When we choose to go into secondary teaching, we don’t just choose a job, we choose a livelihood. A teacher’s day is far from the boundaries of four walls, a whiteboard and typically 45 minute lessons spent standing in front…
I must admit, my main motivation to sign up for becoming an examiner was financial as I needed some extra income to pay for my wedding dress. However I soon realised I would gain much more from the experience than…
Just over twenty-five years ago, in September 1996, I embarked on my teaching career. It was a different world. The Spice Girls had just released their first album, Tamagotchis were all the rage, and social media was still many years…
The biggest mistake I have made in the Year 11 to 12 transition is to assume that the children who left my classroom at the end of Year 11 would return as adults at the start of Year 12, mysteriously…
In 1991, Collins et al. published “Cognitive Apprenticeship: Making Thinking Visible”, and since reading this it has immeasurably impacted my practice – no more so than in terms of teaching students the thinking processes that occur at this first stage of writing…
For many teachers, the start of a new academic year is akin to the New Year: filled with expectant energy and resolutions that we promise to keep, perhaps to discover that Holy Grail of a work-life balance. Yet, when term…
Unfortunately, early on in my career, I also had several disasters which led to a huge amount of learning time being lost. The main causes/culprits included: ordering the wrong equipment, not being fluent in the steps, a lack of subject…
When you think of sixth form, A-levels are probably the first thing that comes to mind. This route can be good for you if you are someone who is interested in academic subjects. However, for many students, these types of…
If you’re just finishing your first term of Year 11, then you’ve probably started to think about your next step in education. You can apply to as many sixth forms as you want. How can you narrow down your options…