Go east, my friend, far east Autumn fades into winter and the first flush of enthusiasm has long since expired on a bed of marking. It’s time to look at the overseas advertisements, perchance to find a post somewhere with better weather, where daylight manages to last beyond 4.30pm, and the job is worth the pay.
Tianjin Rego International School in China is looking for two teachers, one key stage 1 and one key stage 2. Most international schools recruiting in the UK offer the national curriculum.
The salary is up to pound;17,000 depending on experience, paid in dollars. Accommodation is free, as is an annual flight home. That’s the good news.
On the doorstep is the Great Wall, or if you prefer there is th Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao Memorial Hall, where capitalists - that’s you - can go to feel properly sorrowful about their imperial past.
Or you could go shopping and see the consequences for yourself in the boulevards and promenades left behind by the British and French, who extracted concessions in the port after a brief and unequal battle in 1856.
In the local restaurants the speciality is dumplings, which gives another clue about the bad news. This is northern China, where summer is short and fierce and the winters are long. Still, summer does last long enough for a hundred flowers to blossom and yours might be one of them.
Contact the principal on 00 86 22 233 43375.
Phil Revell