Secondary School Teacher CV Examples & Writing Guide

This example is for a qualified secondary English teacher with six years in two state schools in West Yorkshire. The name, schools and numbers are invented but sized to a real teaching timetable. Maths, science, KS3-focused and newly qualified versions follow further down; the layout works for any subject.

Secondary teaching applications go through two readers: the school or trust HR team, who check QTS, references and safer recruitment paperwork, and the headteacher or head of department, who decides who is shortlisted. Both look for the same things, in this order.

• QTS and the right subject. Qualified Teacher Status (or QTLS), your subject and key stages (for example, "Mathematics, KS3 to KS5"), your ECT induction status, and any second subject you can teach to GCSE. A CV without a QTS line goes to the bottom of the pile. If you are still training or waiting for your QTS award, say exactly where you are. Every appointment also depends on an Enhanced DBS check and safer recruitment checks under Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE).
• Subjects and courses you have taught and can teach. Heads of department fill a timetable: they need someone for KS3 and GCSE Maths, or Chemistry and Physics, or GCSE English and A-level Literature. List the courses by name and highlight A-level, BTEC, GCSE Higher or Foundation tier, SEND and EAL groups.
• Results and evidence. GCSE and A-level outcomes for your classes, Progress 8 or value-added figures, attendance or behaviour changes, uptake in your subject at GCSE or A-level. Compare with the school average or the previous year where you can.
• Beyond the classroom. Clubs, sport, trips, Duke of Edinburgh's Award, a TLR role, curriculum writing, ECT mentoring. Schools staff these from the teaching team and it often decides between two similar candidates. Experience with the same kind of school (high pupil premium, grammar, faith school, a school working its way out of a poor Ofsted judgement) helps too.

“I read the QTS line, then the subject and course list, then I look for one hard number. Sixty percent of the CVs I see could belong to any teacher in the building. The one that says the A-level A*–B rate went from 58 to 74 and who also runs the student magazine gets the interview, because that is a person I can picture on my timetable.”

In England, Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) is awarded through the Department for Education and is recorded against your teacher reference number (TRN). It comes from one of several training routes: a PGCE with QTS, a school-centred (SCITT) or school-led route, a salaried route, Teach First, an undergraduate degree with QTS, or the assessment-only route for experienced unqualified teachers. QTS does not expire and there are no renewal hours, but new teachers then complete a two-year ECT induction. Wales also requires registration with the Education Workforce Council, Scotland uses GTCS registration and Northern Ireland GTCNI registration. Put a short version in the header and the full version in a Qualifications section.

Three to four lines under your name: QTS and years, subjects and key stages taught, one or two results, and what you run beyond the classroom. New teachers should also write a personal statement, not a career objective; the last example shows how to fill it with PGCE placements.

Most teacher CVs list duties from the job description: planned lessons, assessed students, communicated with parents. Every applicant did those. Add the classes, the student count and the result. Six common lines, before and after.

Keep 10 to 14 skills that a headteacher or head of department recognises and that the advert mentions. Many posts are advertised through Teaching Vacancies, TES, Eteach or a trust's own portal, and some of these let HR search the text, so use the exact terms.

Teaching skills:

• Curriculum and scheme of work planning to the National Curriculum and the GCSE and A-level specifications (AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR, WJEC Eduqas)
• Subjects and key stages you can teach, by name, including GCSE tiers, A-level, BTEC and Cambridge Nationals
• Assessment design, mark schemes, moderation and exam board marking
• Data-informed teaching: mock analysis, intervention, tracking against targets
• Adaptive teaching, SEN support, EHCP outcomes, working with teaching assistants and the SENCo
• EAL strategies and support for new arrivals
• Behaviour management: the school behaviour policy, restorative practice, positive recognition systems
• Disciplinary literacy, extended writing, retrieval practice and explicit instruction

Technology and platforms:

• Learning platforms: Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Satchel One
• MIS and markbooks: SIMS, Arbor, Bromcom
• Subject tools: Desmos, GeoGebra, Sparx Maths, Seneca Learning, Educake, Bedrock Learning, Turnitin, Kahoot, Quizlet
• Behaviour and family communication: Class Charts, ParentMail, Arbor parent app
• Assessment and data: GL Assessment (CAT4), FFT Aspire, SISRA Analytics, exam board results analysis

Leadership roles (KS3 coordinator, ECT mentor, form tutor, club lead) belong in the bullets and personal statement rather than the skills list.

Schools appoint early career teachers every spring and summer, and they know your only classroom time is your training placements. Treat each placement as a job: key stages, subjects, classes, student count, what you planned and taught alone, and any data you collected. Then fill the rest of the page with everything that shows you can manage 30 teenagers and a timetable.

1. 1Put your QTS status in the header and the Qualifications section: QTS awarded, or recommended for QTS with the expected award date, plus the start of your ECT induction.
2. 2List each placement under Experience with the school type, key stages, subjects, class and student counts, and 3 to 4 bullets about units you taught alone, assessments you designed and results (assessment averages, homework completion, a progress measure).
3. 3Add teaching assistant, cover supervisor, tutoring, summer school, sports coaching or youth work: numbers of students, ages, what you ran.
4. 4Put Education near the top with the degree and classification, your PGCE or training provider, the completion date and your A-levels in the subject; add relevant modules only for shortage subjects (physics, maths, computing, languages).
5. 5Include a short Training block: platforms you used on placement, safeguarding (KCSIE) and Prevent training, Mental Health First Aid, Emergency First Aid at Work, restorative practice or behaviour training.
6. 6One page if you can, two at most, and state the date you can start.

• Two pages is normal for UK teachers; one full page works for trainees and ECTs. Experienced teachers with department leadership, a TLR, curriculum work and NPQs use both pages. Heads will read two pages; they will not read three.
• Order for experienced teachers: header with QTS summary, personal statement, qualifications (QTS, NPQs), experience, education, skills and platforms, selected CPD. For new teachers: header, personal statement, education and QTS, placements and related experience, skills.
• Name your subjects and key stages in every job title line: "Chemistry and Physics Teacher, KS3 to KS5", with the school type and size (11–18 academy, grammar school, 1,400 students). Heads of department scan for the courses they need to fill.
• Clean single-column layout such as cvplex teacher. Some trust portals parse the text, so avoid tables, text boxes and graphics. No photo, date of birth or marital status on a UK CV.
• Keywords from the advert to mirror when true for you: QTS, ECT, KS3, KS4, KS5, GCSE, A-level, adaptive teaching, SEND, EAL, behaviour management, safeguarding, and the platforms the school names.
• Save as PDF named Firstname-Lastname-Teacher-CV.pdf. Most state schools and academies also require their own application form as part of safer recruitment (full employment history with any gaps explained) and a supporting statement, so keep the facts identical across all three. Your pay point (Main or Upper Pay Range, any TLR) goes on the form, not the CV.
• Outside England: Wales needs EWC registration, Scotland GTCS registration and Northern Ireland GTCNI registration; Ireland uses Teaching Council registration. In the US the document is called a resume and state certification replaces QTS.