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Secondary education

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Original poster

Teachers: What grades did you get in your own A Levels/GCSEs?

87 replies

trinketz · 02/12/2023 22:15

As a school governor at a 'Good' secondary comprehensive school (with well above average results) I'm sometimes involved in interview panels. Most applicants seem to have got very average grades in the subjects they teach and/or lower second class degrees. I guess I find that surprising, and wonder how it impacts their ability to stretch the brightest. If you're a secondary school teacher, did you shine in your subject of choice when you were at school/uni? If not, does it matter? Does it perhaps even make you a better teacher?

OP posts:
countdowntonap · 02/12/2023 22:19

First class degree and masters. Last three people I’ve employed have first class degrees.

littlecreeature · 02/12/2023 22:19

I got a B at GCSE in the subject I teach. I then went on to get a B at A Level and 2:1 degree in the subject. I guess the thing that matters is that if I was to sit the GCSE or A Level papers now I would get full marks. I’ve taught for 15 years and my results have always been outstanding. I teach a second subject that I have no formal quals in and results outstanding for that too- even at A Level. I am mediocre in my subject in comparison to the rest of the world but I’m a bloody good teacher and I think that’s the most important thing.

littlecreeature · 02/12/2023 22:22

Also, I’m SLT and sit on recruitment panels. I judge candidates by their classroom ability and student outcomes rather than their qualifications.

Mojolostforever · 02/12/2023 22:23

Good grades don't make better teachers. An ability to explain is what makes excellent teachers. Often, very highly qualified people know their own subject so well that they assume all their pupils have a good basic knowledge which isn't always the case.

Nowadays, the ability to deal with disruption so that actual teaching can happen, is a huge advantage.

HereBeFuckery · 02/12/2023 22:27

In one of the subjects I teach, A* at GCSE, A at A level, and an S Level.
In the other, I have a PhD.

MsGoodenough · 03/12/2023 06:56

I got straight As and went to Cambridge but I'd say that's unusual. As other have said, the best teachers often have very average grades. Teaching is brutally exhausting and stressful for much less pay than academic high flyers can get elsewhere, so it's not going to attract them. This is particularly a problem for subjects like maths and computer science where graduates can really earn the big bucks.

SparklingSparkle · 03/12/2023 07:10

A,A,B
1st class degree
I genuinely think someone like you shouldn't be involved in interviewing teachers if you think that results are relevant to an ability to teach.
My husband has a PhD in his chosen subject but when our kids were doing their homework in secondary school he was appalling at helping them with homework in his supposed subject because he just got it and couldn't actually explain it to them.
The same with a very able driver teaching their own child to drive. It's proven that it's better to get a qualified instructor.
As I said before if you don't understand this then you shouldn't be involved in recruitment.

fgscat · 03/12/2023 07:13

English teacher to GCSE level (no 6th form where I work; they go to college elsewhere)

A in Language, A* in Literature GCSE
A at A Level
2:1 at degree (bit too much partying to pull it back 😂)

I think I'm a good teacher because I listen and observe and meet kids where they're at, and because I understand the theory of marginal gains, not because I got good grades myself - all my other subjects were good ish/average

everybluesock · 03/12/2023 07:15

I find it surprising that a governor is wondering why a profession which is full of chronically underpaid and overworked staff doesn't attract those with top grades.
I guess you just can't get the governors nowadays.

terraced · 03/12/2023 07:19

Mojolostforever · 02/12/2023 22:23

Good grades don't make better teachers. An ability to explain is what makes excellent teachers. Often, very highly qualified people know their own subject so well that they assume all their pupils have a good basic knowledge which isn't always the case.

Nowadays, the ability to deal with disruption so that actual teaching can happen, is a huge advantage.

This

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 03/12/2023 07:21

ABB in my A Levels (A in one subject I teach, B in the other). I was predicted 3 As, but got an EE offer from Oxford (which was standard back then), so didn't revise as much as I would have done otherwise! 2:1 from Oxford.

Notellinganyone · 03/12/2023 07:29

When we’re recruiting we look at University qualifications most closely. A 2:1 from a good uni would count more than a first from somewhere less prestigious. We currently have many teachers with PhD s and a fair few from Oxbridge. It doesn’t automatically make you a good teacher but without subject knowledge you’d struggle. We’re a very academic school though.

sorrynotathome · 03/12/2023 07:32

If they have O levels then their grades at O, A and degree level will be significantly different. In my year at Uni (Russell Group) there were over 100 students on my course and only 3 got a 1st.

WilderRose · 03/12/2023 07:40

Only one got a first on my English degree many moons ago as apparently none of the rest of us deserved it!
A pp mentioned computer science. Recruitment a huge issue at my son's secondary....

Maddy70 · 03/12/2023 07:40

SparklingSparkle · 03/12/2023 07:10

A,A,B
1st class degree
I genuinely think someone like you shouldn't be involved in interviewing teachers if you think that results are relevant to an ability to teach.
My husband has a PhD in his chosen subject but when our kids were doing their homework in secondary school he was appalling at helping them with homework in his supposed subject because he just got it and couldn't actually explain it to them.
The same with a very able driver teaching their own child to drive. It's proven that it's better to get a qualified instructor.
As I said before if you don't understand this then you shouldn't be involved in recruitment.

This entirely

Philandbill · 03/12/2023 07:44

everybluesock · 03/12/2023 07:15

I find it surprising that a governor is wondering why a profession which is full of chronically underpaid and overworked staff doesn't attract those with top grades.
I guess you just can't get the governors nowadays.

Well said.
But I'll answer the governor's question. My A level grades were average but I scraped into a Russel group university and achieved a first because I worked hard and loved my subject. There were thirty on my course and three of us got firsts. I also have a MA from the OU and a post grad psychology qualification which were completed whilst I was teaching full time. That was over twenty years ago though, there is no possibility of that level of study for me now. I wouldn't be able to afford it and as I work on average sixty hours each week I'd lack time and frankly be too tired.
As you're a governor I urge you to put your energy into understanding the reality of teacher recruitment - it's in an appalling state- and start lobbying about that. Be brave and publicise to the parents about the number of applications you have for posts. It might help them to understand that the education system is collapsing around us.

Newmummy46 · 03/12/2023 07:57

A different perspective from me. I have an A* in GCSE and an A in A-level and then a degree in a different subject. I teach my degree subject- fine. I also teach the subject I did for GCSE and A level. I am a very good GCSE teacher, know the syllabus well, good understanding of content etc. I can teach A level but I would struggle to stretch the brightest students. I admit this to the school and much prefer teaching GCSE only in this subject.

grafittiartist · 03/12/2023 08:00

One of my favourite teachers had failed the subject first time round- it made her brilliant at teaching it as she understood pitfalls and common misunderstandings.
Those who sail through a subject don't always know how to teach it- they just know it.

Phineyj · 03/12/2023 08:18

I got excellent grades and a first class degree in the subject I teach (I didn't get in to Cambridge for it though) and in my heart of hearts I know that I'm better at teaching the top end than those who struggle. I'm good with SEN though.

But on the other hand, it's a tough subject, that is optional, so I'm well matched to it and those who are struggling probably should have been advised better...

However, there are plenty of opportunities in life to experience what it feels like to find learning something difficult. Everyone's got something to draw on.

The most important assets for success in teaching are organisation, optimism, physical and mental health and energy, patience with bureaucracy (including governors) and people reinventing the wheel, liking being with children or teenagers and ideally a private income!

Subject knowledge is quite far down the survival list tbh.

thankyouforthedayz · 03/12/2023 08:18

My brother, with a First and MSc in Maths can't explain anything to my kids. He thinks that because he needed so little explanation to grasp concepts he cannot access the words and analogies a good maths teacher would use or start to empathise with why someone wouldn't understand. We have a friend who teaches Functional Maths in an FC colleague to kids who didn't get GCSE. She has A Level Maths and a Teaching qualification. she's helped our kids with GCSE so much and seems to have a toolkit of different explanations. I'm quite dismayed at your question, the worth of a teacher is their ability to engage with and teach young people, not whether they got a 2.1 or 2.2.

kiwiaddict · 03/12/2023 09:02

everybluesock · 03/12/2023 07:15

I find it surprising that a governor is wondering why a profession which is full of chronically underpaid and overworked staff doesn't attract those with top grades.
I guess you just can't get the governors nowadays.

I was thinking just this!

Hbh17 · 03/12/2023 09:22

I'm not a teacher, but the age of the candidate will be relevant as there has been massive grade inflation over the years. When I was at university, firsts were vanishingly rare (especially in arts and humanities), there were a reasonable number of upper seconds and lower seconds were standard. At that time, only 10% of 18 year olds went to university, so all of these people were at the academic "top end". Post-Blair Government, the numbers have changed dramatically.

I would also agree that teaching ability doesn't necessarily equate with getting the highest degree classification. Why not watch them deliver a lesson?

puffyisgood · 03/12/2023 09:48

I'd only really care about a teacher's grades if they were teaching something really tecchie, A level further maths springs to mind.

Phineyj · 03/12/2023 10:23

@Hbh17 I agree. That's why I didn't give grades, because my 'A's date from the "old money" era.

I've been thinking some more about the OP and I reckon the best interview would be:

Have them teach a lesson to a mixed ability class. Ensure the tech isn't working properly; arrange a couple of people to wander in during it and ask for directions and/or maybe spill something sticky. Get someone to drill or operate a chainsaw outside the window.

You'd soon find out who had the right stuff.

12345change · 03/12/2023 10:25

As previous posters have said, a teachers results for GCSE, A level or degree class are not an indicator of whether they will be good or excellent teachers. In fact I would argue strongly that having experience of struggling in a subject makes you a better teacher.

I have worked with teachers with first class degrees who have not been very good teachers but schools/colleges have employed them because of the attitude displayed in the op's post.