For our final Teacher Feature this block, we take a sneak peek into our Performing Arts team for an interview with the brilliant Mr Hulse, Music and Performing Arts Teacher across both Primary and Secondary school.

With such a vibrant enthusiasm for music, and being a talented and successful musician himself, Mr Hulse has been an inspiration to our students from the moment he joined BISL. Having toured internationally, and with a passion for instilling a love of music and performance in students, he never misses an opportunity to be involved in any cross-school initiative or event, big or small.

How did your journey to becoming a teacher begin?

I started my journey teaching Saxophone and Music when I was still studying at Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. My own saxophone teacher had a surplus of students and asked me if I would be willing to take on some students of my own on his behalf, which I greatly appreciated of course, as he had shown great trust in me. I also participated in Liverpool City Council run programmes for underprivileged children in teaching music production and performance. I continued to teach Saxophone and Music Theory throughout the rest of my time at university and later on into my career as a session Musician whilst being very lucky to tour the UK, Europe and Asia performing a diverse range of musical genres. Whilst living in Dubai in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic was in full swing, I applied for the Music Teacher position here at BISL and the rest, as they say, is history.

Why did you decide to specialise in Music?

Music has always been a great passion of mine from even before I was given my first saxophone by my parents as a 10th birthday present. I have been extremely lucky to have some amazingly inspirational and talented music teachers throughout my education who really invested and motivated me to become the musician I am today. I would credit them for my enthusiasm for Music and teaching.

What makes BISL such a unique place to work?

The sense of community. Having only been here for around 8 months, what has really struck me is the amazing support everyone has for each other and the feeling that every single person from the staff to the parents and the students plays a crucial role in our BISL family.

How would you describe a typical day at BISL?

“Boss!” As we say in Liverpool. Especially now that the students are back in the building, there is a real buzz around the school. The students really make each day great with their enthusiasm for learning, which really motivates me to be the best teacher I can be and provide the best lessons I can.

Why is the experience of an international education important for a student?

The core values of our school are Respect, Empathy, Excellence & Challenge, in my opinion the most important are the former. It’s essential for me that the students here not only have a good education and do well in their exams but have a greater understanding of the world and the people in it. The diverse range of staff and students from all over the world allows the students to develop a greater respect, empathy and understanding of people from different races, colours, creeds and cultures.

More from our Teacher Feature series