieved in Maths – throughout their whole life, however, most of them will not even acknowledge where from they have learnt that skill…unless I make them aware of it in my lessons!
I hold a BSc (Hon) in Economics, however, for me, Maths has been the One and Only throughout my whole existence. I have the habit of trying to quantify and categorise anything and everything at any given time – yes, including in my dreams – it is simply in my nature – hence the Maths teaching job which I love.
Mr Jeremy Salter
Having completed a degree at the University of Manchester and a postgraduate at the Royal Northern College of music I initially started out working in finance. I followed this with balancing a role at a boarding school alongside a career in freelancing, including teaching and performing.
It was after this that I decided to pursue a full-time job in classroom, considering I was already quite immersed in the education system. This has ranged from online tutoring in lockdown to whole class trombone lessons! I have taught both maths and music at a couple of schools in the north before heading down south to The Bicester school.
When not in school I try to maintain my instrumental practice and even get the chance to still do a fair bit of performing.
Mr Jonah Clarke
I have a BA in Politics and International Relations and a PGCE in Mathematics from Loughborough University. My A Levels were in maths, English literature and history so educationally I am a bit of a generalist. As such, I like to use linguistics and etymology to help my students gain a holistic understanding of maths, for example how Latin can help us turn percentages into fractions, or how Rene Descartes helps us with graphs.
I have lots of interests in life. I am a big Nottingham Forest fan; I spent the last two seasons celebrating in the stands at the City Ground right by the away fans (in previous seasons there wasn’t much to celebrate). I am the drummer in my band, and I can also DJ. I play football, cricket and golf and used to play darts for Loughborough University – I love chess and snooker as well. My favourite genres of music are heavy metal and Eurodance and some of my favourite books are by John Bunyan, Lee Strobel and Voddie Baucham.