Why teach in a Secondary School?
Just like with any teaching job, being a secondary school teacher is a highly rewarding and enjoyable job. Not only is every day very different to the next, but you will be working closely with children who are at an age where they are developing their skills and personalities. Not only do you get to watch them grow up, but you get to have an impact on the people they become and the characteristics they will have for the rest of their lives.
What does secondary teaching involve?
Secondary school teachers work with children between the ages of 11 and 18 and specialise in teaching one or two subjects from the national curriculum. They are responsible for providing stability, discipline, direction and knowledge to children who come from a variety of backgrounds.
The main difference between primary and secondary teaching is that rather than teaching the whole curriculum, you will specialise in your own subject. This means that rather than teaching one specific class all the time, a secondary school teacher will see a range of different class groups throughout the week. Some people prefer the closeness of being a primary school teacher whereas others prefer the variety of being a secondary school teacher.
What qualifications are needed for secondary teaching?
In order to be a secondary school teacher, a degree is normally required and this should be relevant to the subject that you want to teach. When doing your degree, consider doing a minor in another subject as well as you will be more appealing to schools if you can teach more than one subject.
If you haven’t had any teaching experience or are in between jobs, volunteer as a teaching assistant in a local school, church group or sports association. Even if you haven’t got any qualifications, the fact that you have work experience will look much better on your CV than having nothing at all.
Anybody who wants to be a secondary school teacher in a state maintained school will need to have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) which can be achieved by completing their Initial Teacher Training (ITT). The most common way to do this is by completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course.
A full time PGCE course lasts one year but it can be spread over the course of two years if done part time. A work placement lasting approximately 24 weeks will need to be completed in this time and can sometimes lead to full time employment at the school after all teacher training has finished.
Those who have a degree but it isn’t relevant to teaching can complete a two year PGCE conversion course. Once this has been completed they will be fully qualified to be a secondary school teacher
When you’re looking for a new job, it’s very important to make sure that you have a strong and up to date CV. If you are not sure if your current CV is up to scratch, you can read our tips in our staffroom section which will tell you everything you need to know about creating a quality CV.
Eteach has created Regional and School Talent Pools which have been designed to save schools money and to make job hunting easier for candidates. If there’s a particular school or area that you want to work in, simply join that Talent Pool and then the relevant schools will be able to access your CV even if they’re not currently recruiting. This puts you one step ahead of other job seekers because rather than searching for candidates when vacancies do arise, schools will naturally go to their Talent Pool first as they will already have a selection of CVs waiting for them.
Finally, you can keep up to date with the latest job postings on Eteach by signing up to receive job alerts. Simply Register on Eteach and create your own My Eteach account to subscribe to these.This means that you’ll be the first to know when vacancies you have expressed an interest in arise. This saves you time because instead of you looking for jobs, jobs find you.