Don’t smile until Christmas, they say. So how come I’m standing in front of a class of six-year-olds, grinning like a nervous youth meeting a girlfriend’s parents for the first time?

Join me as I take my first lesson on my first school experience. Julie, the teacher, is an inspiration. The Year 2 kids are marvellous - especially when I compare them to my own student-teacher baiting days.

So how come I’m so nervous? After all, I addressed conferences in my former life as a magazine journalist. And while many of my fellow students have been dreading this moment, I’ve been quietly confident. As a maths specialist, I was sure I could host the lesson - the brief is to use a toy spider to demonstrate adding 10, 20 and 30 to any number on a large 100-square.

The lesson would be a breeze, I thought. Quick bit of preparation in my head, andI Then I stand up.

“Mr Ogle, Ryan isn’t sitting still.”

I’d been told about Ryan. A special needs boy, he tends to wander around the back during carpet sessions, but it seems easier to let him get on with it for now.

So, on with this number square and spider job. The plan is to model examples of adding 10 by counting on. After a few goes, I’ll find out if the kids have spotted that you can take a short-cut to the answer by jumping down one row on the square.

“Mr Ogle, you can just jump down one.” This is James, a bright lad, but he’s blown my composure. Do they all get it? I hadn’t planned for someone being this quick, and don’t have the experience to switch tack. As I hesitate, they start talking among themselves.

Then I remember Julie’s method for bringing the class together - clicking fingers above my head. They all copy me, focus, and I’ve pulled out of a nose dive. Soon I’ve got the kids enjoying explaining why you can jump down a row on this outsize number square.

Don’t smile until Christmas? Working in a classroom where there’s such joy and enthusiasm, how could I not be grinning from ear to ear?

David Ogle is a PGCE student at Bath Spa University College