Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

Fulfilling all the roles of a teacher including planning and delivering lessons and giving feedback, as well as being responsible for the implementation of the scheme of learning for Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9, age 11-14).

My typical day at work begins at 7:30 when I arrive to begin setting up my lessons for the day and ensure I have all the resources I need. The students arrive from 8:30; first is tutor period where I have a group of Year 11 (final year) students and after that there are 6 periods each of 50 minutes. Some days I teach every period, others I will have Planning, Preparation and Assessment time (PPA) for up to 4 periods. I have one class in each year group and can see up to 5 classes in a day, which each learn different topics at different times. After the students leave at 3:05 I might have meetings or after-school intervention for Year 11s, or sometimes I will stay to mark books. Usually I leave school at around 6pm and sometimes will need to do more work when I get home.

I really enjoy talking to the children, they can be such bright and interesting characters.

The workload in teaching is less than ideal, you never get to the bottom of your to-do list because there is always more added on!

I applied for Teach First Leadership Development Programme because I wanted to make a difference, however small, to children from less fortunate backgrounds.

I need to have good communication skills as a teacher, not only for communicating with the students but also for communicating with colleagues. You also need to be pretty good with technology as a lot of record-keeping, lesson planning and assessment is done digitally these days. You also need to have excellent time management as the workload can be quite large, so you need to learn to prioritise.

After leaving The University of Sheffield I went straight into Teach First Summer Institute, a 6-week training course preparing us for the classroom in September. I spent 2 years on the Teach First Leadership Development Programme, qualifying as a teacher after 1 year, and chose to stay at the same school for a third year which is where I am now.

I am currently undecided whether I will stay in teaching or attempt to explore another career path. If I stay in teaching I would like to try and work my way up, preferably on the pastoral side of things as this is where my enjoyment lies the most. If I don’t stay in teaching I would like to pursue a career that combines my interest in social sciences with my ability in Mathematics.

If you are considering a career in teaching make sure you research the three training routes properly (PGCE, Schools Direct and Teach First). Each has its advantages and disadvantages and will suit different people.