What attracted me to Birmingham was the knowledge that it would start as a slow burn. I wasn’t being dropped straight into teaching; rather, I’d be guided in slowly. Taking a theoretical approach to the training process gave me a good base of knowledge that made me feel confident and ready by the time of my first placement.
       Josh 

Birmingham was, without a shadow of a doubt, a no-brainer for me. I first moved to the Big City in 2015 and, three years later, had graduated with a degree in English and History. It was a city that I became really familiar with, and one that I missed dearly after returning home. Home is actually another reason that I picked Brum - it was less than an hour away on the train; I’d always been keen on getting to see a lot of my family.

It was the people that really made my Undergraduate degree special, but I knew that the quality of teaching was also top-notch. For such a demanding training year, it was really important that I maintained this excellent standard of learning.

Why did you choose to study teaching?

Get ready for a rollercoaster! As early as I can remember, I was dead set against going anywhere near teaching. Despite being barraged by comments by family and friends believing that I would make a good one, I was determined to avoid it.

‘It’s just a stereotype’, I’d say and, as an English and History student, I wasn’t wrong. I remember telling Second Years, at a dissertation showcase, that I had no idea what career I’d be going into - but that it would not be teaching.

How wrong I was. When it came to my Gap Year, I decided to finally give the profession a go. Rather than writing it off, I thought it best to get some experience. That way, I’d be able to categorically say, ‘No, this isn’t for me’. Luckily, my cousin was Head of History at a local school at the time, so I shadowed him for a week.

Five working days later and I was eagerly tapping away at my UCAS application. Seeing him there and watching the passion that he imbued and emanated was intoxicating. You could tell how much he enjoyed teaching young people History, and I wanted to feel that too. I shadowed some other teachers at a number of schools to only confirm my desire: I wanted to be a teacher. You have your ups and downs in this profession, but I’ve not once looked back in regret.

What has been the most extraordinary or memorable day on the job?

I’m only one year into my career, yet there are already so many memorable moments to choose from. I write about many of my teaching experiences at www.hardlyhamilton.com in a weekly blog. This includes what it was like on my first school trip abroad, as well as tips on being more productive as a teacher (and how to stay in shape alongside our busy working schedules!), so head on over if you’d like to learn from my mistakes.