NQT: 'If I could I would do this for ever'

Teachers who are new to the classroom find the job exciting and rewarding but utterly exhausting, reports Caitlin Pike

It is not all gloom and doom in the classroom, as the headlines would have us believe. Many teachers enjoy their work, finding it rewarding and interesting and certainly not boring. The latest figures from the Department for Education and Skills show that 22,000 new teachers gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) each year, and that the number is rising. So what do these Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) go through in their first few months of teaching? Do they feel that they've joined a circus and are walking the tightrope? Or are they the ring masters? Three NQTS talk about their work.

Stiletto-heeled Ann Marie McClintock, 22, dispels any myth that teaching isn't glamorous. She and her classroom at the Oratory Primary School in Kensington, central London, are immaculate, even trendy. There's an abstract rug, and jazz plays softly in the corner. You have no sense that you are in a primary school until her tribe of five- and six-year-olds bursts through the door with enough energy to power the National Grid.

It's the children's vigour, she says, that gets her through the day. "I just feed off the energy levels of the kids," she explains. "If I'm feeling tired, the children will give me that extra lift. There's a real buzz in here."

But she admits that the pace of her day is exhausting, and that if she didn't go to bed early during the week she wouldn't be able to do her job. Work for Ann Marie begins at 8am, and she's often still in the classroom at 7pm, but she gained a first- class degree from Warwick University and is not afraid of hard work. "To ensure that things run smoothly I devote part of my weekend to planning lessons. I cannot entertain the idea of bringing a hangover to work. That results in a significant social sacrifice. Some of my friends go out drinking throughout the week but I can't do that. I'm lucky to have a supportive partner and I make an effort to look after myself."

Ann Marie talks about her new job with passion. "Education is exciting," she says. "It's all change, it's all new, and it's on the Government's lips. Every hour of every day is different, and, if I could, I would do this for ever."

If that all sounds too good to be true, Ann Marie's final thought brings one down to earth. "One fear is the money," she says. "It's manageable at the moment because I'm renting, but buying a property is a worry. I may have to leave teaching in the future in order to earn enough money to have a home and family."

Beth Wooldridge, 25, was a travel writer and journalist before completing her school-based teacher training. Having had a career before going into teaching means that you can bring "a whole lot more to the classroom", she says. She travelled extensively in India and Africa, and can now share these experiences with her children at the Broadwater Primary School in Wandsworth, south London.

Half of her pupils speak English as a second language, and Beth is equipped to be particularly sensitive to their needs. "The cultural diversity in my school is why I love it so much," she says. "In my class alone there are 13 different nationalities and 17 languages, which leads to some fascinating discussions. I have three girls who are just learning English, and they have to take Key Stage 2 tests next year, which will be very hard for them."

Beth appreciates the high level of support she receives from other staff, and the strong leadership provided by the head teacher. "He's fantastic and has a wonderful policy of 'everyone is different but equal'. He tells the children this all the time, and because the school is so inclusive, children are not readily excluded. It's a very happy place and that means that I'm very happy teaching here."

Mahmuda Hasnath, 23, spent a year in a Birmingham public-health laboratory as a biomedical scientist before deciding to train as a teacher and getting a job at Holy Trinity Roman Catholic School in Birmingham. "I felt so cooped up in the lab, I missed interacting with people," she says. "It was too clinical for me." Mahmuda never thought that becoming a woman science teacher was particularly remarkable until she started telling people what she did for a living.

"People ask me what I do. When I tell them that I'm a science teacher they seem really surprised. I suppose it's more unusual than I thought." There are advantages to being a woman in the classroom, she thinks. "The girls are very responsive to me and make huge efforts to answer my questions. I think it's good that I'm there for them. The boys are lively, to say the least, and seem to think that because it's science, they know it all."

One of the challenges is having to think on her feet at lightning speed. "The kids play games and you really have to listen to what they say, otherwise they'll have the last laugh." As a practising Muslim in a Roman Catholic school, she is a religious role model for some of her pupils.

"Because there are Muslim pupils in the school, I think it is beneficial that there are two Muslim teachers here. If they have any queries about faith, they know that they can come to us."

Mahmuda talks openly about how well the diverse faiths mix at the school. She enjoys attending Mass with her pupils, and believes that any worship is uplifting, regardless of the religion.