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

[trinketz]

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?

@puffyisgood I worked at a school with a large Maths department with in the main well qualified and able Maths teachers (I'm not Maths but had a desk in the same room). I noticed that all the really hard problems, extended essay projects in Maths all found their way to "Joan". Maths teachers know who can do it!

Teaching probably isn't that attractive an option for those getting straight As and first class degrees.
No disrespect to teachers, quite the opposite.
Its not magnificently paid, not well respected and seems to me like very hard work!
Lots of other things I'd encourage my child to do tbh.

I didn't become a teacher till my late 30s. I always tell students to get life experience first.

I would in no way have wanted to teach in my 20s!

Are the A-levels I did over a decade ago really that relevant to my subject knowledge now, though? If someone got poor A-levels, due to personal circumstances at the time, for example, does that mean they can't be a good teacher?

FWIW I got As at GCSE, A and C at A-level and a 2.1 degree in what I'd consider my "specialism", but I've also taught GCSE Physics, and my highest qualification in that is a B at GCSE. However, I do have the skills to teach myself the spec. I've also in the past taught A-level Psychology (which was my other A-level), which I got an A in, but don't have any higher qualifications than that!

Stretching the brightest students is often not solely down to subject knowledge, although good subject knowledge can help interest students of all abilities. But often the stretch is thinking up activities that ask them to apply their knowledge, or synoptic activities which link together lots of different topics, or analysis tasks etc.

There are also things on the biology syllabus (e.g. relating to genetics) which I didn't learn at GCSE or A-level, the syllabus changes as new research is done and we gain greater understanding in some areas. Therefore, I do think it's important to keep reading widely around my subject and keep my subject knowledge up to date. In 20-30 years time, it's very likely some of what I learnt on my degree will be seen as out of date.

This is very true- if you want people with first class degrees, especially in STEM to become teachers, then the salary and working conditions need to be a lot more competitive!

The worst teacher who has taught our kids is Cambridge educated, so I assume comes with a clutch of A grades. She's intolerant, doesn't explain, gives minimal feedback, marks very little work (although that is a schoolwide issue). There are teachers there who openly admit to making a hash of their own exams, one in particular is very good at lifting up students who are struggling and increasing their confidence.
There's a lot more to teaching than actually teaching, getting A grades doesn't necessarily mean you are cut out for it.

Also reading your post again. Teaching isn't only about "stretching the brightest", it's about getting every child to achieve their potential.

I think I was in a minority in my year at Oxford who had straight As, but that was because I had an AAB offer so couldn't afford to drop the ball! Weird to think I had better A Levels than many who were vastly better educated than me and seemingly smarter as well. I got a 2:1 in the end, as did something like 80% of candidates. (An older boyfriend who had been at Cambridge in the 80s told me that 2:2 was the standard grade back then.) I've never taught my degree subject because there's very little call for it.

I was so annoyed when the A levels went modular and A* grades came in. At a stroke, my excellent A level results were downgraded to mediocre. At the same time I was aware of having (unwillingly) benefited from earlier grade inflation: I remember the then decade-old Latin O level papers which we used for A level preparation.

"Those who can't, teach" is probably true of many Oxbridge grads. It's the career of last resort for those without connections or a fashionable degree subject. That doesn't mean we're all crap at teaching, of course, just that it tends to seem like the sole remaining avenue of opportunity once you've been laughed out of graduate job interviews for the unfashionable degree subject and laughed out of non-graduate job interviews for being overqualified.

I was so annoyed when the A levels went modular and A *grades came in. At a stroke, my excellent A level results were downgraded to mediocre.

AAB are absolutely not mediocre grades at any time in recent history. Most of the kids I know are getting Russell Group offers at that level. Yes, there are occasional competative subjects and unis that demand better (Oxbridge obviously). But we are doing are kids a disservice by implying As and Bs are mediocre.

This is exactly my point. I have dyslexia not assessed until I was an adult - GCSE's and A levels fairly average or possibly seen as below average by some. Yet I am a fairly good teacher (I am told and my students A level results reflect this!). Being academic does not necessary make a good teacher it is more complex.

Not at all! And when I was in sixth form (93-95) most of the "Russell Group" universities - nobody used the term "Russell Group" then - weren't regarded as prestigious at all. The idea of redbrick universities as elite is very recent indeed.

Not at all! And when I was in sixth form (93-95) most of the "Russell Group" universities - nobody used the term "Russell Group" then - weren't regarded as prestigious at all. The idea of redbrick universities as elite is very recent indeed.

RG hadn't even started when I was applying. But there was snobbery akin to the redbrick unis as we had polytechnics and universities. I was very looked down on for applying to a poly, but that was the best option for most art based subjects at the time.

I'm a primary teacher. I have an A in A-level maths, B's in GCSE English Lit and Language.
I'm much better at teaching children who struggle with English than those who struggle with maths, and am able to stretch able children in both.
I have worked with 3 Oxbridge graduates in my career. One did it for a year, was pretty good, but it felt like they had a checklist of things to do in life and they were off to the next challenge.
The others were 2 of the worst teachers I have come across. Both struggled with the soft skills needed to be a really good teacher. One needed complete control and couldn't manage behaviour - they were very rigid in their approach and could not allow flexibility to meet individual children's needs. The other had incredibly poor social skills and was terrible with pupils, staff and parents. Both were highly strung and had long periods off before leaving teaching.

DH teaches secondary core (but is SLT now anyway). He got As at gcse, Bs at A-level. Then totally stuffed up his degree cos he was 21 and a bit immature and didn’t take it seriously. He’s a genuinely outstanding teacher though. The fact he was a bit of an idiot at school really helps him to engage and understand his students.

I got straight As and a first class degree. I’m also a very good teacher. Academic understanding is, of course, important, but it’s very much not the whole job.

I got ABBC at A level then did a Primary Education degree.

I moved in to secondary as a cover teacher and fell into teaching my subject (Maths) which I've now done exclusively for 16 years. I have no Maths qual beyond GCSE

I've moved school twice and had the best results in all 3 departments every year for those 16 years.

Sampling bias :)

Asking g people what they earn will attract the 100k+ (show offs?)... and here, notice we have an unusually high number of Oxbridge, A*, PhD replies :)

The qualifications of the teachers at my school range from Oxbridge educated to two E grades at A level and a mediocre degree, with everything in between. Zero impact on teaching ability or results!

Teaching is the most popular destination of Oxbridge graduates, as it goes.

Straight As/a* at GCSE, As a a level in maths and sciences. Taught primary. Nope- didn't really make me a better teacher. Learning about teaching and learning did that.

I’m a uni lecturer rather than a teacher. I sometimes have to teach stuff of which I have no subject knowledge. I’ve never found it a problem as long as I have enough prep time. I’m teaching a topic next week of which a week ago I knew bugger all. I’ve spent a morning in the library researching it and preparing the session. I think being able to teach (which is a skill in itself) is probably more important.

That's probably because there are so many more state school students now. If you have no "old school tie" and an arts degree, teaching is the obvious fallback. I only knew one person in my year (different college) who had teaching as her Plan A, and she was in the highly unusual position of being a mature student with a young child. I bet she was a brilliant teacher. For the rest of us, teaching has been very much the consolation prize.

@TurquoiseSeasAndSilverSand Yes, the anti-poly snobbery was stupid, as was the attitude to trades. Fast forward to when I graduated, and plumbers were making 70k a year while I was waitressing.

No, that's not the case. There are a range of reasons. Public school educated students teach too. Otherwise, where would Eton get it's staff!?

It's more to do with Oxbridge offering a narrow range of subjects. People who do marketing at eg Lancaster or business management at Northumbria will go into those fields.

I think it sounds rather sneering to refer to teaching as a consolation prize.

I did O levels and got 9 As and a B. For A levels, I got 3 As and a B. I got a first at a top university - in English. I don’t think those grades in themselves make me a good teacher, though. Many good teachers don’t have grades like that, and it doesn’t necessarily matter.