Born in Manama, Bahrain Paul spent ten years there before his family returned to the UK. Although his family is originally from Northern Ireland and the North of the UK, he spent most of his teens and twenties in the south of the UK in Guildford and London. Currently the year 6th teacher this is his second year with Léman, he feels this is his best posting yet.
Coming from a family of teachers Paul tried very hard not to become one himself and actually trained as an actor at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. He worked as an actor for 5 years but after a trip to Guiyang Guizhou, where his parents were teaching, he decided to return to China and planned to teach English for a year. It only took one year for him to realise that teaching really was in the family blood. Whilst teaching in various schools in Chengdu he completed his Master’s degree in Education with the Open University in 2014 and gained his international teaching license in 2018. The skills he learnt in acting, however, have been the foundation for a lot of his teaching practice; such as, understanding group dynamics to the fine balance between educating and entertaining the students in class.
When thinking of home, Paul would definitely include Chengdu. It is a great city and he has seen so many fascinating changes since his first visit in 2002. Paul’s wife and family are all natives of Sichuan, luckily Paul really loves Sichuan cuisine. That basically means he needs to spend more time on his bike or going for a swim. With 2 little girls Paul doesn’t have much free time and when he does it is usually taken up with putting Barbie dolls back together again. If he is lucky enough to have time for himself Paul will watch a movie, play a computer game or read a book.