Judith Barfoot

grew up in the South West of Ireland in a beautiful city called Cork. I began my teaching career in London, where I worked for five years before I moved to the UAE in 2016.

I come from a stunning part of the South of Ireland called Killorglin, County Kerry. I started my teaching career in Dublin and I thoroughly enjoyed my experience there.  I always had a desire to move abroad and experience new cultures, travel and gain international experience. I was so thrilled when I got an opportunity to move to Dubai in 2016. During my time here, I have loved teaching in Foundation Stage and in Year One. I am enthusiastic and passionate about teaching Year One. I adore the creative and imaginative aspects of teaching Year One as well as seeing the children develop a love and a zest for learning. It is wonderful to see their independence and confidence thrive throughout their time in Year One.    In my spare time, I love going for walks along the beach and hiking in the beautiful rocky mountains of the UAE. I also enjoy reading, getting lost in story books and listening to podcasts. My favourite part about living in Dubai is having so many incredible opportunities to travel and experience new places around this wonderful world!   BEST MOMENT IN TEACHING   One of my favourite moments was during my second year teaching in Dublin when our principal announced she was retiring the following school year. We planned a special assembly with the children. A child in my class who was always a little reluctant to share his feelings wrote the most beautiful and heartwarming speech. I shared his speech with my colleagues and it melted everyone’s hearts - we knew we had to get him to read it on the night. He was not overly confident but after lots of practice, on the night he read it and he had the whole place standing on their feet! He made everyone laugh and cry, and at the end he had the biggest smile on his face! Forever a stand out moment for me seeing him beaming with pride!  

Since I was a young girl, I knew I wanted to grow up and become a teacher. Growing up in Scotland, I always wanted to move to a hot country (and get away from the cold and rain), so when the opportunity came up to move to Dubai and teach at DBS, it felt like a dream come true! This year will be my third year of teaching and I am excited to be spending it in KS1 again. I love working with children of this age due to their enthusiasm and love for learning. In my free time, I enjoy spending time in the sun, going to the gym, swimming, reading (especially Jodi Picoult books!) and socialising with my friends. I’m looking forward to the new experiences that I will have in Dubai next year and making lots of new friends! Best Moment In Teaching I have been lucky enough in my teaching career so far to have very supportive parents who highlight the positive relationships that I have developed with their children. I think it is very rewarding and heart-warming to hear from the parents of the children you teach that their child is happy, inspired and enjoys coming to school. I love hearing that children in my class also want to become teachers as this really highlights to me the impact you can have on their dreams without realising!