From designing car interiors in Australia to leading residentials in the Lake District, Assistant Head and Year 5 teacher Gail Welsh explains how her varied background shapes her creative, hands-on approach to learning.

If you pop into my Year 5 classroom at the top of the school, you will rarely find us working only from textbooks. One day we might be investigating blood pressure by taking a medical monitor around the school to test different age groups; the next, we are collaborating with our STEM lead to 3D-print custom propeller fins.

To me, learning should be active, purposeful and connected to the real world. Children are naturally curious, and they need a reason for what they are doing. If they understand why they are drawing a bar graph or studying a geography topic, the knowledge stays with them.

That hands-on philosophy is a big part of who I am, and it stems directly from a career journey that was a little different from the norm.

Coming from a family of educators stretching back generations, I decided at 18 not to teach! Instead, I followed a creative and scientific path, earning a degree in textiles before moving to New Zealand to work in research and development for the wool industry. Later, I moved to Melbourne as a design manager for automotive companies, developing technical fabric interiors for clients like Ford and Mitsubishi.

When I eventually returned to the UK, I spent a decade in textile publishing in Bradford. It was only when my three daughters were in primary school that I took a leap of faith. I wanted a change, so I began working in learning support at Ilkley Grammar School to see if teaching was my true calling. I absolutely loved it, completed my PGCE at York University and arrived at Moorfield nine years ago.

I can honestly say I wouldn’t be the teacher I am today if I had gone straight into a classroom at 22. My time in industry gave me real-world scenarios, confidence and a practical outlook that I feed into my lessons every day. Creativity is not just about arts and crafts; it’s about thinking your way around a lesson to make it as engaging as possible.

Now, alongside teaching Year 5, I’m also Assistant Head with responsibility for assessment and curriculum across the whole school. It’s a fantastic dual role. Because we are a beautifully small, tight-knit school, we look closely at each cohort and adapt our texts and topics to suit the children in front of us, ensuring the curriculum remains dynamic and relevant.

Year 5 is a pivotal, exciting time for our pupils. It’s a year of real growth where their independence kicks in and they prepare for the senior school experience ahead. Academically, it’s a hefty year as we cover a lot of ground, but we balance that focus by ensuring school life is full of vitality.

I’m a massive fan of a school trip, and I firmly believe in the power of learning outside the classroom. Whether I’m taking Year 5 on a residential trip to Keswick in the Lake District, heading to Edinburgh with Year 6 or organising whole-school events like our upcoming Grand Ramble on Ilkley Moor to raise money for our partner charity in Matugga (Uganda), I love getting the children out into the fresh air.

That active energy is something I carry into my own life, too. To find the perfect balance between a busy school week and downtime, I practice hot yoga four times a week, go gravel biking out on the trails and run.

Moorfield is an incredibly special place because of the sheer support between our staff, our pupils and our families. Education is a triangle between the teacher, the child and the parent. My door is always open because transparency and communication are vital. We are immensely proud of what we do here, and we want our parents to be a part of that journey every step of the way.