Katy Heaton

I completed a degree in Medieval Religious History and Philosophy at Keele University before joining the University of Birmingham to undertake a Postgraduate Diploma in Education. Despite originating from a small farming community, I quickly fell in love with the bright lights of the big city, and have been lucky enough to make it my permanent home.

I come from a teaching, rather than industry, background, having served for five years as a teacher of mathematics in a local secondary school before making the switch to UCB in August 2016. For me, our students represent the heart of Birmingham, coming to us from all walks of life and at different stages in their learning journey, and yet are universally supportive of each other and determined to succeed in their goals. 

I teach on both the GCSE and Functional Skills Mathematics courses, with Functional Skills being my area of speciality. Both courses run alongside the students’ main vocational qualification, and are specifically designed to support students to access the mathematics within their course, while also giving them a separate, nationally recognised qualification in the subject. Lessons are carefully planned in order to be engaging, vocationally relevant and tailored to the needs of each individual student.

In my previous post I was a Head of House, and was actively involved in the pastoral care of our students. Student wellbeing is a particular area of passion for me, and I enjoy gaining new knowledge and implementing effective strategies within this sphere. In addition, I particularly enjoy teaching students with additional learning needs, and look forward to any and all opportunities to improve my practice, and thus student outcomes.