I was sorting through stuff in a box and found this. I thought it got lost in the move but was very happy to find it. It's a countdown...

June 16th 2010. Today I qualified as a teacher. I was observed teaching and then had a one hour interview with the observer about my portf...

365 days since I left Diageo to start my new adventure with a wife, three children and a cat in tow. 365 days since I handed in my Blackbe...

Just read a book called Bounce by Matthew Syed. Its central point is that excellence in sport or indeed any field of endeavour is not a ques...

That's the (literally) six figure question - do I love teaching? The question behind the question is 'was it worth giving up your ca...

Not that my children are particularly materialistic but they have asked this question on a number of occasions. Let's examine the fact...

Lack thereof will surely lead to my downfall... Teaching is alot about self discipline so far. The discipline to plan each lesson ahead of...

I have come across many references to teacher stress in the last year but what kind of stress have I personally experienced and how does it ...

I remember doing one of those psychometric tests when I first started work back in 1989. I have done loads since but I have a very vivid mem...

So, I am off the day by day (as it's September) but have a few remaining topics to blog on I have discovered that many parents share a...

Thursday April 8th As you can see, I lost the plot on this blog with a mere 9 days to go. Typical. I have never been a completer finisher....

Wednesday April 7th Three days when the shiny new life lost its lustre and I got a little pissed off with the whole GTP thing. Nothing m...

Tuesday April 6th I was just clearing through some old papers and found the notes I used to tell my boss I was leaving.....I still can...

Monday April 5th Easter Monday so had the family down for lunch - Mum, Dad, Charles and Suzan. We cooked a big ham in Cherry Coke which wa...

Sunday April 4th Easter Sunday and we did not manage an Easter Egg hunt or a visit to church. Instead I went for a run and watched Match o...

Saturday April 3rd Once again we have overbooked on the visitors. It's a nice change from New York when they were few and far between....

Friday April 2nd Good Friday and I have made it through another term with snow, CRB issues, 2nd placement and 200 odd lessons done. Now I ...

Thursday April 1st INSET day which means teachers and no children. I spent most of the day in meetings or cajoling my very very lazy Year ...

Wednesday March 31st Last day of school and everyone is in a good mood. it feels good to be back and everyone in the staff room treats me ...

Tuesday March 30th I spent this morning at Alice's school, St Faith's Primary. I sat in with their Year 6 class to get a feel for ...

Monday March 29th Back to Kings' today and what a very nice welcome it was to. It seems that a few people have missed me and that put ...

Sunday March 28th A rare day of rest and recuperation with nothing very much on. Mrs N is still recovering from her run and I have no less...

Saturday March 27th Busy day today as Mrs N goes off and runs a very muddy and hilly 10k while Ted and I go up to Basingstoke and his team...

Friday March 26th Really enjoyed University day. We did lots of algebra and graphs. We are an eclectic bunch and have got on well with eac...

Thursday March 25th My last day at More House and I am very sad. Very little in the way of teaching today. My Year 8s are very content to ...

Wednesday March 24th Final observation today and then it's all downhill. The boys are getting end of term fever so I decide to do a fu...

Tuesday March 23rd Observation number 4 with the Head of Maths. It turns out that he played hockey with Jon Potter, my old boss at Diageo....

Monday March 22nd More House are interviewing for Maths teachers today so two of my classes were requisitioned for them to teach. This mea...

Sunday March 21st Very relaxed day as Ellen was off on her D of E walk all day. Went for a run and then gathered myself for my final week ...

Saturday March 20th I have entered the Welsh Castles Relay and am currently reserve number 2 for a 22 man team. It looks like a fitting se...

Friday March 19th Flexi Friday so probably my second favourite day of the week. The Maths dept. were not involved so I had the whole day t...

Thursday March 18th And so it came to pass that I tamed the mighty Year 9. I took them out of the class room and down on to the rugby pitc...

Wednesday March 17th This time last year I was on a spectacular St Patrick's Day bender, I mean quality audit, in Manhattan with the ...

Tuesday March 16th Tuesday is my favourite day here as I teach one class at 9am and then have nothing until 2pm. This makes for a relaxed ...

Monday March 15th Week 2 of my second placement and I felt ready for it. I enjoyed my little morning drive up there and as I get to know m...

Sunday March 14th I think I probably am. I do actively seek out avoidance strategies where possible. I do leave things to the last minu...

Saturday March 13th Having negotiated my first week at More House, I was determined to add a little flair to my lessons next week. Not qui...

Friday March 12th Interview at Kings' today - quite a grilling from Head of Dept, Assistant Head and Governor. However prepared, exper...

Thursday March 12th I was mightily relieved to get through my first week of teaching and discovered some necessary survival short cuts alo...

Wednesday March 10th Another big day and 4 lessons. I had my first formal observation with Year 8s and thought it went reasonably well. Th...

Tuesday March 9th Yesterday took more out of me than I realised as I felt very tired today. Fortunately, I had one early lesson and then a...

Monday March 8th First day at More House and it was a baptism of fire - 4 lessons straight off completely solo. Given that all the boys ha...

Sunday March 7th Tomorrow I start at More House School. I have to teach 4 lessons to classes I don't know on subjects I haven't pl...

Saturday March 6th I spent all day writing Year 10 reports. The good news is that I got them done in one day which beats my earlier attemp...

Friday March 5th Last day at Kings' for 3 weeks and I decided to go for the easy option - 2 formal observations after lunch. I hones...

Mike Hogan sent me this NYT article. Well written and very similar to my own experience so far.... A Midstream Switch to Teaching SIGN IN ...

Wednesday March 3rd Another day at University, cunningly planned to miss 3 lessons. Today was what they called a secondary conference - we...

Tuesday March 2nd Finally - my CRB check is complete and I am not a deviant. I can start at More House on Monday. The waiting is over but ...

Monday March 1st Back at Kings this morning and it feels like Groundhog Day. On the good side, I haven't really had to teach today as ...

Sunday February 28th We drove up to East Horsley for lunch with my brother. We regaled him with stories of life in a comprehensive school....

Saturday February 27th I was not built for 4 and a half hours sleep. Drove like the wind back to Winchester in time to catch Alice winni...

Friday February 26th Maths day at University so instead of slugging it out with 9.2.2 , I was relaxing with my fellow trainees looking at ...

Thursday February 25th I love Thursdays. Still no sign of the CRB check so it's looking like another week before I can go to More Hous...

Wednesday February 24th I have been trying to improve the pace of my lessons and am finding it quite difficult. I lose so much time at the...

Tuesday February 23rd I have been trying to work with the school chef, so that our Year 10s can sell hot chocolate at lunch times and rais...

Monday February 22nd It is definitely not a good feeling, coming back into school when I had planned not to be there. Today was a very eas...

Sunday February 21st It was raining when I woke up and I nearly didn't bother but glad I did. Headed out and met up with Neil to run...

Saturday February 20th Ted and I went on an AWEsome bike ride up to Farley Mount in the mud. It was uphill all the way which he struggled ...

Friday February 19th No CRB in the post today so I'll be back at Kings' next week. Part of me is relieved as spending next week in...

Thursday February 18th I am sure I did something really productive today but I cannot for the life of me remember it. I'll put it down...

Wednesday February 17th Went up to London for dinner and met up with Jonathan, Justin and Benj. We had a good few beers and dinner. This w...

Tuesday February 16th Full day of work today as Mrs N took Alice and Ted off to London. Ellen was here revising for her exams so we got lo...

Monday February 15th My beautiful wife's birthday and I'm at home all day with her to enjoy it. We head off to Southampton to buy ...

Sunday February 14th I finally finished reading The Number Devil by Hans Magnus Enzensberger. It was a recommended read back in the summe...

Saturday February 13th What do do this weekend? Kicked it off with a weezy run and tentative linesman's duties at Ted's football m...

Friday February 12th INSET day (In Service Training Day). I had a really good day as a) this counted as 1 day of training towards my 60 da...

Thursday February 11th Just one lesson today which was bliss. Got that out the way and then enjoyed my Thursday afternoon, pottering aroun...

Wednesday February 10th 300 days gone by. This time last year, we were planning our flight over the pond to visit schools and find a house...

Tuesday February 9th The reason I am not in my second school today is that Kings' failed to send off for my CRB check. This is to ensu...

Monday February 8th What a day. Interview - I go to my interview at Perins School still in two minds. This was not the plan. It's se...

Sunday February 7th The tension is building - job interview tomorrow and then I start at my new school. I can't take the pressure..tak...

Saturday February 6th Mum's birthday and I managed to catch her between golf and safari in South Africa. Why can't they buy a litt...

Friday February 5th I struggled manfully in having planned all my lessons but my voice and resolve gave way in my first lesson. The lesson...

Thursday February 4th I finally succumbed and spent the day in bed trying to fight this cold. A classic dose of man flu but sleeping all d...

Wednesday February 3rd Not feeling 100% so fighting through to the weekend with runny nose and ample doses of Lemsip. Three lessons today ...

Tuesday February 2nd Started a new topic with 7.2.1 today - angles. I was being observed and I think it went ok although once again I didn...

Monday February 1st My last week at Kings' before going to my second school and I have prepared outline lesson plans for all my sets aft...

Sunday January 31st A crisp January Sunday and not a care in the world except football, eating, lesson planning and resting. I did go for a ...

Saturday January 30th Icy cold day today and went for a run with Neil before Ted's game. He had hurt his calf so I did some uphill speed...

Friday January 29th Game of two halves today. Before lunch was not a great performance. As with my other classes, it takes a while to judge ...

Thursday January 28th Year 11 parents' evening was good training for me although I was in a state of mild panic about my full day of tea...

Wednesday January 27th University day and the dreaded verdict on my inept Fibonacci assignment. Blow me, but I only got a B! Apparently it w...

Tuesday January 26th Assembly and mentor meeting this morning. My assignment is looming large and I still haven't done anything meaningf...

Monday January 25th Secured my first tutoring job today. This is the way forward. 25 quid cash in hand for one hour a week. If I could squee...

Sunday January 24th Report writing hell as previously reported so hardly left the sanctuary of my office and completely ignored my family. I...

Saturday January 23rd No-one can mention the word REPORT to me, ever again. This weekend I had to write 65 reports for Year 8 and it nearly ...

Friday January 22nd Tired today and lacking in inspiration. This is not good on a very full Friday so I need to find another gear from somew...

Thursday January 21st Another day out from school today, this time to Bletchley Park with a group of Year 7s. My first go at supervising a s...

Wednesday January 20th Back to work today but, because of the school closures, both my Year 8 classes were taking exams so I had no planning...