These events provide a great opportunity for Scholars in their ITT and ECT years to share their experiences in the classroom, as well as consider new approaches, advice and teaching tips from fellow Scholars.
In this session, four of our Scholars – ranging from a Scholar who has just achieved QTS, to an alumni Scholar with four years of teaching experience – led the discussion on a variety of topics, including the pressures of results day.
“In my head, I thought if [my class] absolutely smash [the exams] then I’m clearly good at my job,” Katie said, who completed the FTS Programme in 2022.
Katie spoke frankly with our Scholars about her experience teaching her first Year 11 Maths class during her ECT years, and what it is like awaiting their GCSE results.
“Last year I was getting a little bit of Imposter Syndrome… and I thought [strong exam results] would cure everything,” Katie explained openly. “But when it comes to the real [exam], anything can happen on that day. You can have a complete mind blank; you might’ve had another exam the afternoon before and you’re completely wiped out.”
Ultimately, all but one of Katie’s students received a good passing grade – with some students performing more (and less) strongly than predicted. Summarising this, Katie commented, “Actually, it’s okay that [some students] maybe didn’t do as amazingly because I know how hard they worked, and I know they did try their best.”
Speaking about how she feels about subsequent results days, Katie said, “It’ll get easier but you’ll never stop worrying – because we care so much.”
Katie also provided some advice for Scholars who will be experiencing their first results day this month, as some Scholars were unsure when they would be able to see their results.
“Definitely chat to members of your department to see if there’s a way to see those results earlier, because it’s something that you’ll want to know,” Katie said. “Or if you’re able to, go in on results day. I wanted to be there and I wanted to see [my students] open their results. I wanted to see the results myself, too.”
A series of clips from our summer Scholar to Scholar event will be shared with all our Scholars in the coming weeks – featuring topics including teaching A-level, achievements over the past year, and the transition from ITT to ECT. You can view a clip of our discussion surrounding results day here.
We have once again enjoyed hearing from our Scholars about their experiences and successes this past academic year, and we look forward to our next virtual event which will be held in the Autumn term.
