Primary vs Secondary Teaching

I want to go into teaching but I really do not know whether to be a primary or secondary school teacher. I do Psychology and Sociology so if I went into Secondary school I would teacher older students who picked my subject for GCSE/A Level so they hopefully will be more interested. I am scared they would ask me a question I do not know which would be embarrassing and there is loads of marking. If I go into Primary teaching I won't get any questions I can't answer but I don't want to have to deal with spoilt kids having tantrums. I find younger kids more friendly but primary school is not serious so I might find it hard to make them care.

Hi @Leen23,

I agree with the above comments there will always be questions you can't answer. The best teachers though are the best learners in my opinion. It is often interesting when you don't know the answer and as a class you research and it can take the lesson in a totally different direction. I have taught primary and secondary and to make a decision on the two it is vital to gain some school experience. If you have not already do get an adviser from Get Into Teaching and you can use our school experience service to try to book some days in school here: school experience.

Hope that all helps
Olivia

Hi there,

I rang Get Into Teaching today as I have been teaching primary for 5 years and am considering moving to Secondary Geography. Can I ask how you have taught both and what route you took to do it? I am going to ask local secondaries near me if I can observe for however long they will let me, but after that I am stuck what to do if I genuinely want to do it and get the experience. I know I can also do a SKE which could help with applications later on.

Thank you.

Hello @charlie4590

Once you've been awarded with QTS, you are considered to be able to teach, irrespective of age group or subject matter. Unfortunately, any of the training such as SKE or teacher training are not applicable to those who have already been awarded with their QTS.

To make the transition to Secondary from Primary, will require gaining some experience with Secondary aged students. To do this, some would take supply contracts or work in alternative educational settings of special schools. I've also known people to work in FE colleges to gain experience of teaching A-Level courses that they can then showcase at interview.

Do you have any background in Geography? If not, getting a qualification (ie A-Level) will also help.

All the best, Jane

Thank you. I wouldn't really want to go down the special school route but taking some secondary supply I'm sure would help.
Yes, I have an A* at Geography A-level and a 2:1 Geography degree from Royal Holloway, graduating in 2016. I could do a self-funded SKE course, the cheapest one being £600 so I know I need to be sure this is what I want before committing to it.

Hello @charlie4590

As you have the A-Level and a degree an SKE wouldn't be of use to you. I suggest looking at the NC for KS3/4 and even 5, (Bitesize is a fairly good shout for this) and start applying for any Geog teaching jobs available. Also, doing the supply and any observations you can get would be helpful. You are right that having some observations in the secondary sector (in a few different schools) should be the thing to confirm that this is the move for you.

Jane

Thank you. Do you think that an SKE might make my application look more favourable, or would it not really matter?

Hello @charlie4590

SKE courses are for non-subject matter experts to up-skill themselves in terms of the knowledge they'd need to teach. (ie an economics grad looking to teach Maths) By having the A-Level and degree in the subject matter that you want to teach, you already surpass what you'd learn on an SKE course. As a result, I think it would be throwing good money away for little recompense.

The biggest hurdle for you is not your subject knowledge, but your experience of working with KS3/4 students. However, there will be aspects of your current experience that you can up-sell. (ie preparing children for SATs) to demonstrate making progress over a sustained period. You can also bring experience of teaching in other humanities areas (ie RE, History, philosophy and ethics) albeit for KS1/2. This is quite interesting to a secondary school as if your KS4 classes are light, you could offer KS3 teaching of other subjects in that area, thus allowing for flex and adaptation in timetables.

Jane

Ah okay, thank you. Do you have an idea of the demand for Geography teachers? I know they offer bursaries but I've seen that London secondaries can sometimes have just one applicant.