skip to content
 

Where to start

The website Get Into Teaching is a comprehensive introduction to teaching careers. You'll find training bursaries (which vary considerably depending on the subject & your degree grade).

Target jobs guides to teaching are also a great source of information and advice.

Thinking of an education career outside of teaching? See our blog and read this guide

Our Supporters are committed to supporting the development of Cambridge students and graduates.

How to know if you’re suited to this sector

Before you decide on a teaching career, you will need a passion for your subject, and some working experience of what it’s really like being a teacher (shadowing, summer schools, and so on).

Specifically, you should know if you enjoy spending time with teenagers and children: working or volunteering at youth camps or with youth community groups such as the Scouts is a good way of finding this out.

Read this inspiring blog post from Cambridge graduate Harry Hudson, on being a State School teacher

Teaching after Cambridge - in conversation with Harry Hudson

How to get the experience to be credible

Arrange a couple of weeks work shadowing in a school. This can be quite hard to fix up so going through contacts or to your old school is a good idea.

  • Some help is given on the Get Into Teaching website
  • Teach First insight programmes for STEM
  • Give a Year, run by City Year, is a one-year paid programme where you run afterschool clubs
  • Summer schools
Further study or certification required

To work in state schools in England, you need QTS (qualified teacher status). It's also valued in many settings where it's not an official requirement (for example academies, international or independent schools). You can train for this in a number of ways;

  • PGCE and School Direct (training on the job in a school) - apply through UCAS
  • SCITTs (school-centred initial teacher training) where you apply direct to the SCITT partnership or school
  • HMT (public schools) has its own initial teaching training route as do many independent schools
  • Teach First and Ark Teacher Training
  • Researchers in Schools for PhDs
  • Now Teach for alumni with significant experience.
How to find employers or training courses
Tips for succeeding in the application or selection process

Apply early for popular subjects such as History, English and primary, as they fill up quickly. Some traditionally shortage subjects like Maths or Science are also becoming more popular and places on training programmes are filling up more quickly than in previous years.

In your application you should reflect on your work shadowing in schools and demonstrate a passion for your subject. You should also show that you care about and can develop good rapport with children and/or teenagers.

What Cambridge offers to help with this career

STIMULUS is a Cambridge initiative for maths/science students to volunteer in local schools. Great for getting experience pre teaching application. 

You could take part in the university’s Widening Participation outreach work in schools

The Faculty of Education holds an open day each year

You can find teaching-specific Careers Service events via the ‘events’ page on Handshake

Other things you should know

Keep up to date with Educational news by following TES  (Times Educational Supplement) and Guardian Education.

What to do next

What to do next

Now you have looked at this page, think about your next steps. Everyone's journey is different. There are many ways to move forward. Here are some actions you could take now: