Harris student to Harris teacher: Aaliyah, Class Teacher at Harris Primary Academy Beckenham

Education often shapes our futures in unexpected ways. For Aaliyah, her journey from being a student at Harris Girls’ Academy Bromley to a dedicated teacher at Harris Primary Academy Beckenham is a testament to the transformative power of education and the strong bonds formed with the Harris Federation.

 

What’s been your experience with the Harris Federation?

My journey with Harris started when I went to Harris Girls’ Academy Bromley. The school became part of Harris Federation whilst I was there and it was really fun because our pupil parliament got to be involved in choosing the colour of the blazers and we talked about what we wanted our skirts to look like.

My journey probably didn't start off as conventional; when I got to Year 8, I had quite a lot of family stuff going on so my behaviour wasn’t brilliant and I had quite a few detentions and reports. However, at no point did I ever feel unsupported by any of my teachers or anyone in the academy. My form tutor especially was really supportive, and he would always check in with me at least once a week and ask how I'm doing and give me a bit of a pep talk which was really nice.

By the time I got to Year 11, my behaviour had turned around, and I even applied and was successful in becoming a prefect. A lot of my friends said that they found that quite helpful because it wasn't just someone that had constantly been top set for everything, it was very much a journey.

I then stayed on for Sixth Form at Harris Girls' Academy Bromley, and still had lots of support from staff like my head of year who was really supportive. I then went to university in Leicester to study English as an undergraduate and postgraduate degree. During my postgraduate degree, I was tutoring, and when Covid happened, the centre closed down so I was looking for jobs. I had a mentor supporting me and when I told him I wanted to teach, he signposted me to a teaching assistant role at Harris Primary Academy Beckenham. I didn’t even know the school existed; I only knew about the secondary school [Harris Academy Beckenham].

I was successful in my interview and then became an HLTA at the same school. I was encouraged by my headteacher to do my teacher training, which I also did through Harris, and now I am the Year 5 teacher in the same school that I trained with.

 

What’s your favourite memory from being a student at Harris Girls’ Academy Bromley?

One of my favourite memories is from when I was in Year 9. We had an enrichment week where we had to create a product and the money raised would go towards a school event that the Year 9s wanted to do.

At the time my Dad was recovering from a back operation which meant he was unable to work and the way he wanted to get stronger was to challenge himself with the London to Paris bike ride. I asked the school if I could put my Dad's sponsorship form at the front of office and the next week, my Head of Year came up to me and offered half the proceeds from enrichment week to my Dad’s sponsorship. I remember coming in, and we took a picture together with this big cheque with the staff, and he even came in to do a faculty assembly each day and talk to each of the faculties about his journey and how he prepared for the bike ride. I got such a buzz from that and I think I'll always be thankful for Harris Girls’ Academy Bromley for doing that because not only did it help me, it helped my dad and it helped so many people at St Christopher's.

 

Why did you choose to teach?

I've always known that I've wanted to be a teacher. I think being the older sister of four siblings, I sort of naturally became a teacher anyway. I was the one they read to, or the one they practiced times tables with over and over again. But I never did it reluctantly, I always enjoyed doing that and not only was it spending time with my siblings, I felt like I was also quite good at it. My sister would be excited to show our Dad how to do her three times tables and I'd feel really proud that I'd helped her get there.

Going through school, I considered some other careers but teaching was always something that I circled back to. I think that’s why I decided to study English at university because not only was I passionate about the subject but I had in the back of my mind that it still applies to teaching.

When I joined the school during Covid, I was helping out and it felt like a sink or swim time to see whether or not I would enjoy it. From the moment I joined, it felt like a natural fit and I loved teaching.

 

What do you love most about teaching?

As cliche as it sounds, it genuinely is the children. Recently I went on a week-long residential trip to PGL with my Year 5s. It’s probably my favourite time as a teacher because they see you in a different light and you see them in a different light. I even had a child in my group who is going through a lot at the moment, come running up to me and giving me a hug, and told me that I deserve more of them as I’m such a nice teacher. Sometimes, just hearing things like that can give you such a boost especially on the days where you’re not having such a good day. It’s moments like that where you know that at least one person thinks you’re doing a good job and you need to hear that.

The staff here are also fantastic. I’ve made so many close friends who are almost like family at this point, so I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else or doing anything else because everything about teaching at the moment is great.

 

Why did you want to be involved in our alumni network, Harris Futures?

I saw Harris Futures come up on my LinkedIn and saw former students talking on a podcast about their journey. I think it’s really exciting that Harris now have a network to connect with other former students.

I really wanted to be a part of it because Harris has been such a big part of my life and made me who I am as a person. I think it's a fantastic opportunity to talk to current students and show that not every journey is linear or predictable. I've had some rocky moments but now I know what I'm doing and what I want to do, and that’s because of Harris. I’d definitely recommend Harris Futures to any current students once they leave.