Staff Spotlight: Carlie Beavan, Head of Chemistry

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

I'm the Head of Chemistry, having returned to Gordonstoun in January last year. I originally came to Gordonstoun in 2013 for my NQT year and the start of my chemistry teacher career. Gordonstoun was a completely new scene to me, having never been to a private school, but I absolutely fell in love with the school community, the ethos and the breadth of activities. At the end of that year I was asked to step in as Assistant House Parent at Plewlands, which I did for three years. Then, I was the House Parent in Plewlands for three years, before taking a wee break. For three and a half years I worked at Buckie High School before returning to Gordonstoun as Head of Chemistry. It's really lovely to be back as I've missed it. I love getting to know the students more, the whole person both in the classroom, and in the boarding house.

What do you enjoy most about working at Gordonstoun?

I love opportunities, and I'll take them as and when they come, so I love the fact that Gordonstoun offers so much variety. For example, on Wednesdays I'll often be on the morning run with the students, followed by teaching and then in the afternoon I'm in the swimming pool teaching lifeguarding. You just get opportunities to do things that you've never thought you'd do before.

At the end of my first year here I was asked if I would assist with the Ethiopia service project. I've now been out to Ethiopia twice, as well as twice to Kenya doing service projects with the school. I never thought I would do that, so that's cool.

We had chemistry week recently and although I had a fear of presenting in Chapel, by presenting something every day, I have conquered that fear. I think we've got a real community here - everyone is very encouraging and supportive. People knew that I would find it difficult so everyone was very kind and encouraging with their ‘well done’ comments.

It's the whole community that’s just lovely to be a part of.

We’ve already heard about Chemistry Week, but what else is happening in your department right now? Any new initiatives/exciting events for this year?

We've got so much going on, it's really exciting.

We've just opened up a new chemistry hub, providing another quiet place to focus and work. The feedback from students has been really positive - they are loving it. We've made it homely and they can make their own teas and coffees. It’s heartwarming to walk past and just see students’ heads down doing their work.

After Christmas we've got the Chemistry Olympiad, National Science Week and then the chemistry Cambridge Challenges in the summer. I'm also hoping to get our older students involved in the Royal Society of Chemistry Analyst Competition. Additionally, there's Top of the bench, which is another Royal Society of Chemistry competition, but for the younger years.

When I was 15 I got to go to chemistry camp, at Bristol University, which was the best five days ever; doing a whole heap of experiments that we couldn't have done at school. This fantastic institution now does a chemistry online club for ages 11 to 14 called the Salters Online Chemistry Club, so we have been promoting that too.

My passion is opening students' eyes to what they can do with chemistry in the real world, so, not just thinking of medicine, chemical engineering or forensics. There’s so much more to it than that and I want students to really see what they can do with their chemistry. To think oh, I've got this option, that option and a whole spectrum of things. At the end of chemistry week we had Dr White from Diageo talk to us about her journey through chemistry and I've got more of those talks lined up, to get students to think more about what they can do as a career in chemistry.

Interest starts young and, for chemistry week last month, I did a series of chemistry experiments in chapel for the Prep School. The Pupils were enthused about what they saw and we’ll keep that going so that they keep learning and stay excited about chemistry.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

I like getting things done and sometimes a certain goal will come out of my head and for some reason I think I must do that. One of the first times this happened was when I was 22 and I really wanted to walk the length of Britain. My uncle said to me “you'll never do it alone” and that was it. I said to myself, right, I will do it and I did!

I think that's probably one of my biggest achievements. I'd like to do another one and I’ve thought about the St. James Way; from southern France to Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain.

I think coming here has really been beneficial for my own personal development too. I've done a lot of things and pushed myself out of my comfort zone. Things I wouldn't necessarily have done, purely because people are so encouraging and supportive. One of the Kenya trips was a great achievement as I organised it and led it. A huge responsibility of which I am very proud of.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

I have a little Chihuahua called Ruby. So time with her, cuddled up on the sofa, eating together. Something like Asda or Co-Op Donuts, she loves jammy doughnuts!

What is something surprising about you?

I think my Lands End to John o' Groats walk, mentioned above, would be something surprising. It took 66 days to complete, mainly camping overnight, completing just shy of 1000 miles. It raised money for Alzheimer's Society and Marie Curie Cancer Care and doing this walk actually inspired my move up to Scotland.

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

I would love to be able to fly or be fluent in a language.

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

Seize the day, Carpe diem, is a good one for me.

What is your guilty pleasure?

Doughnuts!

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

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