A day in the life of... a state school teacher and a private school teacher

The names in this article have been changed*

I don’t like my tutor group and they don’t like me. Some of them have posted nasty comments about me on the website ratemyteachers.com

The state school day

Mel James* (35) has worked at a state school in the north east for the past six years since completing her PGCE in Newcastle. Mel is married to John and has two children.

“On school days I’m up at 6am and jump straight in the shower. John looks after the children while I get ready. The dress code is flexible – I usually wear smart trousers with a blouse or mock-layered top. Once I’m dressed I blow dry my hair and apply lipstick and face powder. Lipstick gives me that power feeling!

“I leave the house at 7.20am and drop my children off at nursery at 7.30am. I get to school at about 7.55am, just in time to get one of the last spaces in the staff car park. If you get there any later you have to go into the public car park and fight the students for a space! I go straight to the staff room to check my pigeon hole. It’s always full of boring stuff like detention slips, lost property items and information from the head.

“I’m a science teacher so my lab is where my tutor group is based. I check my files to see what lessons I have and get the photocopying done for that day. I then lay out all the resources I’ll need and have a chat with the lab technicians. It’s good to keep them onside – they often know the practicals better than the teacher as they’ve prepared them dozens of times. 

We haven't bonded

“At 9am I take my year 11 tutor group register. It’s done on the laptop and centralised. I read out notices and pass on the detention slips. The kids who’ve been given detentions always protest but I just tell them not to shoot the messenger. I don’t like my tutor group and they don’t like me. Maybe I haven’t bonded with them. My group has more incident reports than any other and some of the pupils have posted nasty comments about me on a website called ratemyteachers.com. 

“Teaching starts at 9.15am. Although I teach all ages I prefer sixth form. They’re there because they want to be and there’s a lot less behavioural stuff to deal with.

“Morning break is from 11.15am to 11.35am. If I’m on duty I have to stand on the tennis courts or in the gym corridor and supervise. If I’m not I’ll work or pack equipment away. Teaching then runs through until 1.35pm so I grab a banana and some water to keep me going.

“We get 40 minutes for lunch. I take my own - usually a pot noodle, a sandwich or some pasta. I eat in the lab prep room and chat with the other science teachers about the naughty kids.

“We do registration again at 2.15pm. I always think this is totally pointless and feel that they should get rid of it but the head won’t. We teach again at 2.25pm through to 3.25pm. I leave straight after the last lesson so I can pick my children up at 4pm.

Teaching with a hangover is hell

"I like to spend a couple of hours with them before they go to bed. Sometimes John cooks, sometimes I do. We usually just have a one-pot meal during the week but we sit at the table to eat and I often have a glass of wine. Just the one though - teaching with a hangover is hell.

“After dinner I tidy up and get the laptop out to see what I’m teaching the next day. I sometimes have to revise stuff especially if it’s for the sixth form. I try not to do marking.  In fact I avoid it at all costs. I’m sure if Ofsted were to look at my books they wouldn’t be happy. I don’t think they realise how hard it is to fit marking in, though. I teach for about 21 hours a week – that’s 25 lessons with only four free periods and two of those can be taken off you to fill in if other teachers are away. I think you can either teach good lessons or mark books in the time we have and I’d rather teach good lessons.

"I never work past 9pm and I’m always in bed by 10.30pm. Sometimes I’ll read for half an hour but usually I’m exhausted.”

I had lots of frantic days where we’d have problems to deal with, for instance if a child had an eating disorder. I’d often go home with it on my mind

The private school day

Jasmine Harper (39) was deputy head of sixth form at a prestigious private school in Manchester for 14 years before recently leaving to have her first child. She completed her PGCE in York and specialises in English Language and Literature. Jasmine is married to *David and now lives in the north east. She is keen to go back into the private system after Christmas.

“My alarm was always set for 6.30am and I’d get up as soon as it went off. I’d be in the shower ten minutes later and already thinking about the day ahead. All the time I was teaching I lived on my own so I had no distractions in the mornings. After a healthy breakfast of either cereal or toast I’d get dressed and be out of the house by 7.10pm.

“I loved dressing up for work. We had to wear smart clothes so I usually wore a suit or dress and jacket. My drive to school took around 20 minutes. It would have been nice to walk or take public transport, but I took a lot of marking home every night so the most practical way to get there and back was by car.

An early start

“We were allowed in the building from 7am so when I arrived around half past there were already quite a few teachers in. We had a staff of around 80. The first thing I did was make myself a cup of herbal tea and deal with my admin. I had special responsibility for Year 13 so there were often issues involving university applications to deal with.

“I really enjoyed this part of my job. It’s an exciting time in the kids’ lives. Not all of them would get the places they wanted but I didn’t take it personally. We’d give the children a lot of support so we knew we’d always done our best.

"Once I’d cleared my emails I’d go and say hello to colleagues in the staff room. I’d then spend until 8.30am getting things ready in the classroom before making myself available to speak to parents. Pastoral care and liaison with parents was important. The school was proud of its reputation for helping students become confident, caring adults.

Mingling with the sixth form

“At 8.50am I’d go to the sixth form common room to mingle with students. It was a large sixth form with nearly 300 pupils and the common room was a big area where they could socialise and relax. I’d spend around 20 minutes chatting to them about anything they wanted to discuss. 

“The bell would ring at 9.15am to signal the beginning of the student’s day. The later start allowed pupils a bit more time to get in as they came from all over Greater Manchester. Lessons began at 9.25am and I’d usually teach a double session which ran through to break at 10.50am. Break times were a chance to catch up with my friends and have a laugh. There was a group of us that would always congregate by the radiator to swap stories! I often ate a sandwich at break to keep my energy levels up.

“At 11.10am I’d go to the sixth form common room again. The kids in the upper school were nearly all pleasant – it’s a co-ed school and they mix well. Our philosophy was to treat them as adults and encourage them to be responsible. They didn’t have to wear uniform but had to dress in smart office wear. We had a super head who was greatly admired. He was a very strong person and enforced rules that made things pleasant. Class discipline wasn’t arduous. The framework for teaching was positive and the children had clear boundaries.

Night duty

“Lunch ran from 12.50pm until 1.45pm. There would always be things going on like charity sports events but I didn’t get involved, I’d just spend my time preparing for afternoon lessons. I’d teach until 3.50pm, which was the end of the school day for the pupils. Some nights I’d have to do bus duty but it wasn’t much hassle and the children were always very orderly.

“Once the kids had gone I’d have a cup of tea in the staff room and catch up on school business. I’d go home around 5.15pm and do some form of exercise to help me de-stress, usually running or swimming. After watching the Channel 4 news, eating my tea and pouring a glass of wine, I’d start marking and go to bed around 10ish.

“I had lots of frantic days where we’d have problems to deal with, for instance a child with an eating disorder. I’d often go home with this sort of thing on my mind. It was difficult when it was something to do with family life but we always wanted to help. It was a very caring school with a nurturing atmosphere.”

A teacher tells us the real reasons she moved from the state to the private sector

State or private? Have your say

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