Perhaps understandably, most subject leaders are reluctant to let trainee teachers loose on exam classes. It is highly likely, therefore, that you reached the end of your training year without ever having taught GCSE or A level.
As such, many new teachers feel somewhat unprepared for teaching GCSEs and A levels when the time arises, often during the NQT year.
So, what do you need to know and do? First, and most importantly, you need to know that teaching exam classes is not significantly different to teaching non-exam classes. Good teaching is good teaching – so do not overthink it.
What you may find different, however, is working with awarding bodies – including using exam specifications, mark schemes, past papers, examiners’ reports, and so on. You may also be unused to preparing students for the exam hall – and now that a majority of courses are linear with terminal exams, preparing students for these high-stakes assessments is more crucial than ever.
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