‘I went from a council estate to Eton, to Lehman Bros... before becoming a maths teacher’

Bobby Seagull, 39, is a campaigner for better maths literacy as well as being a part-time maths teacher, author and broadcaster. He shot to fame after appearing on University Challenge in 2017, whilst completing a teacher training course.

He has co-presented the BBC science and tech TV series, Monkman and Seagull’s Genius Guide to Britain, regularly releases maths challenges on Radio 4 and created maths puzzles for BBC Bitesize. 

He also leads a course on money management at The Open University and is an advocate for public libraries. 

He lives in Stratford, East London.

Did you have a good financial start in life?

My parents came from Kerala in South India to East London in the late seventies. We grew up on a council estate; my father was an IT specialist and my mother worked for Royal Mail. 

Money was always tight. I don’t think I had a family holiday until I was 15. But the thing that was valued in our family was education. 

Dad always told us that if you get educated in this country you can succeed. 

We used to go to the library every Saturday and get about 20 books out. We had a financially poor upbringing, but from an educational and spiritual point of view, an uplifting one.

Did you get any pocket money?

We would have a routine: we would watch Blue Peter or Newsround after school, and then Dad would come home after work and say: “You have to do school work from between six and eight.” 

He would give us about 5p for every half hour slot we did. So pocket money was correlated to study.

When did you realise you were interested in maths?

When I was very young. I am a massive West Ham fan. We used to collect football stickers; the sticker books were treasure troves of data: names, ages, height and goals scored etc. 

I realised you could understand football by statistics and that’s where my love of figures and maths came from.

How did your Eton scholarship influence your attitude to money?

I went to a good state Catholic school then joined Eton as a sixteen-year old. 

You’d think I would have felt intimidated, but I was impressed by the sports facilities, music and drama and I made some very good friends. I also saw how the other half live and that is why, in part, I now have this drive to challenge education inequality.

I could not just follow a career only in television and I still teach part-time in a school (Little Ilford School in Newham). I can use my television career to raise awareness and make sure we, as a nation, educate everyone.

What was your first job?

In my gap year, before university, I worked as an accountant with KPMG. My first pay packet was about £1,000 per month, quite good for 2002-2003 as an 18-year old.

When did you decide to leave finance for teaching?

I had worked in banking for seven years, including at Lehman Brothers as a trader until they collapsed.

Later I worked at PwC to qualify as an accountant when I took a sabbatical teaching new graduates. I found that the graduates really engaged with how I brought finance to life for them.

I was on a path to having, financially, a very successful career but I realised I could have more of an impact, educating. So, in 2014 I left the City; I went to Cambridge to do my teacher training and became a teacher. 

I went from a six-figure income to a starting salary of about £25,000. It was a really big drop but the richness of working with others, the satisfaction that I felt, more than made up for it.

What is the hardest lesson you have learnt about money?

That money comes and goes. It’s like the Micawber principle in David Copperfield. Where he says: “Annual income £20, annual expenditure £19, 19 and six, result, happiness. Annual income £20, annual expenditure £20, ought and six, result, misery.”

I learnt from a young age when I did not have much money, it was easier to live within your means. 

What financial advice would you give to young people?

Start saving and investing as early as possible. As a maths teacher, I always remind my students about the power of compound interest, which is especially impactful if you start in your twenties. 

A lot of people when they get to their forties and fifties, think, “Oh, I will start saving”, and it is never too late, but in your early twenties, if you start putting 10pc into your pension and 10pc in to your investments (as I do), it’s like paying your future self. 

You need to get that habit in, early on, so it compounds over years. 

Where do you invest?

My investments tend to be in emerging markets and tech funds. They are speculative and long term and might take hits over the next five to ten years but the way the world is developing, they are the future.

I have even dabbled in crypto. I got burnt a bit but it’s fine as it was a very small percentage of my portfolio and it’s not going to shake me.

Pension or property?

Both. I have my own flat in East London but I also believe in having a pension. I have always taken up whatever matched pension contribution my employers have offered, and have put the maximum amount in. 

If you can afford to, I would strongly encourage anyone who has a matched pension scheme to utilise this to the maximum. Even if only matched at 2pc, you are getting an additional 2pc topped up at no further cost to you. 

And over time with compounding interest and a diverse portfolio, this can make a significant impact on your retirement. 

It might seem decades away for people in their 20s or 30s, but your future self will thank you.

What has been your financial breakthrough?

I think it was getting the Eton scholarship. At the time it was worth about £30,000 per year and it opened my eyes to a whole different world of possibility. 

I realised what doors money and privilege could open, and actually, if I wanted to make an impact, I needed to be in touch with the people in those privileged positions.

What is your greatest indulgence?

Probably sports stuff. I spent my first pay packet (from KPMG) on a season ticket at West Ham as well as the full kit. I spend a lot of money on sports channel subscriptions such as SKY and BT. 

I also like gym memberships. I have two. 

I like being active; I also play tennis and badminton and I’m in a running club. 

Does money bring happiness?

When I worked in the City I realised that a certain amount of money makes you feel happy and comfortable. You can go on holidays, have a car, pay off your mortgage and look after loved ones. 

But beyond a certain amount, it’s not actually the money that makes you happy, it’s the relationships around you. 

After university, I set up a social enterprise supporting sixth form students and every weekend, I would help them apply to university. That was me gaslighting. I realised helping people is what brings me to life.