What’s it like training in England but teaching in Scotland?

This was the situation in which I found myself as a teacher of Classics. I had graduated with the PGCE from Cambridge but accepted my first proper teaching job in Glasgow. There are a number of things I wished I’d known, so I’ll set them out here in the hope that they may prove useful for others who may be considering the move.

1. Qualified teacher status does not automatically transfer to Scotland. The General Teaching Council of Scotland (GTCS) has a separate system of registering members of the teaching profession and newly qualified teachers must apply for professional registration. Depending on the type of initial teacher training you have completed, and how much experience you have, you may be awarded provisional (conditional) registration or full registration. There is a £65 fee and LOTS of paperwork (including providing proof of the number of hours of your university degree which covered Roman History/Greek History/Latin Language/Latin Literature).
2. All teachers in independent schools must be registered with GTCS and you must obtain official documentation which permits you to teach curriculum subjects.
3. Unlike in England, you cannot teach exam classes beyond your subject specialism. You must obtain professional registration in all additional subjects which you intend to teach and this requires submitting a great deal of additional evidence. Full information here: . If you intend to teach a modern foreign language, you must satisfy the foreign residency requirement.
4. Scotland has its own curriculum called Curriculum for Excellence with examinations known as Nationals (Levels 3,4 and 5), Highers and Advanced Highers. There is one national examination board, the Scottish Qualifications Authority which offers examinations in Latin and Classical Studies. Greek was, sadly, a casualty of the ‘low uptake policy’. Any Scottish schools wishing to present candidates for Classical Greek examinations have to use OCR.
5. Term dates in Scotland are different. Generally (boarding schools exempted) schools start in mid-August and finish in late-June. There are regional differences in holiday dates and lengths which reflect particular communities’ agricultural and industrial heritage.
6. In Scotland pupils sitting Latin examinations do not have to learn vocabulary. They are provided with a word list (containing only the words in the examination passages) or, at Advanced Higher, with a dictionary. The focus of teaching and learning (and ultimately assessment) is on building familiarity with accidence and syntax.
7. The set texts do not change regularly. Almost every Scottish Classics teacher I have met identifies this as a benefit.
8. The Classics teaching community is small but perfectly formed. Figures from 2017 suggest that across the whole country 390 students sat National 5 Latin, 226 sat Higher Latin and 44 sat Advanced Higher Latin. In Classical Studies, 78 sat National 5, 400 sat Higher and 47 sat Advanced Higher. These account for less than 1% of the Scottish 2017 pupil cohort.
9. The Classics teaching community is growing. Classics for All and the Classical Association of Scotland are working hard to promote Latin as a language studied in Scottish primary schools. Unlike England, Scotland has signed up to the European 1+2 languages initiative which seeks to ensure that all young people have had the chance to learn their native language (English or Gaidhlig) and two others by the end of primary school. This offers many opportunities for primary-secondary liaison and outreach for new secondary Classics specialists in Scottish schools.
10. The Scottish Classics teacher network is a close-knit group of warm, friendly and supportive colleagues who took me under their wings when I landed as a probationer (Scottish term for NQT). They co-create teaching resources, offer informal marking moderation and communicate regularly to share information on Classical enrichment events taking place across Scotland. Follow Alex Imrie (@AlexImrie23) and Lee Baker on Twitter for updates.

The teaching profession is much more strictly regulated in Scotland than it is in England but this comes with two clear benefits.

1. Professional Learning

Linked to full registration with GTCS is the contractual requirement for all teachers to complete 35 hours per year of continuing professional development. This creates a culture of professional learning and means that many schools close to enable teachers to attend the Scottish Learning Festival. Schools (both state and independent) have budgets for staff development and I benefitted enormously from attending a range of training courses and events.

2. Money

The Scottish teaching salary scales are more generous than their English counterparts. And the cost of living can be much less: I certainly found Glasgow much more affordable than Cambridge!

If you have any questions about how the English and Scottish systems compare, please get in touch via Twitter (@DrArleneHH) or at arlene.holmes-henderson@kcl.ac.uk.