Passion for Music and Maths

Jenny Gould has been a part of the Marsden staff since 2014. Born in Birmingham, Jenny had a very musical upbringing, and she brings her skills, passion and love of music to enrich our students' experiences of learning, performing and creating music themselves. Jenny is equally passionate about Maths and her students look forward to her creative and engaging lessons.

From an early age

Jenny says she has loved music since aged three when she scratched her name on the family piano to claim it as her own. At seven the piano teacher allowed her to start lessons and she never looked back, adding recorder and flute. By 14 she was in the city-wide band that traveled to America to perform, at 15 she was in a concert orchestra that went to Norway and by 18 she had been to Paris as part of the city symphony and played for the Queen!

Teaching background

Jenny knew she wanted to teach so when she finished high school she chose to go to the University of Exeter where she achieved a BA(Ed) Hons in Geography and Education rather than pursuing a strictly musical pathway. Throughout university she continued to sing in choirs and play in orchestras and even managed to make some money doing pit work for performances. A teaching job in Ledbury, Herefordshire followed where she taught Year 4 and 5 and was the PE Coordinator. It was there she met and worked under her life mentor who taught her how to lead choirs and orchestras. Several teaching jobs followed and then Jenny did a postgraduate diploma in Technology and Education at the University of Hertford.

In 2003, she was approached to become an Advanced Skills Teacher (similar to ACET in New Zealand). Following her training she had the privilege of working with teachers all over Hertfordshire and that inspired her to develop her practice and create pathways for mutual learning and shared knowledge among teachers. In 2004 the Hertfordshire County Council paid for her to attend Cambridge University to study for a Masters of Education. Following that she worked for the local county council as a National Numeracy Adviser, running training courses for teachers as well as working alongside them in school. She even wrote a resource book to support Primary teachers working with advanced mathematical students. 

Family and spare time

Jenny, her partner Nick, and at the time only child Kate, moved to New Zealand in 2009 where she worked as a tutor and external marker for the Education Faculty at Victoria University and part-time teacher at Karori West Normal School. Her second child, Daniel, arrived in 2012. Despite all the accolades she has received through her teaching career Jenny says her greatest achievement is her children. 

In her spare time Jenny loves singing in a local choir, Nota Bene, traveling, tramping, cycling, cooking and learning about new places. We feel privileged to have Jenny on our staff where she daily achieves her goal of inspiring all children to enjoy music without limits.