Staff Spotlight: Bevan Dell, House Parent and Teacher of Biology

Tell us a bit about yourself, what you do and how long you have worked at Gordonstoun?

I joined Gordonstoun in September 2020, just before COVID, as a biology teacher and I am now also the House Parent for Duffus House.

I spend a lot of time in biology where my speciality is very much physiology and also ecology. Those are two areas that I really enjoy teaching about.

The house parenting role is very full on, but well-rounded, holistic and everything I like to see in education myself, so I really enjoy doing it.

What do you enjoy most about working at Gordonstoun?

It's the fact that nobody says a complete no to a suggestion. It’s more along the lines of how we can make this idea work. Someone might come up with an absolutely crazy idea; things that we think the students will enjoy or that might be fun. Colleagues will then just say, right, that would be cool, let's make it happen. So, I love that attitude.

What is happening in your department right now? Any new initiatives/exciting events for this year?

In Duffus House, we're having a really big push to consider independence. That's our theme for the term and we're spending time thinking about how we can develop student independence, encouraging them to make their own decisions and take more responsibility. I can see it's working well and the students seem to be enjoying it. We're making it fit in with changes at school, in terms of timetables and evening routines, so it fits in quite nicely and we’ll see some positive results.

In Biology, we've got some really exciting times coming up. We're taking a tour to Kenya where I'll be showing off some of my ecology skills to students, as well as going to see some Rothschild's giraffes and other exciting things. It is going to be really interesting for our biologists, especially our older ones.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Working in education and in particular my role as a House Parent. I think it is a really good achievement and I feel I'm making great progress, in a career I love. I'm really proud of that. That's something I'm really chuffed with.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Ohh, being a South African, it's sitting around a campfire in the African wilderness, at night, with my friends, listening to lions, hyenas, owls - all in the bush around me. It's absolutely my idea of paradise.

What is something surprising about you?

Well, this might not come as a surprise to anyone who has been taught by me, because I talk about it a lot, but I'm a certified venomous snake handler. When I was studying ecology for my first masters degree, I was working with snakes, so I ended up becoming certified to work safely with all these venomous snakes. I've worked with some incredible animals, such as puff adders, black mambas and cobras. I love it, absolutely love it. I am pictured handling a Twig Snake in the image at the bottom of this page.

What talent, real or fictional, would you most like to have?

I'd definitely like to pause time. There are never enough hours in the day, and I definitely could do with an extra couple of hours of sleep or extra couple hours to finish my work or do exercise and things like that. So, pausing time would definitely be a nice one.

Is there a quote or saying you live your life by?

The one I keep talking about in Duffus House, and I think I picked it up from Duffus House originally, is getting the small things right. I think that's something I live by quite a lot. I've got this idea, or routine, that if something takes less than a minute to do, just do it.

What is your guilty pleasure?

Good coffee. Yes, it’s a simple one, but I like good filter coffee and I like single malt whisky.

Thank you Bevan for taking the time to chat with us!

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