Axcis Teacher Profile - Bronwyn Alexander

Background

I taught History and English in Auckland for 2 years before deciding to head to London. I applied for a 2 Year Working Holiday Visa which was easy to get and a couple of months later I was in London.

I signed up with a few different agencies when I arrived, and most were really positive and helpful. The biggest hold up for me was getting my police check done in New Zealand; I strongly recommend you get this sorted before you head over here. The agencies here will help you with the UK police check.

Once I was cleared to work I started doing some supply teaching. I’d heard all the horror stories about teaching in London, so wasn’t sure what to expect but most schools have really good systems in place in terms of discipline and at most schools there would be a member of the senior management team wandering around in case there were any problems. The hardest part with supply teaching was there was no guarantee of 5 days work each week and it is hard not being paid in the holidays.

Current Position

I decided to give long term supply work a go and I am currently teaching at a theatre school. My school is certainly not your ‘average’ school. Academic classes are taught in the mornings and in the afternoon the students have vocational subjects. I teach English Literature and History and have 5 classes for 40 minutes each, every morning. I teach Year 7 through to Year 11. On the plus side the classes are small, I’m finished at 12.40 each day and the students are generally much nicer than at the state schools I’ve been in. However, there are a lot of ‘drama queens’ given the nature of the school and it is hard trying to cover the curriculum in half the number of lessons you would have at any other school. I’m slowing getting to grips with the curriculum over here and the different assessment systems.

Living in London

I ‘dossed’ with friends when I first arrived – expect to pay about five pounds a night. Eventually I found a flat with some friends from home in Clapham, which is a great area to live in. Setting up a flat was a bit of a mission, as most landlords want you to have a job, bank account, references from previous landlords etc. It is also really expensive – you will be asked for a month’s rent as bond and a month in advance which is a lot of money to come up with especially if you’re still living off your kiwi dollars! There is no tenancy tribunal over here like there is back home, so there is no guarantee that you’ll get you bond back, so make sure you get receipts from your landlord. Finding a room in an established flat is probably easier when you first get here. Rent can be quite expensive; most people I know pay around 80 to 120 pounds a week. Rent is paid monthly generally. It’s really common for people to share a room over here which makes rent cheaper. The tenants are required to pay the council tax, TV license, electricity, gas and water bills on top of their rent. 


Highlights

London is a great city to live in. There is always something to do and so many great museums, galleries, restaurants, bars and parks. It’s really easy to get around on the tube and buses, much better than trying to drive. Of course the best thing is how easy it is to travel around Europe from here and once you’re earning the pound it’s pretty cheap too.

Lowlights

Everyone talks about how miserable London is during the winter and it really is pretty grey – after months of not seeing the sun it can be quite depressing.  Even though it’s cold outside, all the houses over here are really warm because they have central heating so that helps you to cope!

Future

I’m half way through my two year Visa. I don’t think I’m going to be ready to leave in a year because I still have so much to see in the UK and Europe and I love living in London. I might look at getting a Skilled Migrant Visa to enable me to stay longer if I still want to stay this time next year.

Read about a Canadian teachers experiences in London