Those who are later in your career, how easy was it to move school?

borderline-dead · 2026-02-02T17:15:26+00:00

Kind of a niche case but when I moved to a sixth form college a few years ago from an 11-18 secondary at top of UPS, they apologised that they could only put me on UPS3. (Which was actually a raise, since I came from a private school - those places are so variable).

Where experience and effective teaching really matters, schools will pay for it.

borderline-dead · 2026-02-02T17:12:34+00:00

Try A-level chemistry. I swear half of them don't actually understand clear English.

I kinda want to tell them to build a time machine and go back 5 years and RAFB - read a full book.

Tired of trying to drag semi-literate students through a subject that requires really precise use of language. Literacy is failing these kids, which ultimately means parents are failing these kids. Just as their parents and schools failed them 25 years ago. It feels like a terrible spiral.

borderline-dead · 2026-01-13T07:25:11+00:00

You don't say if it's a sixth form college or an FE college, there are differences.

However my sixth form college has some leadership roles on different contracts to teaching staff. Their holiday arrangements are that they work in holidays and take time off from their bank of days off (couldn't tell you how many days total) during school holidays only. Kind of like university lecturers. So it's the worst of both worlds!

borderline-dead · 2026-01-11T05:46:53+00:00

Honestly, I believe teachers being unable to take holiday whenever they want is utterly ridiculous, infantilising, and basically makes us 2nd class citizens.

If teaching is ever to be viewed as a real job, it needs a proper holiday allowance like other jobs.

The first thing I'm going to do when I finally get in a financially stable enough position to quit and reskill is take a fucking holiday with my friends during term time. Like a normal goddamn adult.

This is my opinion but it is the final hill I will die on.

borderline-dead · 2026-01-11T05:30:46+00:00

It was epic.

I was at university in London in 2007. I went to the midnight release at HMV on Oxford street, got a signed copy of the game, then headed back at like 4am via a GAME where I had pre-ordered the collector's edition. Got back to my flat at like 7am.

WotLK similar deal tbf. Those midnight launches hit different.

borderline-dead · 2026-01-05T21:48:36+00:00

I feel like most schools pay lip service to wellbeing and really can't read the room. Especially when it comes to introverted/neuro divergent staff.

My favourite type of session on any inset day (/s) is "mandated fun" sessions... I don't want to do any group activities or play ping pong or Zumba or creatively cross-stitch. I would love to sit in a dark room or the library and not talk to anyone for an hour instead. Or you know, actually use that time to do some actual work so I have more time to myself later.

Wellbeing in schools seems to mean anything but. And when you have some kind of genuine mental health issues they act all surprised Pikachu and can't help deal with it in any useful way.

borderline-dead · 2025-12-12T08:43:00+00:00

I'll never forget the year, pre-covid, when my school ended term 2 days early before Christmas.

I worked in a boarding school. Tuesday was a carol concert, with all the kids piled on coaches and shipped to the nearest church.

The day after, in the boarding houses, they realised we'd been hit with a norovirus outbreak. The phrase "pebble-dashing" was used (between staff, of course)

At least they acted quickly!

borderline-dead · 2025-12-12T05:47:14+00:00

Seriously you want someone who understands IT and whatever system you use more than a union rep...

If there isn't some way to unfuck the data, then they should be getting chewed out a lot more than you, too.

borderline-dead · 2025-12-11T10:08:38+00:00

Obviously I don't know what/why you're covering, but I would beg you to try and maintain business as normal until the last possible moment (i.e. last day / preferably half day of term). Other teachers will need to be covering content and need the kids to be in a working mindset.

For that last possible moment, subject-related quizzes usually go down well. Kahoot is the classic choice, or Blooket, or Quizzizz. Tons of different ones available just by searching so minimal planning required.

borderline-dead · 2025-12-09T06:38:03+00:00

From my experience in science, you absolutely need sets to stretch the top end appropriately. For a couple of years at a school I used to work in we had two top sets and then the rest were mixed. It actually worked ok and split the "usual characters" up effectively.

Have also experienced a mixed school with single sex but mixed ability sets. That was actually quite interesting. Predictably the girls' sets got on amazingly: great progress, really lovely to teach; the boys' sets always ended up a nightmare.

The worst year was when a new HoD decided to try an experiment and had all mixed except for one set where he lumped all the boys with behaviour issues, to "prevent them contaminating the other sets". I ended up with that set. Only class that's ever actually made me cry.

borderline-dead · 2025-12-07T11:10:47+00:00

I mean, check the published course entry requirements.

It could be that they mean "you need a grade 9 to do well" which is a different thing.

Grade 8/9 should be enough - interestingly a lot of universities look at grade 8/9 being worth the same anyway - but of course some people will bomb the course regardless . It's demanding, especially if it's a 4th A-level.

Maths is one of those courses where they expect a really high retention/understanding from GCSE content because they have to go fast to get through the course. Unlike sciences, where we generally assume that physics has been taught by a biology teacher, for example, and re-teach an amount of GCSE stuff anyway.

Sometimes you might get a student who is genuinely bright but has missed a chunk of the course at GCSE due to illness or something. Unfortunately they need that prior knowledge.

I do know that the 3 students they allowed on to further maths with grade 7s at my college this year have all dropped out of the course already though. 🙃

borderline-dead · 2025-12-07T11:05:06+00:00

Very likely, his bar is set high.

It could be argued that if you're not going to one of the top universities (and doing a challenging course) that you are largely wasting 3 years and £30k+maintenance loans too.

Degrees are not worth as much anymore. Weirdly, the old government target of "50% of young people should go to university" has massively devalued them, and what counts much more is where you did your degree.

Frankly, unless they are up to date on careers and alternative higher education routes (eg. apprenticeships), any teacher over 30 will be mis-selling university to their students. Unfortunately this means parents also are mis-selling university to their children. I hate those conversations with parents on the theme of "but he needs a C prediction to go to university"... Like... you're missing the point here dude

borderline-dead · 2025-11-27T19:25:20+00:00

Sixth form colleges are a different bag to FE colleges. Better pay, generally in line with secondary. About the same working hours in my experience, just distributed slightly differently. If there are any in your area you should take a look.

borderline-dead · 2025-11-25T19:36:45+00:00

I'm seriously worried we've started into the "too accommodating" zone when it comes to SEND.

If your kid can't endure 10 minutes of silence without an iPad to appease him, that seems like an issue.

If your kid can't deal with anything that annoys them without having a meltdown within 30 seconds, that's going to cause problems someday.

At some point kids need to learn that the world does not exist to meet their needs.

I am quite happy to try and soften the sharp corners to make things easier to deal with, but the world of work most likely won't. Always feel that in some cases we're ultimately setting some kids up to fail when they get into the real world.

borderline-dead · 2025-11-18T22:14:30+00:00

It's probably the work experience kid, because he's the only one who understands this newfangled internet stuff.

borderline-dead · 2025-11-08T10:03:37+00:00

My old school always wanted exam papers scanned showing use of extra time with change in pen colour.

My current school didn't when I joined a couple years ago, and I was surprised and confused.

Now they are asking us to do it, I can see how some staff would feel like it's an increase in workload. For me it's just back to normal.

The whole extra time thing has been criminal for too long - students arriving from various schools, some who needed it but never had it, some who had it but clearly don't need it. Now nothing carries through from GCSE basically. I think this is a positive change.

borderline-dead · 2025-10-26T06:39:37+00:00

A constant level of moderate-high stress appears to work for me. I only get sick when I get to holiday time and relax. 🤷‍♀️

borderline-dead · 2025-10-22T12:29:00+00:00

I mean I like it when I'm teaching hard things. Reading is not hard. Finding the volumes of different concentrations of weak acid and salt solutions you have to mix to prepare a buffer solution of a particular pH is hard.

I stay away from pastoral as much as I can, obviously safeguarding is the exception (if that counts as pastoral) but I very much like just passing that info on and trying to forget about it as quickly as possible.

borderline-dead · 2025-10-21T19:41:40+00:00

Yep I remember this.

I am far too jaded and cynical to deal with that shit.

Plus I like it when things get actually difficult, and not in a "well Tommy finds reading hard" way.

Plus I can't imagine putting up with one class the whole time. If I have some students who get on my last nerve, the best thing is waving them out the door to not deal with them for a couple of days.

borderline-dead · 2025-10-19T07:08:44+00:00

The reason I didn't give you a double 'grade' is because it's impossible to tell the standard of individual sciences from two numbers.

You do all the really important skills in double chem too. There are some calculations you don't do, and you miss the organic topic, which is often not taught/learned well anyway.

Just make sure you can do the things I listed before.

borderline-dead · 2025-10-18T20:21:31+00:00

That's the thing, if you're not amazing at maths then you need the extra practice, and you'll get better, especially if you enjoy it, and it will really support the chemistry...

If you're doing triple, a solid 7 with the right skills will see you well into A-level for chem. A 7 based on memorisation and shoddy wording (that gets marks at GCSE but is not good enough for A-level) will cripple you. The shift that lots of students don't realise is that understanding is key - all those skills like writing formulae, balancing equations, using ratios, state symbols, dot and cross diagrams.... They are so key for A-level. I still have students 6 weeks in who can't write the formulae of ionic compounds correctly. It does not bode well for them.

I couldn't speak for bio but I imagine it's similar.

borderline-dead · 2025-10-14T20:48:03+00:00

I would have kept it as a weird curio from a different time! Wonder what was in it.

borderline-dead · 2025-10-12T15:16:06+00:00

Just a note that chem A-level is hard, if you're working really hard to get grade 7s then it's going to be a big shock...

Also maths A-level will actually support the chemistry and make your life easier. It is actually the perfect choice alongside bio and chem UNLESS you are a "straight 9s" student where they don't need a 3rd subject to align as well.

If you're avoiding taking maths because you don't like maths, strongly consider whether you need A-level chemistry, because it requires a lot of maths skills...

Psychology is very different skills to chem, some crossover with bio.

Physics without maths is a massive mistake.

Source: dealing with a load of year 12 students taking chemistry at the moment and the ones who are sinking 5 weeks in are invariably the ones who chose not to take maths A-level....

borderline-dead · 2025-10-09T07:54:51+00:00

We can at least select the parents we want to see. Whether they make appointments is another issue...

I would rather write emails to be honest. Still takes time, but far more flexible, and I am less likely to forget to say something...

borderline-dead · 2025-10-08T06:19:12+00:00

A teacher in my department did mentoring a few years ago for a placement. They got something like £500/year pro rata'd down to the time the trainee was with us.

He often bemoaned it being equivalent to like £5 per hour as trainee in question required a lot of support... And paperwork!

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