Catherine Nicol, a science teacher, became the president of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association in October after two decades in the classroom.

She had “an unusual journey” into teaching, she says, after becoming pregnant at the age of 18 and having to leave school. But she was determined to have a career that she could be proud of and that would stretch her - even if it took her a bit longer to get there.

She explains why she believes Scottish teachers have too many masters - and why the prospect of education reform makes her optimistic about the future.

1. Who was your most memorable teacher and why?

I was educated in Kilmarnock and went to Grange Academy in the late 1970s and the 1980s. I did really well in the sciences but Mr Murray, my geography teacher, was my favourite teacher and because of him I almost went into town planning.

It was the lecturers in the environmental chemistry department at the University of Glasgow who really inspired me and encouraged me. They really engaged with me and helped me to understand chemistry in a way that I hadn’t before - even during my higher national diploma (HND).

They made me see what education can do and inspired me to teach and share the fundamentals of the subject that I had grown to love. They treated me in the same way they would treat colleagues, and I really appreciated that.

2. What were the best and worst things about your time at school?

I enjoyed the academic aspect of school and finding out new things - learning was really high on our agenda as a family, so my focus was to do the best I could in school.

I’m a very inclusive person so the worst thing about school for me was being around people who were bullies. I tried as much as possible to stay away from them or to step in when I saw other people being bullied by their classmates.

Also, at that time, there was a real focus on the exams and getting through them. That total drive towards the exams made a lot of people feel excluded, and it wasn’t fair.

At Grange Academy, they had a City and Guilds programme - which was vocational training - but it wasn’t seen as being as high-status as the academic stream. There was a feeling that if you were in the academic stream you were on your way to success, but if you were in the City and Guilds stream it wasn’t as valued.

3. Why do you work in education?

Because I think that it’s the route out of adverse situations for many, many people. It’s something that allows you to get out of poverty and to go beyond where you have come from - or your immediate background.

I had an unusual journey into teaching because life did not go as I expected it to. I became pregnant in sixth year and had to leave school. It was only when my son started primary that I went back to college.

You’re trying to survive so I had a few dead-end jobs and that was an inspiration, because I thought, “I’m not doing this for the rest of my life.” I needed something that would exercise my brain. It’s not just about money, it’s about having a life experience that you enjoy. I needed to do something I was proud of.

I worked hard to get where I am; I am determined. And I know from my own experience that education can get you out of a difficult situation.

4. What are you proudest of in your career and what do you regret?

Doing my master’s in professional enquiry. Definitely. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. It was at Stirling University and I was looking at how to help pupils understand how to write reports.

I don’t have any regrets in terms of my career, but becoming pregnant at the age of 18 was not a good experience - my eternal regret is that I was not allowed to enjoy that time in my life like people do.

But it’s also important to say what seems horrendous at the time can turn out to be the most inspiring, life-changing and transformative experience. It can be the best thing that happens to you.

5. Who would be your colleagues in your perfect school staffroom?

The people who I did my master’s with at Stirling University - they were amazing. They shared my love of learning and they were willing to collaborate to make improvements and to share. They were just so enthusiastic about education and interested in how children think - and how to reach children.

6. What would you say are the best and worst aspects of our schools system today?

The worst aspect is that we have too many masters - we have too many people telling us what to do.

You have got the Scottish government’s learning directorate; the council, who are the employers; Education Scotland and How Good is Our School? (HGIOS); the SQA - all these different voices.

There are workload issues because all of these people make demands and a plethora of documentation is being pumped out, and it all falls on the teacher on the ground.

You are pulled in so many different directions and there isn’t the time in the day to be able to meet all the objectives they set. We need to be focusing now on education and actually delivering that in the classroom, rather than teachers trying to fill the gaps in so many areas of society.

The best thing is we have an opportunity to change things for the better because we are in a state of flux - we are in a space where we can make a change through the education reform underway [the Ken Muir education reform consultation closes on 26 November], so I would encourage teachers to engage with the consultations to make sure we influence what the system looks like.

7. Your own schoolteachers aside, who in education has influenced you the most?

Dr Hugh Flowers, at the University of Glasgow - he was an inspirational teacher who loved what he did. He was my lecturer in environmental chemistry and he supported me throughout my entire course and helped me to decide to go into teaching. He was so approachable and gave me a lot of support. I was a single parent and he really understood that, and was very caring.

8. If you became education secretary, what would be the first thing you’d do?

I would listen to teachers and the people on the ground because they have the knowledge and experience of being in a classroom, trying to do all they are asked. It’s about getting away from listening to people who are sitting in offices and starting to listen to the people who are in touch with children.

And I would give teachers time to teach and plan, and prepare lessons - and to collaborate. Teachers don’t have time just now to be with each other and have learning conversations.

9. What will our schools be like in 30 years’ time?

Life is going to be completely different, so we are going to have to have a school environment that looks and feels different - I really hope we are going to be working more in partnership with local employers and colleges and universities.

And we will be moving much more into a virtual environment. If that is used appropriately for education, it will make a huge difference in classrooms, but to do it well, teachers will need to be supported. There was a huge issue for teachers during lockdown, in terms of being able to find good-quality resources suitable for the Scottish curriculum. They have to help us by giving us the access to the technology and the training we need to deliver.

10. What one person do you think has made the most difference to our schools during the Covid pandemic?

[Deputy first minister and former education secretary] John Swinney. Of course it was - he has been directing everything. He really did make an effort to listen to educators and give us a voice. He did act on the information he was getting and he had a great impact on the way education ran throughout the pandemic.

Prior to the pandemic, nothing happened very quickly, and you’d have committee meeting after committee meeting after committee meeting. But because of the emergency, that was just swept aside and things happened much more quickly. You felt like you had direct access, and that really improved things.

Now it feels like we have more direct influence and more direct communication, which speeds things up and increases understanding, and that’s one of the reasons everything is in flux just now.

That channel has opened, and it is a massively exciting time in education. I’m looking forward to the next two years. I really am.

Catherine Nicol was speaking to Emma Seith, a reporter for Tes Scotland

This article originally appeared in the 5 November 2021 issue