Brighton Miss GB finalist trades beauty pageants for teacher training

Shamima Khatun is training to be a teacher at Brighton University and also writes children’s books.

She has published two children's books called Two Peas In A Pod and Brown Pageant Girl.

Shamima Khatun in the final of Miss GB in 2021 (Image: University of Brighton)

The latter draws on Shamima's experience 2021 of becoming the first Bengali woman to make the final 11 in the Miss Great Britain contest in 2021.

Shamima, who was a dental nurse and dental tutor before training to teach, is hoping to continue her catwalk adventures by competing for Miss South Asia UK this year.

"I also have my third book coming out later this year. It's called I Love My Mummies, and is a story about the LGBQT community and diversity," Shamima said.

Shamima Khatun with her children's book Brown Pageant Girl (Image: University of Brighton)

Her second and third book are illustrated by Emma Clements, a deaf artist.

Shamima said she is passionate about diversity, and likes to work with “different kinds of people.”

The trainee teacher hopes to use her stories when teaching children in the classroom.

"I'm not using my own books just now for teaching," she said. "But I will be using them during school placements very soon."

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Pippa Totraku, principal lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Brighton, said: “I met Shamima during the application and interview process and from that moment it was clear to see that she has the potential to become a truly inspirational teacher.

“She is talented, passionate about children’s education, and it’s a pleasure to have her as a trainee teacher at Brighton.”

These are pages from Shamima's book Brown Pageant Girl (Image: University of Brighton)

Shamima has high praise for her course at Brighton. "The teaching is great, and the support received so far has been wonderful. I feel comfortable, and confident and I enjoy getting involved in class." she says. "

“What surprises me is how passionate our tutors are when it comes to teaching students - it just goes to show how inspiring they are to us when it comes to our learning.”