From London to North Lincolnshire: How teaching became my calling

My name is Francis. I’m 24 years old, and I work as a maths teacher at Baysgarth School in North Lincolnshire. I grew up in North London and then went to Oxford University and studied modern foreign languages.

Starting my teaching journey

Following that, I came straight out of university into the Teach First placement. I was given a placement here in Hull, moved up here to live and started training as a maths teacher. I'm now in my third year of teaching at the same school, which has been great.

Teaching was on my radar, but I can't say I knew I wanted to be a teacher until I'd started the programme. I had an internship placement as a translator while I was doing my year abroad at university where I sat and translated documents and didn't really see the benefit beyond that.

I knew then I wanted something more active that involved working with people. I wanted to see the direct positive impact that my work was having. I was keen to give teaching a go and see how it was and I fell in love with it over the training period.

Falling for teaching

I didn’t know at the time if I’d stay in teaching. The fact I've stayed at the same school in the same job indicates otherwise!

I absolutely loved so many parts of the job – working with students, developing those relationships with them and seeing the impact that you can have.

My training experience was both daunting and exciting. I remember coming in for the first training day and being shown the classroom where I would be teaching. It made me realise I’m a teacher now. It was thrilling and I loved it from the word go.

Learning fast

I was 22 when I started the Training Programme. The hardest thing was learning on the job. But I was drawn to Teach First because I was convinced that I would learn more in the classroom with pupils. I learned to take the wins but also adapt and respond to the situation.

It was good getting teaching scripts for the first time and planning to teach. I'd get things wrong and learned from that. I gained the skills I needed quite quickly by trial and error.

Building relationships

I taught two classes for the duration of my training year and wasn't able to keep them on for a third year. But one thing that surprised me is how often so many kids from those classes still come back through the door for a little chat and to check in. You realise you have a really good relationship with these pupils.

Why maths matters

Maths is so important for young people today. Fundamentally, a grade 4 or 5 in GCSE maths opens doors to what they want to do in their future life. Then there are the amazing transferable skills you learn, like problem solving, logical thinking and deduction.

In the current climate of social media and AI, teaching statistics encourages students to have a more critical mindset.

It’s an important skill that sets students up to think critically and think independently.

Broadening horizons

One thing that struck me when I started teaching at this school was the rural community. A lot of families have stayed in the area for a long time, across multiple generations. For a lot of students the idea of moving away and doing something completely different isn't as common in the culture.

The Culture Passport invites guest speakers in to broaden horizons about different opportunities and career paths and help students realise anything they set their minds to is open to them.

Support at school

I have stayed at this school because it has been amazing to train and work here. Everyone became part of a support network. I had the most amazing mentor who was my head of department. She would give helpful feedback and answer any questions I had about planning or curriculum.

The whole department was supportive. Now I can take that role and share lessons with people.

There was a Teach First community established here already, with four or five people at the school who'd been through the Teach First programme, and they were a massive source of support. They knew exactly what I was going through.

Advice for trainees

There are three tips I would give to trainees. First, go in with open eyes – you can't predict everything and there are parts you will absolutely love. Second, don't sweat the small stuff – things sometimes go wrong and that’s part of the process. Third, celebrate the wins – as so much will go right.

This job can be hard, but it can also be really, really rewarding. It’s important to keep the right mindset.

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