Secondary School Teacher CV Example (UK)

Headteachers and heads of department read a Secondary School Teacher CV in a fixed order: QTS and your subject, the key stages you teach, then evidence of what your classes achieved and how you contribute to the school. Put QTS, your subject and the year you qualified where they are seen first, name the exam boards and the key stages for every post, and give results in the terms a head of department uses: progress, GCSE grades and the Ofsted judgement the school earned while you were there.

The Sample CV below is for a science teacher with six years across two Nottinghamshire academies, now second in department. Its bullets pair classroom work with the measures a school is held to: GCSE outcomes, the progress of disadvantaged pupils, behaviour, and the mentoring of early career teachers.

Tailor it to each vacancy on the school's own site, the TES or the local authority pool. A head of department post wants curriculum design and results across a team; a pastoral role wants form tutoring and safeguarding; an independent school wants co-curricular work and A level. The US counterpart of this page is the teacher resume example, written for American school districts around state certification; a UK CV leads with QTS and the DBS. The Faculty template is laid out for teaching posts.

Updated . The person and employers in this Sample CV are fictional. Written for applicants in the UK; the page for applicants in the US is the teacher resume example.

Secondary School Teacher sample CV

Drawn at A4 proportions, the paper a UK CV is printed on.

Callum Ferrier

Secondary Science Teacher (Chemistry), QTS, Second in Department

Nottingham, NG7callum.ferrier@example.com07700 900163

Summary

Secondary science teacher with QTS and six years teaching chemistry and combined science across key stages 3 to 5 in two Nottinghamshire academies. Second in department since 2023, leading the Year 11 intervention programme that lifted the department's grade 5 and above outcomes two years running and mentoring two early career teachers through their induction. Calm in a difficult class, consistent with behaviour and clear with parents.

Experience

Science Teacher and Second in Department, Trentside Academy

– Present

Nottingham

  • Teach chemistry to key stages 4 and 5 and combined science to key stage 3, around 22 periods a week across nine classes of 28 to 32 pupils.
  • Lead the Year 11 intervention programme for science; grade 5 and above in combined science rose for two consecutive years and the gap for disadvantaged pupils narrowed.
  • Rewrote the key stage 3 chemistry scheme of work around the AQA specification, with retrieval starters and a shared bank of assessed practicals used by all seven science teachers.
  • Mentor two early career teachers through their two-year induction, observing weekly and writing the progress reviews; both passed their first-year assessment.
Science Teacher, Sherwood Heath School

–

Mansfield

  • Taught combined science across key stages 3 and 4, with a mixed-ability Year 10 class that finished above the school's progress target.
  • Form tutor to a Year 9 group of 30, running daily tutor time, parents' evenings and the first-line safeguarding referrals for the group.
  • Ran the STEM club and the Year 8 science fair, with 60 pupils entering the regional round in the second year.

Education

PGCE Secondary Science with Chemistry (QTS)

University of the East Midlands, Nottingham

Placements in an 11–16 academy and an 11–18 comprehensive.

BSc (Hons) Chemistry, 2:1

Derwent Valley University, Derby

Skills

  • Chemistry to A level
  • Combined science (AQA)
  • Curriculum and scheme of work design
  • Assessment and intervention planning
  • Behaviour management
  • Form tutoring and pastoral care
  • Safeguarding (deputy DSL trained)
  • Mentoring early career teachers
  • Required practicals and lab safety
  • SIMS and Google Classroom

Certifications

  • Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), Department for Education,
  • Enhanced DBS check with children's barred list, on the update service, Disclosure and Barring Service,
  • Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead training, Local safeguarding children partnership,

Start yours from this example

Opens this sample in the editor, in one of the templates below. Swap in your details, then tailor it to each vacancy in about two minutes.

Use this example

How a UK CV differs

A teaching CV in the UK is not the American one with the spelling changed. The qualification is QTS, gained through a PGCE, School Direct or Teach First route, not a state certificate; the first two years in post are the early career teacher induction; and the inspectorate whose judgement a school carries is Ofsted in England, with Estyn, Education Scotland and the ETI elsewhere. Pupils are organised by key stage and year group rather than grade, exams are GCSEs and A levels set by named boards, and every appointment depends on an enhanced DBS check and two references taken up before interview. The CV runs to two sides of A4 and most schools also want a letter of application against the person specification.

For a secondary school teacher in the UK

  1. QTS, the route and the year

    Write QTS with the route (PGCE, School Direct, Teach First, assessment only) and the year. For a first post, add that you are an early career teacher so the school plans your induction.

  2. Key stages, year groups and exam boards

    Say which key stages you teach, whether you take A level and which boards you have prepared classes for. A head of chemistry wants to see AQA or OCR, not a vague science teacher.

  3. DBS and references before interview

    Schools take up references before the interview and run an enhanced DBS check on appointment. Name two referees including your current headteacher, and give the date of your current DBS and whether it is on the update service.

  4. Ofsted and school context

    A line of context for each school (11–16 academy, 1,400 pupils, the most recent Ofsted judgement) tells the reader what you have taught in. Say good with no commentary; the judgement speaks for itself.

  5. A letter of application, not a cover note

    Most schools ask for a letter or supporting statement of one to two sides against the person specification. Write the CV bullets as whole sentences so they move into the letter without rewriting.

Every CV in the UK

A4 paper
Set the page to A4, 210 by 297 millimetres. A Letter-sized PDF prints with odd margins on A4 and reads as imported from the US.
Two pages is normal
Most UK CVs run to two pages. One page suits a first job; three is rare and only for senior roles with a lot to show.
No photo, no date of birth
UK employers do not expect a photo, a date of birth, marital status or nationality on a CV, and most prefer not to see them.
Dates as DD/MM/YYYY
Day first where a full date appears, and month and year for each role: "Mar 2022 – Present". Never the US month-first order.
British English
Organise, programme, centre, licence, specialise. A CV in American spelling reads as written for somewhere else.
Town and postcode area, not a street address
A line such as "Manchester, M4" is enough. A full postal address, and the US-style "City, ST 12345" line, are not expected.

More on applying in the UK, with every CV example for it, on the UK page.

Templates for the secondary school teacher CV

All templates

Every template exports on A4. The previews are drawn on Letter; the editor sets the page size when you export.

How the CV changes with experience

The same secondary school teacher CV, written at three levels: a profile and three bullets for each.

Entry level

Zero to two years, or a first post in the title

Early career teacher with QTS in English and two PGCE placements, one in an inner-city academy, ready to start a two-year induction and keen to take a form group.

  • Planned and taught a full timetable of key stage 3 and 4 English on the second placement, graded good in every observation.
  • Ran a reading intervention for a Year 7 group whose reading ages rose over the term.
  • Worked as a cover supervisor for a year before the PGCE, so a difficult class holds no surprises.

Mid level

Three to seven years, owns a process or a workload

Secondary maths teacher with four years across key stages 3 and 4, a form group and the GCSE resit cohort.

  • Teach maths to five classes across key stages 3 and 4 with results above the department average.
  • Lead the Year 11 resit group, with most pupils gaining the grade 4 they needed for college.
  • Act as the department's link for the maths hub and share its resources at every department meeting.

Senior

Eight years or more, leads people, budgets or programmes

Head of science with fourteen years in secondary teaching, leading a department of nine across two sites and accountable for outcomes at key stages 3 to 5.

  • Lead nine science teachers and two technicians, with responsibility for the curriculum, the timetable and a £28,000 department budget.
  • Took the department's GCSE outcomes from below to above the national figure over three years.
  • Led the science part of the last Ofsted inspection, in which the quality of education was judged good.

Skills to put on the secondary school teacher CV

Hard skills

QTS and subject knowledge to A level
Schools can only appoint a qualified teacher to a permanent post, and a head of department wants to know how far up the key stages you can teach.
Curriculum and scheme of work design
Ofsted asks about curriculum intent, so a scheme of work you wrote or rewrote is evidence a headteacher recognises.
Assessment and intervention
Progress is what a school is measured on, and a teacher who uses data to plan intervention is the one a department wants.
Behaviour management
A well-run classroom is where learning happens, and every interview includes a question about the hardest class you have taught.
Safeguarding
Keeping Children Safe in Education training and a deputy DSL role show you can be trusted with pastoral work from day one.
Exam board specifications
Naming AQA, Edexcel or OCR shows you know the papers your new department teaches to, and matches the advert.

Soft skills

Consistency
Pupils and colleagues trust a teacher who applies the same routines every lesson, and heads of year hear about it.
Communication with parents
Parents' evenings, phone calls home and reports are part of the job, and a calm, honest manner keeps families on side.
Collaboration in a department
Shared planning and moderation are how a department improves, and headteachers want colleagues, not lone operators.

Mistakes that cost secondary school teacher interviews

  1. QTS and subject not at the top

    A school office checks QTS and the subject before anything else. Put both in the headline and the first line of the profile, with the year you qualified and your current induction status if it applies.

  2. No key stages, class sizes or boards

    Science teacher says little on its own. Name the key stages, the exam boards, the number of classes and the size of them, so a head of department can see you on the timetable.

  3. Listing what every teacher does

    Planned lessons and marked books describe the profession. Show what is yours: a scheme you wrote, an intervention you led, the results that followed, the early career teachers you mentored.

  4. Results without honesty about the measure

    Say what improved and how it was measured: grade 5 and above, progress, attendance. A modest, clear claim about a Year 11 class is more credible than a sweeping one about the school.

  5. American certification and spelling

    A CV that says certified for grades 6 to 12 or lists a state licence gives a UK headteacher the wrong country. Use QTS, key stages, maths and British spelling throughout.

Questions about the secondary school teacher CV

Where does QTS go on a teacher's CV?

In the headline with your subject, in the first sentence of the profile and in a qualifications section with the route and the year. Add your DfE teacher reference number only on the application form, not on the CV.

How long should a Secondary School Teacher CV be?

Two sides of A4. An early career teacher can fit one side plus the placements; a head of department with several schools may need the full two sides, but not a third.

Do I list referees on a teaching CV?

Yes. Schools take up references before interview, so name two, including your current headteacher, with their role and email. Tell them before you apply.

What should an early career teacher put on a CV?

Your QTS and route, both PGCE placements with the school type, the key stages and classes you taught, your observation grades, any cover or teaching assistant work before training, and your enhanced DBS date.

Do I need to mention Ofsted?

Give the judgement for each school as context, with no commentary, and the part you played in an inspection if you were observed or led a subject. Avoid blaming or praising a school for its grade.

How do I tailor a teaching CV to a vacancy?

Read the person specification, move the bullets that match it to the top of each post and rewrite the profile in the school's own terms. Paste the advert into Resume Master and it tailors the CV in about two minutes, which also gives you the bones of the letter of application.

Related CV examples

All CV examples

Every application goes out fitting the vacancy.

Paste a vacancy, get a CV rewritten for it in about two minutes.

Tailor your CV — free

Free to start. No card. Same price on web, iOS and Android.