My alumni story: Andrew Lowery
We catch up with NTU alum Andrew Lowery, who tells us where his career has taken him since studying his PGCE with us back in 2007.
By John Anderson | Published on 16 November 2023
Categories: Alumni;
"The school visits we received from Linda were always a beacon of light in the process of teacher placement.
“After graduating, I worked at Ellis Guilford School in Basford. In 2011, I decided to have a change of scenery and left to teach Primary School in Ipoh, Malaysia, where I stayed for five years. Teaching internationally was a way to explore the world while gaining cultural experiences by living abroad.
“It has its challenges, especially being a flight away from family and friends, but I would recommend any fellow alumni who studied teaching to consider working internationally.
“My time in Malaysia was followed by six years as an assistant primary Head in Shanghai, China. Whilst there, I studied on an International Education MA programme. My dissertation was about Continuing Professional Development in international schools.
“During the pandemic, I thought a lot about alternative careers, partly because teaching online didn’t appeal to me. After 15 years in the classroom and as a middle leader, I wasn't attracted to Headship.
“In 2021 I began a business with my wife – who teaches English as an Additional Language (EAL) – to solve an issue in our classrooms, which was a lack of fun ways to practice English grammar. In our predominantly EAL classrooms, there was a need to motivate children to learn some basics that native speakers take for granted. It grew from a small classroom tool, into a website, which several hundred schools in the UK and around the world are using with their students.
“We launched Rollama (roll + llama, since our questions are randomly generated, and everyone likes llamas). It’s a llama-themed platform of minigames for children aged 7-13 to practice spelling, punctuation, and grammar. We expanded from EAL objectives into content to suit first-language speakers as well.
“My wife makes the digital artwork, while I create the learning content, handle the admin, and manage the developers who code the technical side of the website."
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