Anna Kaisharis - Croydon High School 1987 - 1997

Nobody forgets a good teacher…

An old advertising campaign of the Teacher Training Agency could not ring truer for many of the wonderful teachers who taught me during my own time at a GDST school.  And it is because of them that I became a teacher.

Having read Business & Accounting with European Study at university I decided not to follow my peers into one of the Big 5 accountancy firms, but I wanted to put my keen interest in the business world into use.  I chose a career in teaching, as I knew it would provide me with a varied and incredibly rewarding career.  After my degree, I did a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) in Business Studies & Economics, which qualified me to start teaching and after a year of teaching you become a qualified teacher.

Teaching has certainly lived up to all my expectations, not at least the hope that every day will be different!  Teaching is not just about “teaching”, but encompasses many roles that we as adults forget go on in a school.  The pastoral side of teaching plays a huge part in the day-day job – making sure the students are happy and settled at the school and dealing with any problems that may arise, both in their school life and in their home life.  The extra-curricular activities are also good fun to get involved with – from sport to plays and music concerts it is great to see your students in a different light from the classroom.

Teaching is not a stationary career.  There are so many opportunities for promotion, whether it be taking on extra responsibilities such as being in charge of the detention room(!) or progressing up the career up the ladder for example by becoming Head of Department or Head of Year.

Becoming a teacher is by no means easy, however it is definitely worth it in the end!  Anyone contemplating a career in teaching must first think about what age group they would want to teach and if you want to teach in a secondary school you must decide what subject you wish to teach.  There are then two routes you can follow.  Firstly you can do a Bachelors Degree in Education that effectively combines your degree, say in Maths, with your PGCE.  This degree course lasts four years.  Alternatively, you can do any degree you like then do a PGCE.  The PGCE course lasts one year full-time, unless you wish to teach a subject in a secondary school that you did not study at University.  In this case the PGCE is two years long.

For anyone thinking of going into teaching, I would highly recommend it, and maybe you to will be never forgotten.

I am happy to be contacted via the email.