When I said I had a new job, the other teachers were very pleased for me. Naturally, they asked where it was. I tried to evade the issue by just giving the general area but, being interested sort of folk, they persisted, and finally I had to confess. It was at an independent school.

When they started to speak to me again, they were very pleased for me, really. They were just concerned that I might not be able to cope, having sold my soul and taken the soft option. I’ve tried to talk to them since, but it seems they think we have nothing in common any more.

I told them of my shock when I entered my new form room for the first time and the pupils stood up. Yes, they said, we have that problem too, only they’re usually standing on the desks. Going through doorways was equally confusing. The pupils let me go first. This led to some quite unnecessary delays until I got the hang of it. Hmm, my old colleagues said. Real problem, that one.

But the worst thing was the marking. The pupils did their homework. Then I had to mark it. In the first weeks, I sat, bewildered, looking at the heaps of books and wondered what I was to do with them all. It was a terrible shock. I think this was the point when the state sector teachers and I finally lost touch.

I miss them. It’s taking me a while to adjust. Occasionally, there is an isolated “incident” that is quickly and effectively dealt with and, briefly, I feel more at home. But on the whole, it is quite a strain. No one has mentioned “key” anything for ages and, to my surprise, I find I almost miss it. I can get quite nostalgic for key skills. I think I might be getting a bit like my mother with her wartime memories of Spam.

Some days the school flag is up. As I round the corner, arriving early to do my marking, I like to imagine that it’s for me. For coping with another day, with polite pupils, willing to learn. Don’t pinch me yet. I don’t want to wake up.

Dr Kristina Humphries teaches at Newcastle-under-Lyme school, an independent school in Staffordshire. She was an NQT in a Staffordshire state school last year