This colleague in the Spotlight has taught in international schools around the world and has spent the last three years living and working in Chicago, USA.
Mr Christian Baker has recently been appointed as our new Director of US Studies for the Senior School and Sixth Form, alongside his duties as Head of Year 9 and Teacher of Maths. He also runs the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) Bronze programme. We met him to find out more.
How long have you been at Ashville?
I started in September last year.
Can you tell us a bit about your professional background prior to joining Ashville?
I studied maths and physics at University College London. After that I worked for BBC 6 Music as a graduate radio producer, which I really enjoyed but the role was contract-based. This posed too much uncertainty for me and my rational ‘maths brain’, so I decided to apply to do teacher training through Teach First, a charity which places teachers in some of the most deprived areas and challenging schools around the UK. I worked in a school in Bradford for three years, in one of the most underprivileged postcodes in the country. It was a bit of a baptism of fire but also incredibly rewarding to know your teaching is making a difference to children who need it the most. I then decided to work abroad, with my first post as deputy head of maths at a British international school in Hong Kong. Teaching pupils who had come from schools all around the world and those who were heading to global universities enabled me to learn about the different educational pathways of children from different countries and backgrounds. I lived and worked there for four years, before moving to the USA to take up the role of assistant head of middle school (equivalent to Year 8 and Year 9 in the UK) at the British International School of Chicago (BISC). Its students follow the IGCSE curriculum and IB Diploma Programme, and most go on to US colleges. This gave me valuable insights into the US college application process, which is something I can put to good use at Ashville.
Why did you choose a career in teaching?
I come from a family of teachers. Three of my four grandparents were teachers, including my grandfather who was a head teacher and worked in the British Foreign Education Department in Nigeria setting up schools in areas which had never had schools before. I was really inspired by that and have always imagined I would be a teacher myself one day. I really enjoy maths and its logic and processes. Teaching is also a job where you work with people all the time – I think this is why it is described as a ‘dynamic’ profession, which is true. No two days are the same because you have so many interactions and I really thrive in these circumstances. I couldn’t imagine anything worse than being sat behind a computer screen all day not talking to anybody. I love teaching and it’s a pleasure to be in a school.
What attracted you to the role of Director of US Studies?
It is quite a unique position in the school. The American and British education systems are really different in how they approach education, and I felt like I had quite a niche set of skills and knowledge to offer coming from BISC, which had successfully married the two systems together for over 20 years. Ashville is the only school in northern England accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) to offer the High School Diploma, which is a requirement for US, UK or international pupils wanting to study in the US and is sought after by many American employers. I have experience of the accreditation process as the school where I worked in Hong Kong was also NEASC accredited. I felt I could be a real asset to Ashville for all these reasons, and I am delighted to have been appointed in this role alongside teaching Maths.
What does the Director of US Studies role involve on a day-to-day basis?
I am the main contact and source of information for American families in the Senior School and Sixth Form. I will be responsible for supporting pupils through the American aspects of the curriculum and their college applications, alongside other teaching colleagues, and I will also manage our NEASC accreditation.
Support for American pupils and their families is quite wide-ranging, from navigating GCSEs and A Levels to the cultural differences they encounter in a UK school, like school dinners! American families can talk to me about any aspect of attending Ashville Senior School and Sixth Form. My colleague Jenny Tropia will be my counterpart in the Prep School, to ensure that all our US families feel welcomed and supported, and our younger pupils can adjust comfortably to a UK prep school education.
There are several aspects of curriculum support I will provide to American pupils joining us from the US or other countries, as well as any pupils, including UK and international, wanting to study at American universities. I will work with every family to determine their background and the pupil’s ambitions and future pathways, whether it’s simply to return to school in the US in a seamless manner or apply to an American university. The US university or college application process starts in Year 10 so all grades achieved from Year 10 to Upper Sixth will go onto a pupil’s ‘transcript’ and be considered in their application. This is a significant difference to the UK system as it’s not as easy to change your mind partway through your studies about want you want to study in the US. I welcome any pupil who wants to study at a US college to come and talk to me about the process and ask any questions you may have.
What are your fondest memories of living in America?
Two things really stand out. The first is Midwestern hospitality. I lived in the Midwest and the people are just really kind and friendly. I can easily compare it to the north of England, where people with working class roots come across as very friendly, honest and traditional. The people in the Midwest are just the nicest people, so welcoming and genuine, and nothing feels fake or put on. My other favourite thing was road tripping. The amount of space is incredible; America has real wilderness, where there’s nothing for miles. You can look at a set of mountains and they’ll barely have names that anyone knows but they’re bigger than any mountain in England. We once drove from Seattle all the way across to the east coast and went through every single type of weather imaginable, and across huge sparse plains where we didn’t see another car for over an hour.
What are your favourite aspects of working at Ashville?
We have a fantastic staff body who are incredibly kind and care for the children and for each other. It is a very, very nice place to work.
All the pupils are really great, and I think the American cohort is a special aspect of Ashville, giving it its own character as American, UK and international pupils can learn a lot from each other.
Having lived in such major cities as London, Chicago and Hong Kong, it’s a real pleasure to be in a rural location, with both space and great facilities, and to be so close to the edge of the countryside. It’s lovely to drive through lots of fields on the way in from where I live in York, which is where I’m from originally.
How do you spend your time when you’re not working?
My wife and I recently had a baby boy, Jessie, so life as we knew it has changed somewhat – I’m very tired! We love to be outdoors when we can – the Yorkshire Dales is great for countryside walks and things like that, and I enjoy taking the Bronze DofE groups out on expeditions there. I’ve always loved hiking and have been lucky enough to do some really big hikes, including Mont Blanc, Kilimanjaro and in the Himalayas. I love music; I play the guitar and go to gigs. I’m also a bit of a foodie, I guess! I once spent six or seven months in India and that has left me with a passion for Indian cuisine. It’s so good!
Could you share something about yourself that people might not know about you?
My middle name! I was born in the middle of December, in very inclement weather. So, because it was snowing, and I had a little bit of ginger hair on my head, my parents named me Christian ‘Snowy’ Baker, after the dog in the Adventures of Tintin. It was clearly too good an opportunity to miss!
