Meet our Capital Staff Team

Full Name: Zoë Lynskey

Current Job Title: Teacher of English and Teaching Lead in the English Department.

Where did you grow up? I grew up in a rural area of the South Island of New Zealand, just outside Christchurch.

What was your favourite subject at school? Surprisingly, English was not my favourite subject at school, although it was definitely in the top five. Maths was actually my favourite subject because I had the nicest teacher, who always had time for us. Classics was my second favourite subject because I was (am) fascinated by ancient history and coming from New Zealand really wanted to travel and see the sites in Greece and Rome.

What University did you go to? I went to the University of Canterbury for my undergrad and the Christchurch Teachers' College for post graduate teaching training.

What did you study at University? My undergraduate degree is a double major in English Literature and Classical Studies. I also minored in Psychology. And obviously I studied Education, but after I completed my undergraduate degree.

What made you decide to go into teaching? Originally I wanted to be an archaeologist like Indiana Jones, but my dreams were shattered by the careers counsellor at my high school when she told me that the work was more like dusting dirt off rocks rather than being chased by them through a booby-trapped tomb. I decided to get into teaching because I taught karate while I was at high school and university, and enjoyed seeing how passionate my students were and how I could help them make progress in their own training.

What are your hobbies outside of work? One of my favourite things to do outside work is hiking. There are a lot of opportunities to go hiking in New Zealand and I would often just pack up and go walking and camping for the weekend. I have been hiking in other exciting places too, a few years ago my mother and I climbed Mt Kilimanjaro. Less strenuous hobbies include visiting galleries and films - I even did some film papers at university and taught film in New Zealand.

What are your favourite part of the job you currently do? I still love to see students make progress and connections with their learning. Seeing my students succeed is the absolute best part of the job that I do! This is what originally drew me to teaching and 10 years down the track the thought of seeing all those lightbulbs go off (metaphorically) gets me into work in the morning.

What are your favourite thing about working at Capital? I love being at Capital for so many reasons, but especially because we are in the middle of the coolest city in the world. Growing up in New Zealand (which is a baby country in comparison in the UK) I would have given anything to be a half-hour's train/bus ride away from Shakespeare's Globe or be able to see the artefacts in the British Museum in person, rather than on paper. Living here is such a great opportunity to enhance one's learning. You are all so lucky.