Rob & Ruth – Successful Scholars

Winning a scholarship will give you a huge sense of achievement and the confidence to become a teacher. Better still, it will help you stand out when applying for teaching posts in the future.
So, what makes a scholarship winner?

You can be any age… like Rob and Ruth, but you must want to teach maths!
Rob is 36 and after gaining a 2.1 in his MEng Engineering Sciences degree at Oxford, joined the finance industry trading equity derivatives. Despite his success in achieving a number of senior roles he never forgot the year he spent teaching in New Zealand after graduating and wanted to join the teaching profession. He says “the last 13 years within the derivatives industry have been a brilliant demonstration of the relevance of simple and complex mathematics in real life; I look forward to bringing this knowledge to the classroom”. Rob will be starting his initial teacher training in the autumn at Kings College London.

Ruth is one of the youngest applicants (she will be 21 next month) and is currently studying for a BSC in Mathematics from the University of Kent where she is predicted to achieve a First. Dr Markus Rosenkranz at Kent said that “she is also very committed to her mission of bringing the beauty and power of mathematics to pupils of various ages and levels”. She is an assistant leader at her local Rainbow unit, for girls aged 5-7, where she draws on her experience as a STEM ambassador to integrate mathematics activities into her time with the girls in a fun way – for example using STIXX machines to create tents and 3D shapes and learning to ring tunes on hand bells using numbers as notes. Ruth has been offered a conditional teacher training place.

There are still opportunities to apply for a £20k Scholarship with the next application round closing on 30th June. For more information click here

Applying for a maths scholarship

Top Tips on Applying for a Maths Teacher Training Scholarship

• Understand why you are investing time and effort in applying – it’s a prestigious award that can enhance your future job prospects, as well as giving access to a network of mathematicians and will give you confidence that your skills and ability have passed the scrutiny of a professional panel of maths educators.

• The maths tests in the application process are hard but you do not have to achieve 100% (we recognise that a lot of mathematicians want to be perfect!)

• We are assessing your communication skills that are crucial to excellent teaching and these involve listening as well as talking. Answering the question we asked, not the one you wished we had is also good.

• Be passionate both about maths and teaching and share this with us – talk about maths, why you love it, what turned you on to it and why you want to inspire others. We are passionate too!

• Use your experience to provide examples to illustrate your points – such as what could you do to inspire people like you to take maths/science/engineering degrees and take up careers in these areas.

• Be yourself at the assessment centre and interview, not the ‘candidate’ – we want to hear what you really think and feel not what you think we want to hear.

• Although it may seem a little strange to you, not everyone shares your love of maths and wants to learn, so seriously think about how as a teacher you can deal with pupils with behavioural issues or a maths phobia.

• You will only have a short time to impress us – use it well. Show us your passion and your knowledge of educational issues but please remember you are a mathematician and don’t waffle!

Kelly Green

Name: Kelly Green
School: Penryn College
Age: 30
Subject: Maths

How many years have you been teaching? 2

Why did you go into teaching? What inspired you?
I always enjoyed working with children; even when I was still a child myself I used to help out at the local library with younger children. Teaching seemed like a natural progression of that interest. After completing my university education, teaching was in the forefront of my mind as a possible career so I applied for a job as a teaching assistant. From this, I realized that I really enjoyed the challenges and the variety that working in a school presented. Every day is different!

Have you gone into teaching from a previous career? If yes, what?
I completed a PhD in evolutionary biology and so another career option was to go into research. Although I do really love the writing and independent work that that involved, I felt like it was missing something for me.

(If applicable) What skills have you been able to transfer to teaching from your previous career? These can also be from your PGCSE if you haven’t gone into teaching from a previous career.
To complete my PhD I had to be very self motivated and able to work to deadlines. These are definitely qualities that you need in order to be able to deal with the work load. It also helps to be have good organizational skills and tremendous patience.

Have you been on a subject knowledge enhancement course or schools experience programme before you started teaching? If so, what did it involve?
My degree and PhD were biological so I attended on the maths enhancement course at Marjons to boost my subject knowledge. It involved about 6 months of doing maths 4 days a week. The course was fantastic, very thorough; including the history of maths to contextualize the maths we were to teach, and it also extended my A level subject knowledge. Following that, I found that I already felt better equipped to deliver the curriculum and I met lots of other local aspiring teachers. As maths is an undersubscribed subject, we also received a generous monthly stipend.

Have you taken on any additional responsibilities since you started as a teacher? If so, what are they?
Not yet, at the moment I am happy with developing my classroom teaching strategies.

Are you satisfied in terms of career progress opportunities, quality of training, working hours and salary? Please explain why.
There are so many paths that your career can take following a teaching qualification, it opens lots of doors. It is a challenging job but it is also very rewarding on a daily basis. The training I received was great, I trained with SCITT and the course leaders were so supportive, I feel that even now 2 years later I could approach them for guidance. The salary is very comfortable, and ranks highly in Cornwall especially. You also work your way up the pay-scale each academic year. The working hours are much longer during term time than many non-teachers appreciate, but the school holidays certainly make up for it!

What are you most passionate about in teaching?
I love the relationships that I build with the students, it is completely central to effective teaching and learning. I am passionate about teaching maths for understanding. More than ever, in today’s current economic climate, it is essential for students to grow up and have functional knowledge of the subject, which equips them both for the workplace and their personal lives.

Would you be happy to share your degree (i.e. subject and classification)?
Yep! I have a 1st class BSc (hons) Zoology and a PhD.

There is no such thing as a typical day

Dr Andrew McKechnie is a primary school teacher and PSHEe Subject Leader at Parkland Infant School in Eastbourne

Typical day

It’s a cliché but it’s true – there genuinely is no such thing as a typical day in teaching. 

Or a tedious one. 

If, like me, you are coming into teaching having had a previous career(I used to co-ordinate services to support homeless teenagers), it can come as quite a shock to suddenly find yourself going from meetings, deadlines and action plans to the world of the classroom.

Life as an NQT exceeded all my expectations. To give you a flavour of the variety of school life over the last 18 months;  I’ve been on numerous school trips, participated in a host of different fundraising events, run a film club, sung karaoke in front of 600 children, re-created the moon landing, worked closely with local multicultural community groups and put my first school Nativity.

 With displays to make, resources to create and a creative curriculum to plan, teaching in a primary school is a very creative business.

 But of course like any job everyday involves replying to emails, meetings and ‘doing the paperwork’.

 If there is such a thing as a typical day it is that every day will start early, so that you have the chance to plan and prepare resources (particularly if you are in KS1), and most days teaching primary children will then begin with phonics, English, reading and Maths.  We are encouraged to be creative in our delivery of the curriculum, so lessons never feel regimented.

 The day then carries on long past when the children have gone home when the more ‘administrative’ jobs get done.

 You are constantly rewarded for all your hard work. I remember during my training year standing in the sports field on sports day in the glorious sunshine when a teacher turned to me and said “you know we’re getting paid for this!”. It’s a phrase that I’ve had in my head countless time since I started.

 There is no such thing as a typical day and teachers consider this a real plus.

Brilliant teachers

Dr Andrew McKechnie is a primary school teacher and PSHEe Subject Leader at Parkland Infant School in Eastbourne

Brilliant teachers

I have never met a teacher that rolls in late and leaves early.

Rather, I have met incredibly inspiring, passionate and knowledgeable teachers. Many of these teachers have had previous successful careers in a wide range of other areas e.g. graphic design, banking, engineering. I myself worked in a number of roles before deciding to go into teaching; as a co-ordinator of services to support homeless teenagers across East Sussex for a period of two years; a lecturer at Cardiff University; and as a Research Officer and Analyst for Ofsted.

Over the course of my training and NQT year in primary schools, I have seen teachers transform classrooms into rainforests, underwater worlds, restaurants, pirate ships and newsrooms (complete with ‘live’ pre-recorded news bulletins). I’ve seen schools organise and put on productions in a 1,000 seat theatre in front of the paying public; deliver innovative projects to encourage families feel part of the child’s learning and create topics around themes that not only draw on children’s interests, but work to maximise each individual child’s potential. This is all on top of working to develop action plans, individual education plans, progress reports, data analysis, child protection, continuing professional development and subject leader/year group/key stage responsibilities! It’s truly inspirational.

Taking all of the above into account, it’s possible to understand that teaching is not a career you go into for an easy ride. It is a challenge.

There is an increasing level of responsibility and pressure to deliver high quality teaching that ensures high levels of progress from all children. There is also the need to work closely with a wide range of agencies.

 Despite these pressures, you soon realise that you are surrounded by intelligent, creative and dynamic individuals that are giving their all. I love working with people and would never want to work on my own, so as well as all the rewards that come with classroom practice, (which I’ll touch upon in another blog), for me teaching has also presented the chance to meet and work alongside some brilliant people.