How to become a secondary school teacher

Secondary teachers in England need a degree, enough knowledge of their subject to teach it up to GCSE (often A level too), and qualified teacher status. Most qualify through a one-year postgraduate route, and trainees in shortage subjects can get a tax-free bursary of up to £29,000. On the levels recommended from 1 September 2026, a new teacher outside London starts at £34,069.

The subject decides a lot

Primary teachers cover the whole curriculum. In a secondary school you are hired to teach one subject, sometimes with a second one added to fill a timetable. Your degree does not have to match it exactly, but a training provider will want to see that you can teach it with confidence. A chemistry graduate teaching science across key stage 3, or a linguist teaching French and Spanish, are both normal. If your subject knowledge is thin in places, providers sometimes ask you to take a subject knowledge enhancement course first.

The subject also decides the money while you train. For trainees starting in 2026/27 in England, the bursaries are:

Subject	Bursary	Scholarship (instead of bursary)
Chemistry, computing, physics	£29,000	£31,000
Maths	£29,000	None listed
French, German, Spanish	£20,000	£22,000
Other languages (including ancient languages), design and technology	£20,000	None listed
Biology, geography	£5,000	None listed

Subjects that are not in the table, such as English, history and PE, have no bursary this year. Salaried routes cannot be combined with a bursary, though salaried School Direct and postgraduate teaching apprenticeship places attract grants to the school at the same per-subject rates. The full list of conditions is in our guide to bursaries and scholarships.

Training routes into secondary teaching

The main postgraduate routes are a PGCE with QTS (university-led with school placements), School Direct in fee-paying and salaried versions, a SCITT run by a group of schools, and the postgraduate teaching apprenticeship. There are also undergraduate degrees that include QTS, and a teacher degree apprenticeship pilot in maths. Teach First runs its own salaried programme in schools serving disadvantaged areas; see Teach First.

Most providers ask for GCSEs in English and maths at a standard pass or equivalent, plus a degree. Time spent in a school before applying helps, and some providers expect it. Every trainee needs an enhanced DBS check with a children’s barred list check, which costs £41.00 from 5 October 2026 and is usually arranged by the provider. Our page on teacher training routes compares them side by side.

Pay from September 2026

The government accepted the STRB’s recommendation of 3.5% on all pay and allowance ranges from 1 September 2026. The legal document that puts this into effect, the STPCD 2026, was still in draft at mid-October 2026, with publication expected around early November and backdating to 1 September. Until then maintained schools cannot formally pay the new rates.

The recommended main pay range outside London runs from £34,069 at M1 to £46,940 at M6. The upper pay range is £49,134 to £52,835. In inner London the equivalent figures are £41,729 to £54,131 on the main range and up to £64,684 at U3. Points M1 to M6 are advisory: schools must stay within the statutory minimum and maximum but can set their own steps.

Extra responsibility in secondary schools is usually paid through teaching and learning responsibility payments. From September 2026, TLR3 runs from £727 to £3,600, TLR2 from £3,651 to £8,913 and TLR1 from £10,531 to £17,819. See TLR payments for how schools use them. For the effect of tax, National Insurance, student loan and pension on your salary, use the take-home pay calculator.

Form tutor duties

Almost every secondary teacher is also a form tutor. You see the same group of pupils at registration each morning or afternoon, take the register, pass on notices and keep an eye on attendance, behaviour and wellbeing. You are often the first adult a parent contacts and the first to notice when something is wrong at home. Concerns about a pupil’s safety go to the designated safeguarding lead, not to the tutor alone.

Tutor time can include a short programme of personal development or reading. Above you sits a head of year or pastoral lead, who picks up the bigger behaviour and attendance cases; our profile of the head of year covers that role.

Hours and the school year

A full-time classroom teacher in England can be directed to work 1,265 hours over 195 days: 190 teaching days and 5 other days. Planning, marking and reports are not counted within that figure, and much of it happens in evenings and weekends. A secondary timetable gives you planning, preparation and assessment time, but the volume of marking for exam classes can be heavy in some subjects.

Holidays follow the school calendar. Teachers in maintained schools resign to fixed dates: to leave at 31 August you hand in notice by 31 May, to leave at 31 December by 31 October, and to leave at 30 April by the end of February. Academies often use the same dates; check the contract.

Induction and what comes next

After QTS you complete statutory induction as an early career teacher, which lasts the equivalent of two full-time school years. It is required in maintained schools; academies, free schools and independent schools may offer it but are not legally bound to. During induction you get a mentor and a reduced timetable.

Common next steps in a secondary school are second in department, then head of department, or a pastoral route through head of year. Both usually come with a TLR. Teachers who stay in the classroom can apply for the upper pay range or a leading practitioner post, which pays £53,847 to £81,861 outside London.

Secondary vacancies in England are listed on the free DfE Teaching Vacancies service, and you can browse current openings under teaching jobs. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own pay arrangements, so check the relevant scale before comparing offers across borders.