Career changers’ stories

A career change to make a difference

Claire Johnson, physics teacher
Find out how first class honours graduate, mum and former HR professional Claire took advantage of a generous tax-free bursary to retrain as a teacher. Now she’s enjoying a “massively rewarding” career by using her creativity to make science fun for young people.
Read Claire’s story

A vibrant new career

Zainab Kasmani, trainee primary school teacher
Zainab started out teaching English abroad, before spending four years working for the NHS. After taking tentative steps and getting gradual school experience as a volunteer, she realised teaching at primary level would give her the chance to make a real difference.
Read Zainab’s story

Bring your professional skills to the classroom

Victoria Barton, teacher and former police officer
In addition to two Master’s degrees, Victoria’s career had included time working as a police officer and property inspector. Find out why she decided to bring that diverse experience to teaching as a primary PE specialist.
Read Victoria’s story

Channelling your passion into teaching

Jon Simmons, career changer
Geography teacher Jon spent six years working in recruitment, but his passion for his subject and a desire to help others made teaching a natural choice. Find out how a tax-free bursary and getting some school experience helped him start his new career.
Read Jon’s story

Embracing a new challenge

Peter Bassett, maths teacher
After spending 27 years working in finance in London, Peter was no longer feeling challenged. So he enrolled on a salaried course – retaining an income while retraining to use his experience and expertise to teach.
Read Peter’s story

From building schools to teaching maths

Julia Capon, career changer
Maths teacher Julia is an engineering graduate who started out as a quantity surveyor. But after five years, her long-term ambition to teach took over. Find out how a tax-free bursary and school-led teacher training course helped make her transition into the profession as seamless as possible.
Read Julia’s story

From developer to deputy director of learning

Steven Li, career changer
Steven spent 13 years working in the computing industry, but a variety of roles and projects wasn’t enough to keep him engaged. That’s why he started doing work experience in schools – and since starting teacher training, his career’s gone from strength to strength. Find out why becoming a teacher was the best decision he ever made.
Read Steven’s story

Make a difference to young people

Sarah Birt, career changer
Sarah’s work as a mental health researcher made her realise how much she enjoyed working with young people. So after getting some school experience, she decided to retrain as a maths teacher, with the help of an online subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) course. Find out how she’s enjoying her “amazing” new career.
Read Sarah’s story

Sharing your knowledge with others

Amy Salwey, career changer
After building up considerable experience in accounting and finance, Amy wanted to help alter pupils’ perceptions of maths as a “dull and lifeless” subject. A salaried course helped make training as easy as possible from a financial perspective, and now she’s ready to take on the challenge of making maths fun for young people. Find out why teaching makes her proud.
Read Amy’s story

Swapping senior management for students

Karen Roberts, languages teacher
Karen held a long-term ambition to teach, but leaving behind a successful career that included working as the director of two large market research agencies wasn’t easy. Find out how the French and Spanish teacher went about her research to ensure she was making the right move – and why she found her age wasn’t the barrier she thought it would be.
Read Karen’s story

Transferring your skills into teaching

Will Fordham, trainee English teacher
Having previously lived abroad, Will moved back to London from East Anglia before starting his teacher training – so finding a route that offered financial support was vital. He was able to gain a place on a salaried course so he could earn while he trained. Now he’s relishing the chance to find new ways to bring literature to life.
Read Will’s story

Use your degree and Service experience to teach

Thomas, trainee geography teacher and former Royal Marine Commando
Thomas was always interested in pursuing a career in teaching, but he started his career with 4 years’ service in the Royal Marine Commandos. Find out how his life experience has proved invaluable in his teaching, and how his military skills have helped him develop extracurricular opportunities.
Read Thomas’s story

Use your skills and imagination to teach

Roger Brown, career changer
Becoming a father was the turning point in Roger’s decision to take up teaching. He brought a diverse range of career experience with him – working as an account manager, freelance cartoonist, and even an Olympic athlete. Find out how he’s now settled on teaching physics, and how he engages with students of different ages to create ‘light-bulb’ moments.
Read Roger’s story

Using your skills to teach

Luke Anderson, career changer
Luke initially used his skills for a languages services company – but sharing his knowledge with young people ultimately provided a far greater sense of purpose. Find out how he now enjoys the variety and interactions – with both colleagues and pupils – that teaching has to offer.
Read Luke’s story