Lecturers were always supportive and helpful and my two mentors at my school placements were the best.

I did my history PGCE at UEA in 2002. Even now I still remember my time on the PGCE course vividly. I had a great time mainly due to the fact that I was surrounded by a great bunch of people. Fellow course members were a laugh and came from all walks of life. Lecturers were always supportive and helpful and my two mentors at my school placements were the best.

The course was structured to cover educational theory at the UEA where you have to submit a number of assignments, and of course school placements where you put this into practice and got on with the job of learning how to become an imaginative and effective teacher who is always looking at ways to improve oneself through self evaluation.

I personally found the assignments quite problematic and had to resubmit two of them but I had plenty of support from UEA lecturers and fellow PGCE students to get me through this.

As for my school placements, after a slow start and a lot of support and patience from my mentor I loved every minute of it. My first lesson was a complete disaster even though I had designed a number of resources for the students to use. I pitched the lesson too high and the kids were just sat there blank faced as I (full of nerves) delivered my lesson. However I learnt from my mistakes and just by teaching again and again I gained in confidence and rapidly improved.

Since qualifying I have taught in two schools. My first school was quite a challenging school and it was quite far from where I lived but I took it because I wanted to teach. I couldn't move because my wife was studying at the UEA (not a PGCE!) so I had to commute. So my first two years were really tough teaching but I had a fantastic head of department to back me up and I started with two other NQTs so we could share and discuss our problems and that really helped. I could not really get as involved in the school as I would have liked because I always had to leave for home quickly due to the long drive but this all changed when I moved to a new school in Norfolk.

I was much closer to home, in a less challenging school in an excellent department and I really started to enjoy my job. As far as I am concerned it's the best job in the world apart from the pay which could be better but if you stick with it, this will improve.

Every day is different and teaching is only one part of it. You have to be administrator, nurse maid, friend, confidante, role model and first aid expert and a lot more. It sounds daunting but it is this variety which makes the job so enjoyable. The holidays are great especially when you get six weeks off in the summer. Believe me after this amount of time off you will be desperate to get back to work unless you are a complete couch potato. Marking can be a bit of a chore and is time consuming but as you get more experienced it gets easier. Student discipline is viewed as a problem by many people but if you are firm, consistent and fair it is not a problem. Trust me on this.

After establishing myself at my new school I am presently taking on more responsibilities and getting involved in the school more which will raise my profile and hopefully lead to new opportunities, challenges and money of course. Let's not pretend this doesn't matter.

Overall, teaching is a job of highs and lows. You feel you are actually doing something positive; you have a great deal of freedom in the classroom as long as you work within the framework of the school's disciplinary policy and your department's scheme of work. You have control over how interesting and enjoyable your lessons (and thus your job) are. Believe me there is nothing better than delivering and being a part of a lesson with thirty other people who leave your class room inspired, entertained, educated (hopefully!) and looking forward to coming back for more. Now I am not saying this is what happens after all my lessons but when it does you can't beat the feeling.