A cookery teacher has found himself teaching hundreds more pupils than he's used to thanks to his growing following online.

Jonathan Dix, a food technology tutor at Dartford Science and Technology College (DSTC), has began hosting Instagram live classes to teach primary and secondary school pupils across the country.

During the first lockdown, Mr Dix, from Swanley, created a Youtube channel called Cooking With Mr Dix to teach his pupils from home.

He said: "When schools shut for the first time last March, I made the channel to encourage my pupils to still cook from home.

"The videos were a success because they're easy to follow, you can pause it when you need to and follow along. It's much easier than a printed recipe sheet."

So far Cooking with Mr Dix has gained more than 1,000 subscribers.

Mr Dix said: "Although the Youtube channel worked really well, when we went back to school, I began uploading less as I was actually in the classroom.

"However, when we went back into a third lockdown I decided to begin Instagram live videos.

"This meant students could follow me along in the kitchen during real time."

As head of Year 7 and 8, he is in charge of the engagement DSTC has with primary school pupils transitioning into secondary school. This has meant he can teach a range of age groups online.

He said: "By cooking on Instagram live I'm able to interact with my viewers.

"They can ask me questions during the video and I can respond straight away, so if they didn't quite understand something I can repeat it."

Mr Dix, 45, can have up to 150 students viewing his live streams per session, and recently, even had an American family take part.

Mr Dix said: "After the sessions I get really good feedback and students - not just from DSTC, but all over the country - send me pictures of their dishes."

Most of the videos are recorded at DSTC's kitchens, where Mr Dix also teaches a hospitality and catering GCSE.

Principal of DSTC, Anne Davis, said: "Mr Dix is a vibrant, inspiring and motivational teacher, his classes are always a hive of activity and his results are usually the best in the school.

"He knows what he is doing being an ex chef and loves to help others have a passion for cooking.

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"I am proud and privileged that he works at DSTC."

The live sessions take place at 3.30 pm every Thursday for primary pupils and at 3.30 pm every Friday for secondary students.

You can find out more or watch Mr Dix's videos on Twitter, Instagram and Youtube.

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