We all know Mrs Oxley as the English teacher that loads you down with lots of poetry and teaches you how to speak and write perfect English; but what if I told you that she is a great musician, a passionate traveller and lover of acting?

You probably would not believe me, right? Well the purpose of “Five minutes with …” is exactly this, to help you to learn about the people around you here at school.

Mrs Oxley loves travelling. During her many years of globetrotting, she has come into contact with many populations and the customs of many people from different parts of the world.

“My passion for travelling started when I was 16, I had do go abroad with the orchestra I was playing in; there I met a person that inspired me and I decided that I would teach English in foreign countries”.

And so she did.

Miss Oxley tells me how she  got her first job in Singapore but then quit it as she felt that the country was “too hot”.

“I then moved to Japan, I taught English to adults: housewives, businessmen and college students, I loved (and still love) teaching. Furthermore, I met my husband back in Japan” she continues.

Before coming to Italy, Mrs Oxley lived in a range of different countries. After various transfers to Australia, Portugal, Turkey, Egypt and the Czech Republic, she finally established here in Milan.

“My biggest hobby is music; I started playing the violin at the tender age of 7 years and never stopped … although, when I was about 15 years old, I found a double bass in the school’s music room, I fell in love with the instrument and I started taking lessons” Miss Oxley reveals when I ask her when her love for music started. She is also a great singer and will soon be appearing  in the school’s production of Grease.

Being a teacher does not mean that you like your job but Miss Oxley expressly tells me that she enjoys what she does as she “loves how teenagers always have new ideas and are lively”.