About.

Hi, I'm Sam. I teach Secondary Art in Dubai, mostly A-Level, GCSE and IB Visual Arts, and I run an ASDAN programme for our SEN pupils at GEMS Metropole. Day to day that means being in the studio with teenagers, talking about pictures, making a lot of mess, and keeping the room feeling like somewhere people actually want to be.

The way I teach is pretty simple. I try to be firm, fair, fun and accessible. Pupils should be able to walk into the studio, understand their target straight away, and then get on with making. Mistakes are part of that. They are how the learning happens, and I would much rather someone tried something and got it wrong with me stood next to them than played it safe.

I put a lot of time into making sure whatever I deliver is easy to follow. Flexible scaffolds, clear steps, and techniques that let everyone work at their own pace, so a pupil who needs more support still ends up with the same amazing outcome as anyone else. Being fair and understanding is how I build good relationships, and good relationships are what get the best work out of people.

I trained at Sunderland and Northumbria, originally in fine art with a bit of an architecture bent, which still sneaks into how I think about a studio, a sketchbook, or the way work gets hung on a wall. Alongside teaching I'm working through an MA in Psychology at Arden, mostly because I'm interested in how young people build confidence when they're given the time and space to make things properly.