We’re always shouting about our students and showcasing their amazing progression pathways after they graduate from Franklin. But we have so many incredible members of our teaching staff that deserve their own turn in the limelight. That’s why we wanted to highlight Chemistry course tutor, Tony Charlton.
Tony joined us back in 2020 from The Gainsborough Academy where he served as a Teacher of Science and a Gifted & Talented Coordinator. Before that, he taught Science at Tollbar Academy after gaining a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry with Analytical Chemistry & Toxicology at the University of Hull.
Despite starting Franklin just before the pandemic struck, he quickly adapted and has become an indispensable member of the Science, Maths, and Engineering team, and a valued colleague across College.
A credit to the college
It’s not only us that sings Tony’s praises, but students too. Chloe, a second-year student who graduated from Franklin this year, recently got in touch with a heart-warming message about him.
With Chloe’s kind permission, we’ve included her impassioned endorsement below:
“Throughout the last 2 years, Tony has continually extended his duties beyond the specification/curriculum to aid students to develop their understanding of both the content and how to manipulate exam questions given in unknown context to allow us to achieve grades that stretch our abilities.
“This includes finding creative ways to elaborate content for our understanding, or to motivate us through particularly challenging content. He has also shown extraordinary dedication to his duties, most notably seen in his return-to-work post-surgery to ensure his personal matters had little to no impact on our education.
“Similarly, Tony is always open to adapting his teaching style in order to best fit the needs of his students; this included his own evaluation based upon experience that his prior strategies were ineffective, giving students options of learning and trialling new methods to improve our learning.
“This was especially evident following October 2022 when many of his Year 2 students found that they were struggling with the content via flipped learning: with this information, Tony provided several options for how he could change the way we were taught. Personally, this, alongside other factors, helped improve my grades from C’s/D’s to A’s/B’s.
“Despite a humoured exterior towards emotional concerns, Tony has always dealt with our problems with the utmost respect, tact, and compassion, regardless of how tedious they may be. This has often included taking time out of his day to ensure that his students’ emotional well-being isn’t impacting their academic progress and offering varying support/guidance depending on the severity of their issues.
“Overall, Tony is a credit to the department and the college; it has been a true privilege to have been one of his students.”
Chloe, we couldn’t agree more.
