Teaching with a 2:2 Degree

[peacock00]

Hello there

I have got a conditional offer for a PGCE starting this September, I have a 2:2 at undergraduate level. I am just wondering when it comes to applying for teaching jobs will my 2:2 make it harder for me to secure a job if I will be competing with people who have a 2:1 and a 1st?

Only in independent schools in my experience.

I have a 2.2 and it's never been a problem. Why would it be???? It's classed as a good honours degree. As for someone with a 2.2 struggling with the academic parts of a PGCE, I've never heard anything so ridiculous.

I once taught in a school which regularly welcomed PGCE students (primary) and I found that there is a lot more to teaching than academic qualifications. Of course they are important, but so is communication with the children, and especially in primary, where you are teaching a broad span of the curriculum, the ability to keep all the plates spinning. The most disastrous student I ever mentored had a double first from Oxford, had a very pleasant personality - and my little herberts ran rings round her. Oddly, they reacted well to a sixth-former on work experience (I carried the same class through two years) who had a brisk, cheerful, down-to-earth manner. A colleague of mine mused on the way that young children seem to accept some people unquestioningly as a teacher, as if they were doing it by smell.....
When the time comes to apply for appointments, part of the process will be to be observed teaching, and your "audience" will neither know nor care what class of degree you have. Again, I'm not saying that you don't need a good grasp of your subject, but anybody looking for a member of staff will be looking for more than that. You obviously have enough going for you to be accepted on the course, so go for it!

No, but references are everything in teaching!

It would have made it harder in the schools I worked at (I was part of recruitment panels) but not impossible and I hear there is far less competition for jobs at the moment (can’t think why!). It was one of the measures we looked at during shortlisting but rarely a deal beaker if the rest of your application was really great.

I hear there is far less competition for jobs at the moment

I’m afraid it’s quite the opposite. There have been two years’ worth of trainees chasing fewer vacancies than usual this year.

I have a 2.2 and it's never been a problem. Why would it be???? It's classed as a good honours degree.

No, sorry, a 2.2 is not classed as a good honours degree. A good honours degree is a first or a 2.1.

@LidoLady really? Schools were accepting people without a degree and postgraduate qualification!?

It won't make any difference at all!

[quote GiantToadstool]@LidoLady really? Schools were accepting people without a degree and postgraduate qualification!?[/quote]
My surprise was at the low grades many teachers had. A 2.2 or 3rd class degree and all Ds and Es at A Level was very acceptable.

But some of the best teachers had the lowest qualifications.

I looked into teaching at one point. I would have been teaching maths. They were desperate for teachers at leats in my area. I live in a grammar school area and it would have definitely counted against you in a grammar where most teachers had higher qualifications. It would definitely not have counted against you in a comp where class room management and the ability to engage all kinds of students was a thousand times more important.

It’s not impossible, but I’m surprised by the number of people saying it will make no difference at all. I’ve sat on a number of interview panels as a HOD and as SLT and a good honours degree (2:1 or 1st) is absolutely something that we look for. I’d be cautious about employing someone with a 2:2. It’s not a hard rule but it is definitely a consideration.
In primary perhaps it matters less but most secondary schools will be interested in candidates’ degrees, especially when looking at relatively new teachers.

I have a 2:2 and have worked in grammar schools and independent schools throughout my career - have got every single job I've applied for and have never had my degree result come up so there's a bit of rubbish being spouted on this thread.

As for it meaning you might struggle with the academic aspects of the PGCE - 😂

The brightest stars in the academic world don't always translate into great teachers.

I got a 2:2 for my BEd hons and have been teaching primary over 20 years now. I also did a part time masters in education while still working and got a merit in that. Anything is possible really. I met someone who had been on my course who in the four years had got married, had three children and came out with a third. He is now a deputy head.

I work in a non-selective school. Classroom management is not more important than subject knowledge. Kids in comprehensives are need quality teaching not “crowd control”. Good comprehensive schools want well qualified staff.

@MadameMinimes

It’s not impossible, but I’m surprised by the number of people saying it will make no difference at all. I’ve sat on a number of interview panels as a HOD and as SLT and a good honours degree (2:1 or 1st) is absolutely something that we look for. I’d be cautious about employing someone with a 2:2. It’s not a hard rule but it is definitely a consideration. In primary perhaps it matters less but most secondary schools will be interested in candidates’ degrees, especially when looking at relatively new teachers.

Maybe the schools I've been lucky enough to work in have cared more about employing good teachers 🤷‍♀️

I feel that my 2:2 from Cambridge allows me to stand on a par with my fellow teachers in my department, substandard though I obviously am 🤨

I’ve been teaching 25 years with a 2:2. I teach a shortage subject but I’ve never struggled to get a job. Schools care about who is the best teacher. In my subject it is well known that those with first class degrees are more likely to struggle to teach dye to not understanding the difficulty students have.

Look at it this way. If you have a 2:2 and a calling to teach, then you will understand the very real struggle of those not naturally academically gifted.

I have been told by many teachers, that the best ones are the ones who know from bitter experience the hard slog, the easy misconceptions students pick up and how to overcome them.

You are not teaching you subject to degree standard, you just need to see your students through to the next key stage at the maximum of their ability.

I would say A level teaching is probably different but anything KS4 and below what should it matter if you only got a 2:2?

I am a secondary teacher and I have a 2:1 in my own subject but I often teach outside my subject area, sometimes teaching subjects I didn't even do for GCSE! I think when I trained a 2:1 was a requirement to do the PGCE but that might have changed or it might vary between universities. This was 20 years ago.
I doubt they would have offered you the PGCE place if they thought you wouldn't get a job at the end of it.

Oh and I teach a level in a very high achieving comprehensive. Teaching skill matters more as you can learn subject content.

@TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross We absolutely believe in getting good teachers. As I said, it’s not a hard and fast rule. I think it’s a bit disingenuous to suggest that having a 2:2 from London Met or the University of Sunderland circa 2019 would have been viewed the same way by your employers as your 2:2 from Cambridge. Your degree absolutely will have affected recruitment, it’s just in your case the institution is more pertinent than the classification.

I would say A level teaching is probably different but anything KS4 and below what should it matter if you only got a 2:2?

Nope, I've taught A Level since the start of my career with my crappy 2:2 - with students achieving A*s and going on to study degrees in my subject at university, including at Oxbridge.

I've got a third, never had an issue. I did do pretty well in my PGCE so that probably helps!

@mummymathsteacher

I doubt it. It's not something that I have ever factored into short listing candidates in school. What might be more problematic for you is the academic aspects of the PGCE, but again, you could easily have no problems. Good luck on your new career!

Could you be more specific and enlighten us as to what difficulties the OP might find? I really can't see what these could be. I have a 2:2 from the early 90s and 27 years' experience including mentoring PGCE students.

@eyeoresancerre

I'm a 2:2 and been teaching 15+ years and never had an issue. It's more about the interview and the lesson you teach at the interview. Good luck

Exactly the same. It makes no difference. Good luck! 👍🏾