This document contains testimonials from former students praising Patricia Hinde's teaching abilities and impact. The students describe her as an outstanding, dedicated, and caring teacher. They highlight her thorough yet fun approach to teaching Spanish, and ability to engage students and make learning enjoyable. Multiple students note pursuing Spanish further due to her inspiration and support. The testimonials demonstrate Mrs. Hinde's passion for her subject and ability to motivate students to learn.

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Mrs Patricia Hinde MA, B.Ed
Application for Head of Spanish
Former St Edward’s Pupils Testimonials1
I first met Patricia Hinde back in 2006 when I started at St Edwards as a shell doing fast-
track Spanish. 9 years on, I still remember her as a truly outstanding teacher, dedicated to
her work and incredibly caring towards all her students and colleagues. I particularly
remember her very thorough and organized approach to teaching, and care ensuring that all
her students were up to date and on top of the subject before moving on. However, despite
her thorough approach, I also remember her brilliant ability to lighten the curriculum and
bring her natural sense of fun into the classroom. I will always look fondly upon her
Simpsons’ themed curriculum (‘Los Simpsones’), her love for Shakira and her uncanny
ability to make everything, even learning the verb ‘to be’, into a game.
Since St Edwards, Patricia has continued to play an important role in my life. In 2013,
Patricia invited me out to teach in Colombia where she decided as a summer project, in
addition to her main job, to set up a school in her local neighbourhood. With her support and
initiative I was able to gain my TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) qualification,
some brilliant teaching experience, and an amazing set of memories from Colombia, which I
will treasure for a long time.
For these reasons I can fully recommend Patricia for this post. She would not only be a
brilliant teacher, but would form a key part of the wonderful educational community at
Teddies, bringing much enthusiasm and joy to everything she does.
Ben Street
Mrs Hinde was my first Spanish teacher and inspired me to pursue learning the language to
date as I am taking a Spanish module in my fourth year at uni and spent the last year on
Erasmus in Madrid. I remember she had incredibly clear and interactive power-points which
helped massively to engage beginners. Not only were her lessons very good - including a
mix of the essential tools and Hispanic culture - but she also encouraged us to take part in
Spanish evenings and put on a successful Hispanic show. I remember my first two years of
Spanish with much fondness thanks to Mrs Hinde!
Fiona Shajko
I was lucky enough to have you almost entirely through my time at St. Edward's. My first
Spanish class with you in Shells I was in one of the beginner groups, having only studied
Spanish for two years. You immediately saw a potential and ability in me and within the first
few weeks I was in your advanced class. It is undoubtedly due to that first push that I am
studying Spanish at University now. You consistently helped me with my Spanish, allowing
me to achieve the results I wanted in exams, and the ability and confidence to actually speak
Spanish. It was never about "exam preparation" - only learning exactly what would come up
1 Testimonials sentin by email in January 2015 and unedited.

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in the exam, but truly learning and enjoying the language. Our classes were always
enjoyable, and stimulating with a variety of tasks to complete to keep us motivated. You also
always emphasised the importance of using only Spanish in the class, rather than relying on
English.
Chris Hatton
I am writing to confirm that Mrs Hinde taught me for two years at St Edwards Oxford. Within
that time, she was enthusiastic and passionate in her classes. In particular, we covered the
building blocks of Spanish in great detail to the extent that I now have a very solid grasp of
Spanish grammar. She was patient if something needed explaining.
Mrs Hinde's Colombian nationality was a great benefit and inspiration in her teaching. There
is never a better method than being taught by a native teacher. I also became hugely
interested in Colombia itself, an interest I pursued by travelling to Colombia itself a few years
later.
I can vouch that Mrs Hinde is an exceptional teacher and would be highly suited for a role as
HD in Spanish.
Lily French
Patti taught me Spanish for a number of years during my time at St Edward's. She is a
particularly strong teacher with a real enthusiasm and passion about the subject which she
teaches. This is transferred onto her pupils which not only makes her an incredibly effective
teacher but also means that those who are taught by her develop a genuine interest in the
subject they study. She mixes up her teaching styles meaning her lessons are never
repetitive but remain dynamic. At the same time she maintains control over her pupils well
and is well respected by all.
Ben Abdoo
Mrs Hinde is a really inspiring teacher and was the reason I chose to continue my Spanish
from GCSE to A level. She filled me with confidence and I definitely could not have got my A
grade without her.
Flo Christie
Patricia certainly had a bit of a challenge coming to the UK and taking on myself and 4 other
extremely naughty and testing teenagers. In the first couple of weeks we did everything we
could not to learn Spanish but she soon won us over! Her approach to teaching was
extremely well-thought out, humble and always open to hearing our thoughts. I'll never forget
when she brought a Columbian cake in for us to try and taught us about the Spanish culture

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in Colombia. No other teacher I'd ever met had been so passionate about their heritage, it
really rubbed off on us and we became keen to learn more.
Iona Ratcliffe
[School Prefect Avenue 2006-2007]
Patricia’s contribution to St. Edward’s in 2007 and 2008 was monumental in that she
introduced and coordinated the first ever Hispanic Show which ran for two consecutive years
in which she remained at Teddies. I was very proud to perform a rendition of a revolutionary
Latin American song which Patricia introduced to me in class. Patricia inspires students to
not only learn Spanish but to discover the culture, the music, the people and more. For this
reason it is beneficial to have a native teacher and in the case of Patricia, her kind attitude
provides an authentic insight into the friendliness of her culture and the Spanish speaking
community.
Patricia’s excellence as a contributor to the MFL department and to St. Edward’s pupils
extends to the organization of school trips including a trip to the Costa Brava in 2007 and an
unforgettable tour of Barcelona.
Although dialects do not differ too radically, Patricia’s non-accented, Colombian Spanish is
particularly commendable as it is the most contemporary and grammatically standardized of
all dialects and therefore the most widely applicable to travel, to the arts and to international
affairs. On top of that, Colombian Spanish is the most widely spoken dialect in the United
Kingdom given Britain’s large Latin American community of mainly Colombian descent.
Felix Charnley
There was always a supportive and friendly environment in the classroom. The lessons
were very engaging because we learnt the Spanish language alongside Hispanic culture.
Mrs Hinde encouraged us to actually speak as much Spanish as we could in the classroom
from the beginning and we felt able to give it a go. She used fun methods and images to
help secure basic grammar.
Lucy Johnson
Patti Hinde: taught me GCSE Spanish for two years, and although I wasn't the most applied
student, she put the time to ensure that I came with a decent grade. I would commend her
on her patience and ability to teach a large with class a range of capabilities. It was excellent
to have a teacher, whose first language was the one being taught, in order to pick up the
correct accent and proper practice. Her lessons were both fun and interactive, whilst we
were also challenged and pushed beyond our comfort zones, as to best enhance our
educational capabilities and fulfil our potential.
Hugo Brister

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The Spanish lessons Patti taught me were always engaging and challenging. They catered
for all capabilities within the class and were always well communicated. No question was
ever too stupid to ask and the answer given was explained well. Spanish lessons with Patti
inspired me to go onto and study Spanish not only at university but into my career too.
Emily Lunnon
Mrs Hinde was a wonderful Spanish teacher, she made learning fun by interacting with the
class and using fun games to learn Spanish and introducing us to Spanish music and songs
and a bit about the culture as well as the language. She motivated us to work hard in all
areas, grammar, listening and speaking. She paid individual attention to each member of the
class and helped each one through what they particularly struggled with. She moved at the
perfect pace so that everyone was able to keep up and be challenged at the same time. I still
remember the Spanish I learnt from her today and achieved an A in my GCSE
Lucinda Brogan-higgins
An enthusiastic and passionate teacher, Patti was a very popular teacher amongst her
students who would always strive to get the best work out of them. As a native Colombian,
Patti offered a different perspective in her Spanish teaching which was both refreshing and
exciting. It is testament to Patti, her teaching and the impact that she had on so many of her
students that her lessons are remembered with particular affection several years after we
have left school.
Fergus Bibby
Mrs Hinde was my Spanish teacher for around 3 years during my time at Teddies. She was
compassionate and understanding and always strived to help us understand the language in
a fun and engaging way. She always looked out for anyone struggling in the class and made
sure to give them extra help if they needed. I went on a school trip to El Salvador with Mrs
Hinde to improve my Spanish, where she helped us learn and get involved with the culture
by taking us to see schools, visit volcanoes as well as visiting sick children in the hospital. I
really enjoyed having her as much teacher
Laura Burridge

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Being in an intense and hardworking school like St Edwards where you are constantly
surrounded by students in classes and in sport it is key to have a tutor you trust and feel
comfortable talking to. A tutor is not just there to make sure you are keeping on top of your
work and preparing yourself for the future, a tutor is someone you can always come to when
you need to step away and talk to. That is what Patti was to me and I know to a lot of girls in
Avenue. She would always wait and listen to what I had to say before assuming anything. I
felt extremely comfortable talking to her not only about school work but my time at Teddies
as well. She took the time to get to know us and was a solid part of my time at school. You
always knew you could trust Patti with anything you told her and would always do her best to
help us out. in short Patti was a big part of my time at Teddies which is why it was lovely to
hear from her lately and felt great to let her know how much has changed from school and to
feel her genuine interest in her Avenue girls this long on.
Harriet Conafray