Guidance for would-be history teacher trainees

An interview with history NQTs

Are you considering a career in teaching history?

Are you considering history teaching as a career option? Knowing where to start, what to expect from teaching and whether teacher training is right for you can feel like a leap into the unknown. We spoke to three recently qualified teachers, Ben Kirby, Liam Frondigoun and Alex Schmidt, all based at Blackfen School for Girls in South East London about the highs and lows of their experiences of learning to teach history.

1. What do you know about the different training options available for teacher training in England?
2. Can you give us some idea about what made you choose the particular training routes that you did?
3. What were the best and worst things about your training experience? How prepared were you for teaching?
4. What single piece of advice would you give to people thinking about teacher training?
5. What areas of your training did you find challenging?
6. What has been challenging in your first year?
7. Did you have a subject mentor? How important were they?
8. How important that there is a connection between subject mentors and universities?
9. High and lows of the NQT year
10. Highs and lows in the classroom
11. As an NQT what support do you feel you needed? And how can schools support their NQTs?
12. What was involved in passing your NQT year?
13. Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?