Helen Davison

Life before Teesside High School

Before training as a Chemistry teacher I spent 16 years working in Nylon polymer research in the chemical industry. During those years I worked for ICI, DuPont and Invista, all big companies in the synthetic fibre business. My time was spent with a small team of scientists developing new polyamides for the apparel, carpets and industrial businesses.

What do you enjoy most about your subject?

What I love most about Chemistry is that Chemistry is everywhere! Every substance known to man is made up of elements. I love the Periodic Table!

What do you enjoy most about Teesside High School?

Teesside High is a great school. I started working here in 2010 after spending three years at Hurworth House School. What I like most are the small classes of enthusiastic students. I also like that the students get to experience many activities outside the classroom, whether it be a year group activity weekend, trips abroad, entering competitions or spending an afternoon out exploring our lovely grounds.

What is your favourite lesson?

My favourite lessons are when we do experiments, being Chemistry that’s a lot of the time! All students really enjoy practical work, especially if there are Bunsen burners involved.

What do others say about you?

I’d like to think others think of me as friendly, fair and a good teacher and colleague. Teaching is a very time consuming but rewarding career and ultimately I’m more concerned that the students enjoy Chemistry and learn lots in my lessons.