A FORMER student of Farnham Sixth Form College, Rachel Golding, recently returned to the college as a chemistry tutor, following a chance email.

When approached for a quote about her time at Farnham Sixth Form College late last year, Rachel expressed her enthusiasm to teach at Farnham by saying: “If an opportunity ever becomes available for a chemistry teacher at the college, I would absolutely love to teach at Farnham.”

As if by fate, Rachel’s email was received just days before a position became available.

During her time as a student at the college, Rachel studied A-levels in biology, chemistry and mathematics following a transfer from another local college during her first year, due to personal issues.

Rachel said: “My transfer to Farnham Sixth Form College literally saved my future. If the staff at Farnham hadn’t been so accommodating or worked hard to build up my confidence as well as they did, I definitely wouldn’t have done as well as I have for myself now.”

On completion of her A-levels, Rachel completed her first class honours degree in chemistry at the University of Liverpool, before completing her PGCE in secondary science at Kingston University.

“Teaching chemistry in the same lab where I learnt it all is very surreal, but returning to teach at Farnham has been everything I hoped it would be and more,” said Rachel.

“The work ethic of both staff and students is still amazing, if not better. The management team, teachers and support staff work very cohesively and regularly go the extra mile for their students, spending extra time running workshops and creating surplus resources.

“I have never taught such diligent, ambitious young people. Farnham is lucky enough to be able to offer smaller class sizes to its students and this results in better relationships between students and teachers.

“I know my students’ personalities, strengths and weaknesses very well, much more so than I would do in a bigger college.

“The advantage of this is that each student has more teacher time and better resources for their individual needs. Farnham is a great place to work, and I know from experience that it’s an even better place to study.”

To find out more about the courses on offer at Farnham Sixth Form College, visit the website www.farnham.ac.uk, or go along to the next open event on Thursday, April 20, from 5.30pm to 8pm.