A chance to cherish Shropshire's teachers

But for those who relish the challenges, teaching can be an incredible rewarding and full-filling job.

Many of us will remember a teacher from our school days who stood out either for their memorable lessons and teaching style or for the support they may have given during a difficult time.

Teachers say they enjoy helping to make a difference to children's lives and sharing their passion for their favourite subjects.

They also like offering guidance and support to help pupils fulfil their potential and take great joy in seeing them succeed.

Although a career in education is not without its challenges, for many who enter the profession, these are usually far outweighed by the benefits teaching can bring.

And today the hard work of teachers is being recognised around the globe with World Teachers' Day - a UNESCO initiative celebrated in more than 200 countries, which aims to highlight the contribution teachers make to society.

In the UK the Government is also working to encourage more graduates into the profession following a decline in numbers recently years.

Latest figures showed there were 451,900 full time equivalent teachers working in English state schools in 2018,compared with 457,000 in 2016.

As part of the recruitment drive, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson recently announced plans to increase starting salaries for teachers, saying: "I want the best talent to be drawn to the teaching profession and for schools to compete with biggest employers in the labour market and recruit the brightest and the best into teaching."

'There's variety in every week'

Verity Corbett has been teaching for 15 years and loves the variety the job brings.

She is head of maths at Burton Borough School in Newport, near Telford and recently supported pupils during the 2019 STEM Challenge.

“I have always loved maths and really enjoyed working with young people, during my degree I would regularly find myself helping others and trying to explain the parts they didn’t understand in a more straight forward way.

“ Towards the end of my degree I looked into graduate schemes and different jobs but none gave me the mix of maths and helping others,” says the 36-year-old.

There are many reasons why she enjoys being in the classroom.

“There’s always a huge variety in every week. I love seeing the pupils confidence grow as they understand more concepts and seeing them grow as individuals,” says Verity, who lives in Brockton, near Shifnal.

But she says there are challenges that come with the role due to the “complexities of young people today and the struggles they face well beyond the classroom”.

“It is hard sometimes to convey to a pupil that learning, say, Pythagoras should be a priority to them when just getting up and to school in the morning is hard enough,” Verity says. “But having said this we owe it to them to believe that they can still achieve despite any difficulties they are facing and to maintain high expectations of them which will hopefully support them in succeeding in the real world beyond school.

“It is the best job in the world on a good day so I would recommend it to others – but only with caution and ensuring that they are not naive of the difficulties and pressures it also brings with it as a profession.”

'It's the best profession in the world'

Lisa Kane qualified 18 years ago and now trains the next generation of teachers.

As head of professional studies at Burton Borough School in Newport near Telford, she looks after a fresh cohort of trainees every year.

The 49-year-old from Dawley, who previously had a career as a photographer before becoming a maths teacher, says it's a rewarding role.

"It's meeting a completely different set of trainees every year and seeing the new things that they bring to the classroom that we can all learn from and getting to work with the next generation.

"I don't think there is anything better than when you first see a trainee teacher who was really timid at the start but six months later is brimming with confidence in the classroom," says Lisa.

At the moment she is overseeing six newly qualified teachers and seven associate trainee teachers at Burton Borough School.

"I enjoy seeing them grow in confidence and in their subjects and becoming excellent teachers," says Lisa.

She qualified as a maths teacher in 2001 and still teaches subject knowledge enhancement courses in maths.

"I still absolutely loves maths - it's beautiful. It's a universal language and it blows people's minds," says Lisa.

For her being a teacher is "the best profession in the world".

"It's the most rewarding job working with young people and seeing the moment the penny drops and they finally get it. You're making a difference to them and there is no better feeling," says Lisa.