Jim Gardner
A bit about me…
I have been a geography teacher for over 30 years and have taught in schools in London, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle upon Tyne. I was Head of Geography at my current school for 15 years before becoming a pastoral leader.
Although physical geography is my main interest, I have taught all aspects of the subject with all the main exam boards at some point. I currently teach Edexcel at A Level and OCR ‘B’ at GCSE.
I am a keen advocate for the importance of school trips and fieldwork in particular as an essential part of pupils’ broader education. While I was Head of Department my school achieved the GA Quality Mark with Centre of Excellence for fieldwork.
I have always been heavily involved with outdoor activities in school and ran the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award for a number of years.
I have a Summer Mountain Leader Award and have taken groups of young people to a wide range of mountain areas in the UK and Europe. I have also made the most of the long holidays to travel independently and explore mountain ranges such as the Alps, Pyrenees, Jotunheim, Tatras and Himalayas.
Why I love being a Teacher Tour Leader…
I first travelled to Iceland in 1991 and was immediately captivated by the beauty and otherworldliness of the landscape. Since then I have travelled there on numerous occasions.
I took my first trip with my school in 2008 and have returned regularly often with Discover the World. I have been fortunate to visit many different parts of the country from the Snaefellsness peninsula in the west to Myvatn in the north east.
Iceland is my favourite country to visit and I love to share my excitement and enthusiasm for this amazing place with other people.
The opportunity for pupils to experience first hand places they have only previously studied in the classroom has a profound effect on them. It is a privilege to introduce them to this awesome place.
My favourite activity in Iceland…
My favourite activity is the glacier walk. Glaciated landscapes have always interested me more than anything else. I always come back from the walk enthused and wishing we could have gone a little bit further.
My favourite place in Iceland…
My favourite place to visit is Heimaey. It’s a beautiful little island with a remarkable history and the views back to Eyjafjalljokull on the mainland are astonishing.
