The New Teacher Pt. 2

By Esther Rinatta

‘‘I’ve been a teacher for ten years now.”

Travis Dangstorpe, an English teacher who began working at the school at the start of 2023, has been a teacher for ten years. He previously worked at a number of schools including Brighton Secondary College. 

When asked what his first impression of University High School was, Dangstorpe stated that he found everyone congenial and receptive. 'Everybody here is really friendly, all the students and the teachers are very welcoming. It's obviously a bigger school than my previous schools. More people, more students. But everyone is really welcoming and friendly.'

The English teacher pointed out the fact that students in UHS, compared to those in his former workplace tend to be ‘more studious than they were at previous schools.’ ‘I would say the only difference is that they are, in general, a bit shyer- they don't share their ideas as much as the last school,’ he says.

Dangstorpe described his first day as ‘exciting’, saying it was ‘nice to go somewhere new.’ He states that he had been in his previous school for six years, which felt like a long time. ‘I felt I was ready to go somewhere new, try something different. So it was quite revitalising in a way.’

Finally, we asked Mr Dangstorpe what advice he has for any young person who shows interest in becoming a teacher like himself.

‘I guess, if you want to be a teacher, a good place to start would be to volunteer and just to spend as much time as you can in the classroom.’