I started as a teacher at Beet in the summer of 1988, on an 8-week contract, fell in love with the school and the people and just kept coming back until they gave me a permanent job! I taught at all levels for several years, then was Vice Principal for 10 years. I have also been lucky enough to travel widely on marketing trips. The best part of my job is meeting students and agents from all around the world.

I started my teaching career at ITTC with a CELTA in 1991. Like quite a lot of us at BEET, I have done a full circle and returned to Bournemouth, in my case after spells as a teacher, teacher trainer, Director of Studies and examiner in New Zealand, Australia and China. I am very happy to be part of a truly exceptional team at the school. In my free time, I bat very slowly for the Bournemouth English Language Teachers cricket team.

I am originally from Venezuela and came to England in 1993 to study English for seven months. I then returned to my country to complete a degree in Modern Languages. I came back to the UK in 1995 and after completing a postgraduate diploma in Bilingual Translations, I made Bournemouth my home.I love it here! Particularly being so close to the beach and to so many beautiful country walks and yet not far from big cities like London. Before joining BEET I worked as a translator and interpreter, a Spanish tutor, a customer service representative and an accounts assistant. My job in accommodation is very varied, I place students with our homestays, talk to families daily, visit new homes, welcome students on arrival, and also help them with welfare issues. Having been an international student myself, I understand their feelings and concerns; it gives me great satisfaction to help them. BEET is a great place to work, everyone is friendly and approachable and I am lucky to be part of a hard working and supportive team. We face many challenges together but we do know how to have fun! Outside work I love keeping fit, spending time with my family and cooking.

I’m a teacher and I’ve been working as part of the BEET team since 2005. I absolutely love it here; the teachers are all so talented and there is always a lovely warm, friendly atmosphere in the school. I enjoy helping my students achieve their immediate personal goals and seeing them come closer to realising their dreams. When I’m not at work I love getting out into the beautiful Dorset countryside or having a quiet stroll along the beach.

Born in 1967, I grew up in North London in the 1970s and 80s and was really keen on sport at school and college, playing football, basketball, volleyball and cricket for all the team When I was 16, I moved to the south coast, where I took up windsurfing and water-skiing. At the age of 19, I went to Portsmouth University, graduating in 1990 in German & French: History, Politics & Language. After travelling independently many times to western and central European countries, and then working as a teaching assistant in Senegal and Germany, and a watersports instructor in the south of France, I decided in 1991 to learn to teach English. I completed the Cambridge CELTA course at International House in London, and soon took my first teaching job in Indonesia, which gave me a wonderful opportunity to travel around South-East Asia. Two years later, I was teaching general and business English in Madrid, Spain, where I stayed for two years. After short spells teaching in London and Chester, I arrived in Bournemouth in 1995, completed my Cambridge Delta at ITTC, and began a thoroughly enjoyable career with ITTC and later BEET Language Centre. Most of my time is now dedicated to training and developing teachers on CELTA and DELTA courses, and as well as this, I also run monthly teacher training workshops for teachers from over twenty schools in Bournemouth, and am a regular Cambridge examiner for PET, FCE, CAE and BEC exams. When I’m not working, I love spending long evenings and weekends with my wife and daughter – exploring the local countryside and coastline of the region on foot and by car, mountain-bike and kayak. Dorset has some amazing scenery and wildlife (birds, mammals and reptiles) and I’m passionate about the natural and local history available here. I try to take a driving holiday to France every year, as well as a holiday to one of my favourite destinations – Spain, the USA and Cornwall. I love to cook at home and have dinner with friends (I try to experiment with different nationality dishes), I grow my own fruit and vegetables and I watch lots of history and wildlife documentaries on the BBC whenever I can. Another thing that I spend time doing is studying languages on the Internet. At the moment, I’m using various podcasts and apps to improve my French, German, Spanish and Italian and I’ve just started trying to learn Arabic too. Finally, I enjoy watching films at home, particularly political thrillers and historical dramas or biopics – and I’m always listening to the newest and classic rock and Indie bands from the UK and the US. I just wish there was more free time in a day! I really look forward to getting to know you during your stay at BEET.

Italian.