Angela NicDhòmhnaill

Teacher at Oban High School

Hi! I am from Staffin on the Isle of Skye, where I was brought up in a Gaelic family and attended Portree High School. After leaving school, I went to Aberdeen University, where I gained an honours degree in Gaelic. I then worked for Comunn na Gàidhlig as a Development Officer in Glasgow. I enjoyed my two years there very much, but I had always thought that I would like to do teaching. I decided to apply to study secondary teaching and started the PGDE (S) in August 2006 at Jordanhill, Glasgow.

I graduated in 2007 and chose the preference waiver option for my probationary year, which meant that I agreed to be placed anywhere in the country. After a few weeks, I was informed that I had secured a position in Oban High School.

It has been a very busy year in Oban. It is a very big school (1,100 pupils) but everyone is so helpful. The language department is great as they are all very supportive. P7 pupils must choose Gaelic or French when they start at the school and Gaelic usually gets about a quarter of pupils. At the moment I teach S1, S2 and S4 learners and S1 – S4 fluent speakers. I very much enjoy teaching the two courses because there is a huge difference between them, with large learners classes to small fluent classes. You are kept very busy throughout the year with a lot of paper work, exams, discipline and homework! But in saying that, I very much enjoy teaching – everyday is different and it makes you feel like you are making a real difference to the lives of pupils.