MY BURFORD - MR DAN LAWSON - MATHS TEACHER AND CURRICULUM COORDINATOR

Our Maths Teacher and Curriculum Coordinator Mr Dan Lawson reflects on his role and time at Burford School as part of our 'My Burford' series.

This feature series aims to shine a spotlight on the superb staff team at Burford who make it possible for us to offer 'the best of education' to our students.

"I have worked at Burford School for six years as a Maths teacher and more recently Curriculum Coordinator. As a Maths Teacher across all years and a Curriculum Coordinator, I am responsible for guiding students through their very important GCSE options process.

During my Maths degree, there was a prerequisite to gain work experience in a secondary school which I was lucky enough to do at Burford School. Inevitably, when it came to looking for a job as a Math Teacher I couldn’t think of anywhere else I’d rather teach, already knowing how terrific Burford was.

Before teaching, I was the Head Butler at an Oxford College, where I was in charge of Catering and more importantly, buying Wine! Prior to that, I worked in a very fancy hotel in Hyde Park, brushing shoulders with the rich and famous.

I love that every day is different at Burford, you never know what the day will bring, which reminds me of my time in the hotel industry. Passing on the torch of student learning is important to me, so those light bulb moments of student comprehension are the aspect I love most. Whether it be trigonometry or teaching someone to play chess at Friday lunchtime Chess Club, these are the moments that make my day, every day.

I’ve had many highlights at Burford School, receiving thank you cards from students and hearing that they now ‘love maths’ are priceless, it makes my job even more rewarding. I look forward to singing in the Christmas Choir this year, it’s great fun, particularly because as we often start diabolical and finish sublime!

Since I have been at Burford, I’ve noticed that teachers have had to get more ‘tech savvy’, maybe this was driven by lockdown, but the difference in the ability to set work, chase homework, and review documents has expanded massively.

Outside of work, I play a lot of squash and have also recently taken up walking; last year I walked 500 miles along the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) and look forward to walking it again next year. It was such an incredible experience and so I refuse to take it off my bucket list!

Finally, if I had to sum Burford up in three words they would be; exhilarating, inclusive, and participatory."