Alexandra Holmes

My name is Alex and I have been teaching at HeadStart International School since 2018. I am from the UK, growing up in South Yorkshire in the north of England. Having spent some time working in the Netherlands and travelling in Asia in my twenties, I then returned to college to study music and completed my music degree at Leeds College of Music. I worked in schools in West Yorkshire as a peripatetic woodwind teacher before enrolling on a PGCE course at Leeds University in 2001. I have taught in several independent schools in West Yorkshire since then, spending 10 years teaching music at the Grammar School at Leeds, a leading independent school in the area. It is my belief that a teacher should inspire a love of learning in their students, encouraging in them a desire to seek out new information for themselves. I will be encouraging my pupils to explore the vast array of musical styles and genres available to them both inside and outside the classroom. I foster a supportive and nurturing environment in my lessons, where children are not afraid to try new things, stretch and challenge themselves, take risks or make mistakes. Music takes up a good deal of my time, but I also love to exercise, enjoying running and spending time in the gym. Over the last 12 months I have started to attend yoga classes, which I also really enjoy. When I came to Thailand in 2009 to perform in the World Saxophone Congress at Mahidol University I took the opportunity to learn to scuba dive on Koh Tao. I am hoping to build my confidence with this during my time on Phuket. I love to travel and will be exploring more of Thailand until international travel becomes available again. I hope to explore some of the other countries in South East Asia, including Vietnam and Cambodia. I am slowly learning the Thai language and will try and move a bit faster with that this year.