‘Something that actually matters’: four retirees on why they’re becoming teachers

The work and pensions secretary, Mel Stride, recently suggested that unemployed people over 50 should consider delivering takeaways.

But the army of missing workers Stride was seeking are looking to do something more productive with their time: this year, the over-55s accounted for the biggest rise in new trainee teachers in England, with a 75% increase in applications.

The impact is already evident: greying ex-bankers, news presenters, scientists and former healthcare workers are appearing in school staff rooms – all empty nesters, ‘“unretirees”, those who have been made redundant or who have had a life-changing experience.

“This is a really interesting trend and we’re just at the beginning of the change,” said Lucy Kellaway, who quit “the world’s nicest job as a journalist on the Financial Times to train as a maths teacher in an inner-London school” in 2017 when she was 58.

Kellaway is co-founder of Now Teach, a charity whose direct targeting of older people has seen their numbers rise 13% year on year, compared with a 1% rise across all age groups.

“There’s no reason this shouldn’t happen with other careers, but at the moment, it’s just teaching that is standing up and yelling, ‘come on: you’re over 50 – come and do this!’” said Kellaway.

“Teaching is perfect for the over-50s who want to do something more useful – something that actually matters – with their lives,” she added. “People in their 50s and older make brilliant teachers.”

Newly trained teachers starting in September

Ralph Watts, 70, Dorset – Nuclear engineer to physics teacher

I retired at 59 after decades spent working in large science and engineering organisations in the public and private sectors in roles such as CEO and managing director.

Retirement was OK, but I realised I could have 30 more years ahead of me. To keep my brain young, I needed to engage with new things and new people, in particular, young people.

One of the unknowns is how students will respond to someone the age of their great-grandfather. But children, I think, are far less ageist than the generations before them, so we shall see.

Teaching techniques have changed considerably since I was at school. The level of engagement, energy and enthusiasm that teachers have to have now is much higher. But I don’t see why I shouldn’t be able to sustain that for at least five years, if not 10. I’ll take it year by year.

Elaine Johns, 65, Essex – banking and tech to computer science teacher

I’ve held senior service and consulting positions at BT, Coutts and NatWest banks. It was all about profit and making money – which was fine but, when I was diagnosed with colon cancer a few years ago and recovered, I felt that 43 years in that sort of environment was enough.

Retirement turned out not to be for me. I realised I wanted to do something for the young people you read about on the news – the ones who are horribly disadvantaged and who don’t see that, with the right exams, they will have opportunities. I wanted to show those children that they can succeed and help make them ambitious to do that.

As a transgender woman – I transitioned at work about a year before I retired – I was worried about experiencing prejudice, but I’ve only had positive experiences on my school discovery days.

Cass O’Reilly, 60, London – NHS to French teacher

I had a 30-year career in the NHS, rising to be a senior health service manager and setting up a stroke unit and spinal clinic. But after Covid, the government wanted me to create as much activity while taking all the money away, and I just ran out of steam.

My age makes me well prepared for the role of teacher. I have two teenagers. I know what they’re like. My NHS career means that as well as bringing a lot of experience, determination and resilience with me, I am extremely resilient to sustaining a few knocks and bouncing back.

What I’m most looking forward to is being more people-facing. When I was in the NHS, I didn’t have direct contact with patients and I used to feel quite jealous of the doctors and nurses, whose face-to-face contact with patients gave them a meaning and a reason to go on.

Sylvia Harris McCoy, 54, London – auto-industry engineer to maths teacher

I retired in 2019 after over 30 years, during which I rose from being an apprentice at Ford to managing its finances and purchases.

I had an exceptional maths teacher when I was doing my GCSEs and A-levels. I owe her my entire career – and my three children owe her a lot too: I don’t come from a privileged background but I’ve been able to give my children more than I ever had, purely because of that teacher.

Without her guidance at the root of the tree, it would have been different for me and after retiring from Ford, I thought I would love to go back, find my past self and be that influence on her. Then I realised that I could do that for somebody else as a teacher.

So my age doesn’t bother me in the slightest in terms of going into teaching. I was a female engineer with a Caribbean background in the 1970s: I’m used to standing out.

I’m also a single parent. I was widowed in 2017 and so I feel the responsibility and accountability for the environments my children grow up in falls on me. That means I need to have a better understanding of their world and what better way than working with youth?