interview - by Theo

On Tuesday I went for my first interview, at a school I'd barely heard of before applying. To be honest I'd actually be holding out for a job at my placement school, but they still hadn't gotten around to advertising the post, so I thought I'd apply anyway, for the practice.

I headed up to the school, arriving nice and early, clutching a bag bulging with lesson plans and documents, plus my computer - I was hoping to have some spare time to do some planning for my Year 8s the next day. First impressions of the school were good - the building was attractive and modern and the students were smart. Appearance wise that is - ties actually being worn closer to the neck than the waist, a rarity where I am at the moment. I began to like the place. However, once I met the other candidates, all thoughts of me getting the job vanished: I was the only student - the others were already qualified - while one was working at the school in another role and a second was second-in-department up North and looking to move back to Bristol. In a rapidly expanding school needing a teacher who could hit the ground running, I figured I stood no chance. Still, it would be good practice and at least I'd get some feedback on my lesson.

I got to teach first. Year 9, top set, with a wide brief of teaching 'engaging and descriptive writing'. I also had to teach to OFSTED's 'good' standard ensuring all students progressed. Gulp! I'd decide we would use onomatopoeia to create either cacophony or euphony; I was pretty certain nobody else would have done anything similar with them recently. When I met the class I realised this was definitely true: what was I thinking! However, despite a class full of faces that screamed 'how is this relevant to me?', everyone did in fact, progressed. So at least I wasn't going home at break-time. Phew!

Next I had a tour from two charming Year 11 students who happily admitted that they found English dull and irrelevant, an impression I also got from the five student panellist who interviewed me after my tour. They quizzed me about how I might make lessons fun - I resisted responding with 'fun for whom?'

A marking task followed - grading two GCSE coursework pieces against the assessment criteria and leaving feedback on how to improve. The standard was pretty high: the students may not enjoy English, but they do ok! So all that was left was the big interview....

I had about an hour off, during which time I did actually manage to get some lesson planning done, before I was called in. I was lucky to be the first called through, and the 45 minutes whizzed by. I felt I'd done OK, though inevitably I immediately thought of the about 10 better answers I could have given as I drove home. I'd also wished I'd had something more impressive to say than "'Heartstone' by CJ Samson" when they asked what book I was reading. Still, at least they knew I was honest. Anyway, I was done by 2pm, a bonus as it meant I was back in time to take Rosie to the park: it was a beautiful sunny day.

They said they would call everyone, regardless of whether they had been successful or not, the following day - they had four more interviewees to see - so I was expecting a call. Right in the middle of Year 8 parents' evening.

I got it....

Thrilled!

The wrong trousers - by Theo

Or rather, complete lack of trousers.

It's really not the best way to start the week - cycling through the snow to school and then realising that you forgot to pack your work trousers, so you have to cycle home again and arrive back just in time for staff briefing. Especially when you're teaching Year 11 first period, the supervising teacher is out sick and the printers aren't working.

Although, on reflection, it probably means that the week can only get better!

Why I don't want to be a Primary School teacher - by Theo

I have had the privilege to have spent the past two weeks observing in Elmlea Junior School up in Westbury-on-Trym. As part of my PGCE I was obliged to do this, but it didn't feel like an obligation. I really enjoyed it, in no small part thanks to the staff and students at Elmlea, especially my friend Stu, a Year 6 Teacher there who arranged it all and whose classes I was mostly observing.

However, no matter how nice a time I had there, it made me realise I had definitely made the right decision to choose secondary education over primary. I had been having doubts as, after all, primary is so much more important; if students don't get off to a good start, the gap between them and their peers has widened to such an extent by the time they reach secondary school that it is very hard to narrow it and help them catch up. In a class of 30 students, all demanding your attention, it's probably nigh on impossible. But it's not for me.

For starters I'm rubbish at Art. Stu really likes the fact that he gets to teach all the subjects - Literacy, Maths, History, PE, Geography, Music, PSHE and Science - but I would have never managed to get a class to produce masks like these.


I'd be pretty rubbish in singing class too!

Plus, as nice as Stu's Year 6 class were, it would drive me crazy to have the same class all the time. I don't mind teaching the same material, but I like changing students every hour or so, shifting the dynamic and allowing me to go more in depth into the topic.

So, big thanks everyone at Elmlea, but it's secondary for me. The PGCE starts Monday - here we go!