The SEJ spoke to Adam Sutcliffe, and found out that his career route into teaching and, eventually, to his recent election as EIS President, followed far from a traditional path.

Can you tell us a little about your career history to date?

I’m a Principal Teacher of Modern Languages (French and German) but I think it’s safe to say that I didn’t follow the traditional route into teaching languages. I doubt that many of my MFL colleagues have a degree in Quantity Surveying from the then Napier Polytechnic of Edinburgh.

Having successfully completed my degree, I missed all things French, so I became an Assistant d’Anglais in a school in Tours for a year. After this I loafed around Paris for 4 years; helping to open Disneyland Paris, working in Irish pubs and being a security guard for Eurostar.

I then decided to get my act together and undertook a two-year PGCE in Modern Languages at Sheffield Hallam University. I got my first job in teaching at Priory School and Sports College in Barnsley.

After 3 happy years my feet started to itch again so I applied for a placement as a Volunteer with Voluntary Service Overseas and was sent to the city of Maroua in the Far North Province of Cameroon, where I mainly taught English to speakers of other languages.

I did spend a semester attempting to teach German through the medium of French, but usually needed a lie down after these lessons as my brain was frazzled.

At the end of my placement, I returned to the UK and after a few weeks of job searching landed a post to teach French on the island of Yell in Shetland. I later taught in Brae High School and in primary schools across Yell and the North Mainland.

Sadly, I was unable to get permanent employment up there. However, The Gordon Schools, in Huntly, Aberdeenshire came to my rescue in 2004. I have worked in Aberdeenshire ever since, and apart from a brief stint as Principal Teacher of Modern Languages at Turriff Academy, I have worked at The Gordon Schools ever since. My own kids even had the (dubious) pleasure of being taught by their Dad…I’m sure they secretly loved it.

What about your trade union history?

I consider myself fairly late to the game when it comes to trade unionism (better late than never though). I was a member of the NUT when I taught in Barnsley, I was converted to the EIS cause during my time in Shetland. By Christmas of my first year in Aberdeenshire, I had become Rep at The Gordon Schools.

Over the years I began to get more and more involved with the EIS by first joining our Local Association’s Executive Committee and then taking on a variety of office bearer roles including that of Vice President and President. I think I was one or the other for about 8 years.

Trade Unions are now one of the main bulwarks in the international struggle against the far right

I attended my first National Council meeting back in 2014, the day after the Independence Referendum and just got more and more involved from then; standing for election to committees and also becoming an EIS supported member of GTCS Council.

About four years ago I became our Local Association Assistant Secretary, which came with some facility time, so I stepped out of the classroom for two days a week and I have been enjoying supporting members locally ever since.

For a few years, my LA Secretary had been suggesting that I stand as National Vice-President, but I just didn’t see myself in that role. However, pester power worked and I will be forever grateful for the opportunities being an EIS Office Bearer has granted me.

Trade Unions are now one of the main bulwarks in the international struggle against the far right, and I, for one, am proud to play a small part in hopefully making the world a better place.

What do you see as the priorities for the EIS this year?

We need to get some movement on the workload crisis teachers are facing. The Scottish Government and our employers must reduce teachers’ class contact time, and whilst it would only be 90 minutes, it is crucial that teachers are given this reduction in class contact time in its entirety.

We will listen on aspects of phasing the reduction in, but we are, and always have been, clear that teachers must be given the whole 90 minutes for their personal preparation and correction time. Our employers and the Scottish Government simply can’t keep asking more and more of teachers without going some way to reduce the amount of work we are all doing in our own and our family’s time.

It is time for them to take the workload crisis seriously and to take the necessary steps to reduce it. The reduction in class contact time is a small, but important first step.

Teachers still don’t have a pay deal for this year – what is happening there?

Good question. The teachers’ side of the SNCT unanimously rejected the recent 2 year offer of 4% and 3.5% because it doesn’t meet the objective of pay restoration for the first year, with CPI inflation already at 3.8% and projected to rise further, while the most accurate measure of the cost of living – RPI inflation already – is at 4.6%.

At only 4%, the Year 1 figure simply isn’t high enough. We await a response from COSLA and the Scottish Government.

You recently led the EIS delegation at the Trade Union Congress – how was that experience?

I thoroughly enjoyed it. We had an amazing group of people in the delegation who gelled really well together.

I think every member had put themselves forward to speak on debates in the congress, sadly very few of us were fortunate enough to be called. It was exciting to be a part of a debate which changed TUC policy with UCU’s motion “Wages Not Weapons” going to a card vote and passing.

On a personal note, I ticked off two bucket list items that I never knew I had; part of my speech seconding the motion on tackling the far right was quoted in The Morning Star and a picture of me taking part in the card vote appeared online in the Socialist Worker!

Finally, can you tell us one thing about yourself that we might find surprising?

Ha ha. Maybe the most surprising thing about me is that I am actually a Languages teacher, considering my early academic pathway. Beyond that, I’m not sure it’s that surprising, but I play bass for local musical theatre groups and sing in an award-winning choir in Huntly, Aurora. Agus tha mi ag ionnsachadh Gàidhlig le Duolingo.