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Dr. Gary's Education History

  • Battersea Nursery School

    Battersea Nursery School
    I attended nursery from the age of 3-5. I remember it was about a 5 minute walk from our apartment. I just about remember some of the games such as painting with potato halves and playing in a sand pit. I remember having lunch there in the upstairs part of the building and having my favourite knife to eat with, which I would rush to get before the other kids (strange little boy!). I guess I was too young at this point for extra-curricular activities!
  • Latchmere Junior School

    Latchmere Junior School
    I attended junior school from the age of 5-11. My favourite teachers were Ms. Rogers and Mr. Philippou. I enjoyed all subjects, especially playing football at lunch time. My best friends were Ian Dixon and Wayne Powell. One bad memory of the school was the old Victorian toilets (from 1883!). Outside of school I enjoyed going to Battersea Park with my sister to feed the squirrels and go boating on the lake.
  • Ernest Bevin School

    Ernest Bevin School
    I attended this school from the ages 11-12. It was an all boys school about 40 minutes from my home. My favourite subject was history. I remember we had a really strict geography teacher named Mr. Nash. He had 3-4 sticks hanging up in the classroom that he would show to us if we were being too loud (yes, teachers were allowed to hit us!). I took up Judo in 6th grade as an extra-curricular activity. I also loved Star Wars!
  • Ifield Comprehensive School

    Ifield Comprehensive School
    I attended this school from the age of 12-13 because my family moved out of London to Sussex. I remember that it was a very rough school and that the students were very rude to teachers. One day in chemistry a student called the teacher "Mr. Beanhead" to his face (because the students called him that secretly). Anyway, my parents moved me out of there at the end of the school year. Outside of school I mostly played football or rode my bike with friends on my street.
  • Hazelwick Comprehensive School

    Hazelwick Comprehensive School
    I attended this school from the age of 13-18. My friends at this school are still my friends today, especially Gavin and Bjorn, who I met on my first day. My favourite class from 14-18 was geology and my favourite teacher was Mr. Price. Maybe you have heard of Gareth Southgate? He was 2 years below me at this school (he was in my sister's year). my favourite pastime at this age was the Air Training Corps where among other things I learned to fly and did my first solo when I was 17.
  • Exeter University

    Exeter University
    I attended here from the age of 18-21 where I completed my bachelor's degree in geography. These were some of the best years of my life and the friends I made there are my best friends today. My favourite course there was the History of Architecture and Urban Design. While I was at university I also joined the British Army part-time. I also hang glided and did a parachute jump. At the end of my 2nd year I travelled around the US on a Greyhound bus. I graduated in July 1990.
  • Bath University

    Bath University
    I attended here from the age of 26-27 to complete my teacher training. While there I was a student teacher in 2 schools in Bristol and Bath. I lived in the centre of the city which is very beautiful and historic. Again, I really enjoyed my time there and made some good friends. These are some of my students from when I was a student teacher. I started to develop my interest in travel during this year and went to Mexico for the first time.
  • Walden University #1

    Walden University #1
    I attended here from the age of 38-40 part-time and online while I was a full-time teacher in Florida. The university is located in Minnesota. Here I completed my master's degree in curriculum, instruction, and assessment. I enjoyed the course and learned a lot that I was able to use in my classroom to improve as a teacher. I was lucky that my school paid for my course (about $12,000). Here are some of the students I taught while doing my masters. I also began my interest in digital photography.
  • Walden University #2

    Walden University #2
    I attended here from the age of 42-46 to complete my doctoral degree. It was the hardest thing I have ever done because I also had a full-time teaching job, and a part-time weekend job working at a boarding school. So for the final year especially I had no life!! I worked very hard on the degree though and finished top of my class. Outside of studies I really started to develop my passion for travel photography, going to places such as Fiji, China, Australia, Japan, and most of Europe.