Mick received his first qualification in teaching English and Drama from Cardiff College of Education and then obtained a Cambridge Diploma in TEFL (then awarded by the Royal Society of Arts). He began his teaching career in a secondary school in England, teaching English and Drama, undertook voluntary work in a Teaching College in Thailand for three years and then moved to Hong Kong where he has lived and taught for over 40 years at, mostly, the British Council.

On becoming a teacher:

I always wanted to teach from being a small child. I admired almost all my teachers and wanted to be like them, particularly my Geography teacher for my ‘A’ levels Neil Harris. I’ve been specialising in high end exams for some years now and I most enjoy helping people attain a higher grade than they were expected to get.

Other interests that reflect on my personality as a teacher:

I’ve always liked helping people and in my free time have coached both rugby to children and windsurfing. I even helped Lee Lai Shan (San San – Olympic gold medal winner) with her downwind technique, but only for one afternoon!

People I find admirable and inspirational:

Mario Rinvolucri taught me that teaching could be fun and exciting for the students and the teacher. He was a tutor on a TEFL course I did in Cambridge before leaving Britain. Also, I find Deng Xiaoping inspirational because he was a survivor and never gave up, and also became the prime initiator of China’s renaissance.

Top tip to younger self:

Always listen to advice, even if you didn’t request it.