- Tell us about yourself!

My name is Ben Passmore, and I’m from a small town near London called High Wycombe.

I’ve lived in Russia since September 2017 so that’s more than three years now. I can still remember the first day I arrived, I was very nervous.

- What subjects do you teach?

At the moment I’m teaching English to year 4, and science to years 7, 8, & 9. When I first moved to Russia I actually taught English to kids, teenagers, and adults, even preparing some for official Cambridge exams.

- What subjects do you/ are you able to teach?

I actually played the trumpet for 10 years until I was 19 years old so I could probably teach that, although it’s been a really long time since I last gave it a toot. I play classical guitar now, but I don’t think I’ve been playing long enough to be a teacher. Also, I used to speak French fluently, so I reckon I could give a few lessons on that after some brushing up.

-Tell us why you love your job.

I really enjoy the human connection of teaching. I just can’t imagine myself sitting in an office in front of a computer all day reading emails. Being able to talk to students, and help them to achieve something they’ve never done before is why I became a teacher.

- Tell us facts about your career or university studies.

1. I  studied physics at the University of Birmingham. I chose it because it was something I was really interested in, and something I was good at. At the time I wanted to go into science, but I hadn’t really thought about becoming a teacher at all.
2. I’ve taught quite a few students who have gone on to complete official Cambridge English exams, from the lower levels all the way up to advanced. I’m so pleased with how well those students did and it was a really good feeling to be a part of their studies in that way.