Former Gordon's School teacher provides online countrywide classroom; The Conscientious Biologist

With the arrival of lockdown last spring, teachers found themselves in the unfamiliar position of having to give lessons online. Biology teacher Ben Gallagher discovered a talent for it and is making his videos available for free for students all across the country, through YouTube.

His videos are now being watched by GCSE Biology students everywhere, with teachers using them as part of their remote teaching and many parents for home-schooling.

The former Head of Biology at Gordon’s School in Surrey, had returned there to cover a maternity leave when COVID struck. Ben had long planned to do some online resources and virtual lessons, but the sudden necessity for providing for his Gordon’s pupils brought his plan forward and he began making his Biology lessons freely available to anyone online, as a way of doing his bit to help others.

“All of us teachers feel so desperately sorry for the kids, so we're all doing our best to ensure they are provided for and don't fall behind” said Ben, adding: “I cannot go into a hospital like a doctor or nurse, but this is something I can do, using the skills and experience I have”.

So far he has made around 80 YouTube videos for his channel; The Conscientious Biologist. Each lasts between 15 and 30 minutes and they cover the entire GCSE syllabus. Coding and animations for the videos are self-taught with each video taking between four and eight hours to make.

While there is plenty of material on the internet to help with revision and review, Mr Gallagher’s videos are as close to actual classroom teaching as can be achieved remotely, though Ben admits that nothing can replace the interactive dynamics of real face to face teaching.

The Conscientious Biologist has so far attracted some 1,400 subscribers with many emailing to tell him how much it is helping them.

One Year 11 student said: “Thank you for all the effort you’ve put into online lessons. You’ve really turned around my views on biology and I have learnt so much.”

Another wrote: “The YouTube videos are amazing. They cover all the content in very specific detail, which is very easy to understand.”

Parents too have emailed so say they are using the videos and teachers to ask him to extend his teaching videos to cover A Levels!

Gordon’s Head Teacher Andrew Moss is also a fan: “Ben offers outstanding content and an engaging teaching style focused on developing students’ knowledge and extending their subject-specific skill acquisition. He’s also great fun to watch and the students really enjoy his lessons.”

You can find Ben's videos on both Facebook and YouTube, by searching for The Conscientious Biologist.