Moving abroad as an international teacher comes with plenty of new things to get your head around - language, culture, currencies, which side of the road you drive on and more.

But for teachers who really want to turn their world upside down, how about an entirely new academic calendar?

“People looking at doing something completely different should look for a place in the Southern Hemisphere,” says Ronan Moore, deputy principal at Port Moresby International School in Papua New Guinea.

This is because, for Southern Hemisphere schools, the academic year runs from the new year starting in January to exams taking place in November.

Southern Hemisphere academic calendar

This means that, whereas for most international educators the Christmas period is the winter break, for those in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the height of summer, which can be a head-scratcher.

“Sometimes it doesn’t feel right,” remarks Charlotte Clarke, who joined Port Moresby as head of science and as a teacher of biology and science two years ago. “Getting your Christmas tree and dressing it up in the sunshine is just a weird experience.”

What’s more, for countries on this timetable - which includes Argentina, Peru, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, among others, as well as Papua New Guinea - there are often four terms (bimester system) instead of three, with a two-week break in between.

At least the school day is reassuringly similar, although like other schools in hot nations, days can sometimes start early to avoid the heat.

But why make the move to the Southern Hemisphere in the first place?

For many, the reasons are not to do with new calendars or extra breaks but the same reasons that anyone who moves abroad to teach considers, as Briley Habib, a geography teacher at Markham College in Peru, outlines.

“Poor working conditions were the biggest push factor for leaving the UK,” she says.

“I worked in a grammar school for 12 or 13 hours a day. There were large class sizes, and the work was so hard compared with the pay. My whole salary was going on living expenses, and it was a bit soul destroying. I had to mark exams just to afford a holiday.”

The idea of something new

Simon Porter, executive head of St George’s College in Lima, Peru, agrees that a change of scene was what drove him to first move to the country 20 years ago - before time in Qatar and China, before once again returning to the country for his current role.

“We were living in England in the West Midlands, and then we were offered a job in Peru. I turned to my wife and asked her what we should do,” Simon recalls.

“Then, I looked out of the window. Someone had been sick on the doorstep again, and chip papers were flying across the street. I said: ‘It cannot be much worse than this!’”

Edith van der Linden, principal of Le Bocage International School in Mauritius, says she, too, was sold on the idea of something new.

“I was working with the International Baccalaureate, but I missed the buzz of being part of a school,” she says.

“Mauritius is very far from my home in the Netherlands, but when I came to visit, I was totally charmed by the island and the school community.”

Yet, for these educators and more, there is no escaping the reality that making a move to the Southern Hemisphere does come with extra complications.

Habib admits that she was slightly worried about moving to a different timetable in the Southern Hemisphere. “I was concerned about picking up classes halfway through the year,” she says.

“Furthermore, working in a bimester system instead of a term system was not something I was used to - for example, we’d just be getting a few days off at Easter instead of two weeks.”

Porter was also concerned before switching timetables - for his children as well as himself. “It’ll take six months for your kids to settle into the school and settle into the rhythm - that was our experience,” he recalls.

“It’s a similar conversation I have with teachers. It’s going to be great for three or four weeks, and then it’s going to really hit you - again, it’ll be several months before you feel comfortable,” he adds. “I was also a bit concerned about the different exam ‘rhythm’ and having mock exams at different times of the year.”

Leaving or joining a school mid-year

Furthermore, as per Habib’s concerns, teachers making this move will almost certainly have to either leave their existing school mid-year or join their new school south of the equator mid-year.

This can be tough as it can make it hard to run a formal induction programme, which many international schools offer to their foreign teachers to help them settle in.

It’s an issue that Dr Judy Cooper, who has been the principal of Markham College in Peru since 2022, admits there is no easy answer to.

“When people join us in August, we just don’t have the same time for them. We don’t have the same induction programme [for usual starters] because we have public holidays at the end of July, so staff are out of town,” she says.

“We do everything we can, but often teachers arriving mid-year must go into teaching the following week or even a few days later. It’s something we’re working on, but right now I don’t know what the answer is,” she explains.

Furthermore, as Briley - who joined Markham in July 2024 - notes, leaving the Northern Hemisphere also creates dilemmas.

“You could always finish around the May half term to give yourself a bit of a holiday, but then you probably won’t be paid over the summer,” she says. “Or you could finish the Northern Hemisphere year and effectively get double salary while you start working in the south - but…it could even be only a week or so before you’re thrown back into teaching.”

Spending time observing

Porter - whose first move came after the Southern Hemisphere summer - says this was his reality. “When I first arrived here in Peru, it was during February, and I worked through to December. You’re desperate for your summer holiday.”

However, there can be some perks to a mid-year arrival from a school leader’s perspective, Dr Cooper observes.

“When I joined, things were already in process for the year. It meant that I could spend that first half of the year just observing,” she says.

“I made the commitment to meet every single person and ask them about the school,” she adds. “I had the luxury of time to understand the culture, understand what the priorities were, what went well and what things we should be focusing on.”

Nonetheless, given the additional barriers that exist in swapping equators, schools in the south need to think creatively to entice teachers.

For example, van der Linden says that “adjusting recruitment timetables” to give teachers time to prepare for the move is sensible.

“We do try and align our vacancies planning to the Northern Hemisphere by looking at student enrolment, subsequent staffing needs and development as early in the year as possible,” she says - although admits they do still have to recruit throughout the year.

Opportunities to travel

Meanwhile, Dr Cooper says she leans heavily on the opportunities to travel to potential teachers. “The Peruvian summer break is so long [often two full months] that colleagues really get the chance to recharge their batteries and go on amazing travels,” she explains.

“I tell them to take advantage of the amazing countries in South America and the beautiful areas of the coast, mountains and jungles in Peru. There is no other job in the world where you have two months to travel while being fully paid!”

Extended breaks also allow teachers to go back home - a key driver for Southern Hemisphere recruitment.

Moore’s school in Papua New Guinea, for instance, provides staff with time off to be able to travel home for the Northern Hemisphere summer to accommodate international teachers’ lives.

“We have a three-week break in the middle of the calendar year, simply because it’s important to give overseas teachers - who have spent much of their time in the Northern Hemisphere - the chance to go home for their own summer,” he says.

This is coupled with a flight allowance for at least one long-haul return flight each year, which teachers use to either go home or to travel - something Clarke says is very helpful. “It’s very expensive to get out of Papua New Guinea,” she says. “You’re going halfway around the world - and flights aren’t cheap.”

Extended summer break

Meanwhile, van der Linden in Mauritius says they too offer an extended four-week break from mid-July to mid-August for the same reason.

The amended calendar can be a perk itself, though, as having the long summer break coinciding with winter in the UK can make the return for the festive season a lot more relaxing, as Habib at Markham reflects on her recent Christmas plans.

“Christmas is such an important time for my family and me. To be able to come home and not have to rush back is amazing,” she says.

And adds: “I’m sure for many families that celebrate back in the UK, those two weeks around Christmas and the new year are so hectic. I’m pleased that I’m able to come back for an extended period, get those festivities, but also get time to rest and recoup with my family before coming back.”

Another upside to the Southern Hemisphere schedule, according to Clarke, is the benefits of having four terms instead of three.

At Port Moresby this year, the terms run from 22 January to 4 April, 22 April to 20 June, 14 July to 12 September and 19 September to 5 December.

“Every 10 weeks, at a maximum, you’ll have at least two weeks off,” she adds. “It’s a nice bonus.”

Sticking to local customs

Of course, for those moving to these schools, all this is a novelty, but for the schools themselves, it is very much the norm and part of their culture and heritage, meaning the idea of aligning more to the Northern Hemisphere is a non-starter.

Van der Linden agrees that sticking to local customs is imperative: “We are an international school in heart, mind and philosophy, but we are also a school that caters to the local community.”

Dr Cooper at Markham also says that her school had discussed the possibility of aligning with a Northern Hemisphere schedule, but ultimately decided against it.

“It would be such a massive thing to change,” she says. “We have generations of Markham families, many of whom go to the beach for the summer. From a social perspective, the change wouldn’t suit them.”

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