The International Schools Review Forum

Hello all. I was wondering how difficult it is to get hired at a British international school with no prior experience with the British curriculum. My partner is British but both of us have US teaching licenses. We also have IB experience (MYP/DP) and AP experience in our subjects. A lot of British schools say on their websites that they prefer teachers with PGCEs and/or prior experience with the UK curriculum but that it is not a requirement. I'm curious if any non-British teachers who have worked at British schools could share their experiences.

Almost impossible to get hired in the secondary school, particularly at the top tier British schools in SE Asia. You might get lucky at hardship locations, though. Having a British spouse might slightly increase your chances of getting an interview.

The subjects you teach will matter, as will the popularity of the location / school.

However, yes - British schools do tend to prefer those with recent UK experience.

It's going to depend on (a) the school, and (b) which part of it you're in (primary or secondary).

If it's secondary, and by the looks of your post it is, then it's not so much of a problem if the school does IBDP. Your experience in IBDP is directly transferable to IGCSE - and if the school's any good they will have looked at the IGCSE content and exams and worked out how they link from IGCSE to DP. I don't agree with @finedude - ultimately, the school is interested in your IBDP ability, and if you can teach that then it's a fair assumption that you can teach IGCSE and KS3 too. If the school does A Level, then it is more difficult but not impossible.

If it's primary, then you will have a lot more difficulty with this. I've seen American teachers hired into English curriculum schools and really struggled with it, particularly on the assessment side and also if the school is particularly rigid with the curriculum. Equally, English trained teachers find the less structured American curriculum difficult to deal with and understand.

At SLL all of the major international curriculum's are highly congruent. If you can teach DIP or AP biology you can teach it at IGCSE and A*.
Whats going to matter is showing at the interview you can talk the talk. The problem is going to be getting that interview as there is a preference in BSOs for British trained and experienced ITs. Theres also a difference between BSOs and BSs (ISs that use the UK NC or an ethos and environment thats British). Youll find BSs to be more flexible than BSOs.

I was also interested in this question. Is your salary good?