Personality Profile: Emma Devine
Born and bred in Pompey, the eldest of six Tyler children, Emma grew up in the Cathedral parish: ‘I attended Corpus Christi Primary School before going on to St Edmund's School and Sixth Form.’
Emma then studied Theology at St Mary's Catholic College (Strawberry Hill) in Twickenham. It was there that she also trained as an RE teacher: ‘Having been involved as a teenager in the youth club, Deanery Youth Council, First Communion Programme etc. had definitely helped me decide on a career teaching RE.’
Emma began teaching in 1998 at Oaklands School. She remembers the time with great affection, not the least because that was where she met her future husband Conor (‘We married the following summer...why wait when you have met Mr Right!’).
Emma left Oaklands in 2001 to have their first child, a son, who was quite quickly followed by a sister and a brother. ‘Despite being a full-time Mum, I could be more involved in and contribute more actively to parish life again.’ It was at about that time that Emma, along with sister Kelly, decided to launch the Portsmouth Youth Justice & Peace Group.
In September 2007 Emma returned to teaching part time, ‘back home at St Edmund's’ but this time as a member of the teaching staff: ‘It's wonderful being back in the classroom and teaching RE again. The local Catholic community is a huge part of my life...I am a product of it and I am determined to give back what I can.'