1. Home: Explore careers
  2. Secondary school teacher

Secondary school teacher

Alternative titles for this job include High school teacher, sixth form teacher

Secondary school teachers teach children from 11 to 16, or up to 19 in schools with sixth forms.

Average salary (a year)

£23,720 Starter

to

£61,005 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

37 to 40 term time

You could work

evenings attending events or appointments

How to become a secondary school teacher

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role

University

You can do an undergraduate degree that leads to qualified teacher status (QTS), for example:

  • Bachelor of Education (BEd)
  • Bachelor of Arts (BA) with QTS
  • Bachelor of Science (BSc) with QTS

You can also complete a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE), if you have a first degree without QTS. This is a common choice and can be done at university or on a school-based training programme.

There are more training options if you want to change career or specialise in teaching certain subjects.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • GCSEs in English and maths at grade 9 to 4 (A* to C)
  • 2 to 3 A levels for a degree
  • a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course

More information

Apprenticeship

You can get into this career through one of a small number of postgraduate teaching apprenticeships, if you have a degree and want to teach in a secondary school.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) in English and maths
  • a degree

More information

Work

You could start as a teaching assistant or learning mentor and do a part-time degree. You could then move onto a postgraduate teaching course to qualify as a teacher.

Volunteering and experience

You'll find it helpful to get some experience of working with young people, though this is not essential. You can do this through paid work or by volunteering at a school, doing youth work or helping on a holiday scheme.

More information

Career tips

You can do a subject knowledge enhancement course to improve your understanding of the subject you want to teach.

You can also attend teacher training events before you apply to get advice about the profession, the different training routes and funding. You can attend events in person and online.

Further information

You can discover more about how to become a teacher from Get Into Teaching.

You can also search for jobs through the Teaching Vacancies service.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • the ability to create the best conditions for learning or teaching new things
  • to be flexible and open to change
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • knowledge of English language
  • maths knowledge
  • leadership skills
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Restrictions and requirements

You'll need to:

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

Your day-to-day duties may include:

  • planning and preparing lessons
  • setting and marking essays and exams
  • developing new courses and teaching materials
  • updating records
  • attending meetings and training courses
  • talking to parents and carers about their children's progress
  • organising outings, school social activities and sporting events

Working environment

You could work at a school or at a pupil referral unit.

Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding.

Career path and progression

With experience, you could become a specialist leader of education, supporting teachers in other schools. You could also be a curriculum leader, head of year, deputy head or headteacher.

You could teach pupils with special educational needs, move into further education or work in pastoral care.

There are options to work for an exam board, a local education authority, or gallery or museum, as an education officer. You could also work freelance as a private tutor.

Current opportunities

Apprenticeships In England

We can't find any apprenticeship vacancies in England for a secondary school teacher right now.

The Find an apprenticeship service can help you with your search, send alerts when new apprenticeships become available and has advice on how to apply.

Courses In England

CACHE Diploma in Childcare and Education (Childcare Level 3)

  • Provider: BEXHILL COLLEGE
  • Start date: 05 September 2019
  • Location: Bexhill on Sea

UAL Foundation Art Diploma

  • Provider: CARMEL COLLEGE
  • Start date: 03 September 2019
  • Location: ST. HELENS
Find courses near you

JobsIn the United Kingdom

The Find a job service can help you with your search for jobs and send alerts when new jobs become available.

Related careers

Get help using this service

Call 0800 100 900 or use webchat

8am to 10pm, 7 days a week

More ways to contact us

Is this page useful?

Yes No