Former Army officer who fought in Afghanistan graduates from Cardiff Met

‘Laurence is the perfect example of someone who brings their life experience into the classroom to enhance the learning of his pupils’


A former Army Officer who fought in Afghanistan has joined the graduating class of 2025 at Cardiff Metropolitan University.

Laurence Hooper, from Penarth, spent seven years with the British Army deployed in Afghanistan.

The 42-year-old had been shot and injured his leg, with possibilities of amputation in 2008, in his time with the British Army.

But after seven years of service, Mr Hooper has set out on a new career journey and has become a newly qualified teacher, studying and completing his degree at Cardiff Met.

Mr Hooper has previously worked and lived in London and Dubai, taking on senior roles in construction.

The former Army officer had also gone on to run a decompression facility in Cyprus for soldiers returning from combat.

Despite his plethora of lived experiences around the world in the British Army, it wasn’t until family holiday where Mr Hooper discovered a new passion for a career in teaching.

Describing the spark of his interest, Mr Hooper said: “I was teaching a group of my sons friends chess an dither dad complimented me on my calm approach, commenting that I should be a teacher.”

The former captain explained that he “was really enjoying explaining the rules of the games”, expressing how it “sparked something” within him, which made his think about becoming a teacher, something which he has never considered before.

At the point of Mr Hooper’s interest, he was running his fathers construction firm and said: “A business which had been in our family for over four decades and I was at a bit of a crossroads with where to take the business next.”

He then decided to unroll on the PCGE at Cardiff Met, and has since graduated from the PGCE secondary mathematics (11-18 age range) with QTS.

Mr Hooper has already accepted and secured a position as a newly qualified teacher and is due to start teaching in September.

The Senior Lecturer in Initial Teacher Education and Professional Learning at Cardiff Met, Cameron Stewart has said: “Laurence is the perfect example of someone who brings their life experience into the classroom to enhance the learning of his pupils.”

Mr Hooper has only confirmed this by saying: “Previous life experience and having had a career before experience for children and their learning.

“Giving the curriculum a real-world context helps make education relevant to pupils no matter what we are talking about.”

Featured image via Cardiff Met