Story of a Trainee Teacher

I am the youngest of four sons. We all attended Dunraven School and I remember my time there (and my former teachers) with real fondness. When the opportunity arose to train to be a teacher through Dunraven, I jumped at the chance.

I am currently on the School Direct training programme and based at Rosendale Primary School. I have worked there for the past 5 years as a Higher Level Teaching Assistant after previously working as a bus driver in South East London. I opted for a career change as I have always enjoyed working with young people and felt a strong calling to the primary education system, which I felt needed more positive Black role models, especially in South London.

So 5 years and a lot of classroom experience later, here I am embarking on this journey into teaching with an institution I know well. Some would call it luck, I prefer to think of it as fate. Training with Dunraven’s Sharing Excellence Partnership is great! It’s intense, rewarding, and it stretches you. But more importantly, it’s based on research and flooded with incredible teachers and practitioners who genuinely care about our children, and it prepares you for your life as a teacher. So get involved, get into teaching: the Sharing Excellence Partnership is a great place to start.

Darel Risden, School Direct Teacher, Rosendale Primary School

Thinking of Training to Teach in South London?

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