Our people

Bruno Reddy

Bruno Reddy (’04) Occupational Psychology, Sheffield
Taught Maths Lea Valley High School
Now Head of Maths, King Solomon Academy

The attraction of Teach First at the time was really to further my career. I wanted a career in business, in management, and I saw Teach First as a perfect stepping stone to improving my chances in business in the world.

My perspective on my career changed during the two years. You know, I really didn’t expect the world of education to influence me in such a profound way. People think that Teach First is only about the two years that you spend teaching, but beyond those two years, actually that’s where you might even start to see bigger impacts and bigger changes. It’s really that the ambassadorship is growing in to quite a movement.

One of my passions is sustainable development, and I really, really wanted a job and a future in sustainability.

After teaching for two years I got a job with Arup and I’ve been working as a Sustainable Development Consultant, and that’s not an obvious leap from a degree in psychology, but Teach First actually allowed me to bridge that gap. They’ve let me go down to three days a week, and for the other two days a week I’m running a little social enterprise called Mr Greenie, and it’s dedicated to schools and education for sustainable development. So that’s a perfect combination for me, because I’m able to combine education with sustainability.

I’d say if you’re thinking about applying to Teach First it’s probably a no-brainer. You know, you’re going to develop your career prospects no end. It’s probably going to change you in ways that you wouldn’t have expected. You’re going to come out with transferable skills, you may well come out with better job offers than you might otherwise have done. It’s going to be hard work, so be prepared for that, but it’s also going to be fun. Undoubtedly, it’s going to be a lot of good fun.