PROFILE

Mr John West has a teaching career spanning 44 years. He studied and began teaching in the UK in 1961. He moved to India in 1965 and has since been associated with academics.

Mr West studied in Bromley Grammar School, London, and went on to do his secondary and college education from Sir John Cass College, University of London and the Department of Education, Regent's Park College, University of Oxford respectively. He also worked for a couple of years in a research lab under the British Scientific Research Association.

In India, he began teaching in Mount Hermon School, Darjiling, where he taught till 1980 Soon which he joined as a Chemistry teacher in the school department of the prestigious St Joseph's College, Darjiling. He taught here for 22 years.

Mr West is also a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the largest organisation in Europe for the advancement of chemical sciences.

Apart from this, his 30-year-long association with the ICSE Council has enabled him to assess the works of thousands of ICSE students from all over the country. He has been actively involved in developing syllabuses for the Council. Today, Mr West conducts teacher-training workshops in Chemistry for the ICSE Council.

Mr West who has authored four books on Chemistry says that he has always tried to make Chemistry simple and interesting for students. His teaching and workshop experiences have stood him in good stead. Mr West believes that a teacher should "look for the best in boys and girls". This simple motto perhaps explains his astounding success with students.