October 6th 2019, Douglas Isle of Man. 

I arrived home to find my wife closing my laptop lid down after taking my two boys Ben and Teddy to their swimming lesson.

"What you up to?", I asked.

"Oh I applied for a job in London, but don't worry I won't get it", she answered. 

This was her dream job working in Westminster at the Treasury. This was also the start of my family's move away from the IOM (Isle of Man) with a population of around eighty thousand to Ealing, London.

I grew up in Worsley, Salford and read Marine Biology at Liverpool University. One of the reasons I chose the course at Liverpool was the final year was at a satellite campus in Port Erin, IOM. The choice of living and studying in the Isle of Man with the ability to scuba dive, sail, fish and water ski was a good one and I fell in love with the Island. I met my wife in the Isle of Man and after a brief return to Manchester for a year to complete my PGCE and a trial year living with my then partner we returned to the IOM to marry and buy our first home.

After 14 years of living and teaching in the IOM we were on the move again with my wife accepting her job in Westminster and me accepting the position of Head of Science at Ealing Independent College. We had sold our house and were living with my in-laws still in the IOM when COVID-19 struck the world, the UK and the IOM. 

During lock down after the Easter break I met my first EIC students and colleagues and began teaching via google meet. The learning curve was steep with both the students and myself having to master new ICT skills required to make google classrooms and online lessons work.

As the school year drew to a close our new Principal, Allan Cairns, called a meeting to discuss the future direction of the school and our vision of what Ealing Independent College should be. From our shared experiences during the lock down we all realised that the skills that we had obtained in online learning using google classroom would continue to benefit our students in an almost paperless, blended learning experience.  The promotion of using google classroom will enable our students to access/engage with their classwork from home and teachers to teach from home no matter what isolation requirements occur due to COVID-19.

My vision as Head of Science is to promote and facilitate the teaching and learning within science as an interactive practical subject. I believe that true understanding/contextualisation of scientific principals and processes is accelerated for individuals who have the opportunity to experiment and play with science.

It's been a big year of change for everyone not just my family. I am positive that we made the right decision in moving to London and I am excited to be part of Ealing Independent College.

- Rick Smith