I have always had mixed feelings about the options process. On the one hand, I feel that I am employed as a professional to teach my subject; I am not there to hawk my wares. On the other hand, I am a pragmatist and know that in these times of financial uncertainty my team is reliant on us having enough classes on the timetable to secure their jobs.

If numbers fall, the best-case scenario is that they spend their time teaching outside of their subject, which is something few teachers relish.

So, at about this time every year, I will be joining heads of department up and down the country in carefully scrutinising our numbers and asking “what more could I have done?”.

Over the past couple of years we have had record numbers of students opting to take geography at my school at both GCSE and A level. Here are some of the things we have done to get bums on seats.

1. Make it personal

Pupils always appreciate the personal story; they want to know why you opted to study your subject. They want to see some passion and enthusiasm. This is never difficult. One thing I have seen over the years is that almost all teachers believe that their subject is of the upmost importance and should be studied by everyone. Try and get personal stories from others as well. Find current GCSE students who can wax lyrical about how glad they are to be studying with you.

2. Set out the journey

A few years ago, when our option numbers were a little low, I surveyed the pupils to find out what had led them to make their decisions. One thing that came out was that they didn’t see what geography could lead to. To address this, we put up a display showing the careers that involve geography and statistics showing the employability of geography graduates. One problem with children deciding on their subjects at the age of 12-13 is that most will have no idea what they want to do in the future. We show them the different stages on the journey with our subject. What will they study at GCSE? What could they then go on to at A level? What exciting opportunities will it open up at university? It isn’t all about the destination.

3. Pitch to the parents

Another thing revealed by our survey was the role that parents play in “guiding” their children through the decision-making process. We make sure that our subject is in the forefront of the minds of parents by engaging with them all year (I wrote about this previously - ”Five ways to make parents cheerleaders for your subject”), but especially as options come around. We send home praise emails and phone calls to those pupils who are excelling in our lessons; we display examples of excellent work at parents’ evening and keep the lines of communication open. It means that when they sit down to talk about what they might want to study our subject is at the front of their minds.

4. Present your best

The most common comment on my work when I was a child was “work on your presentation” and I’m afraid a slap-dash approach has continued into adulthood. Most schools will have some sort of options fair where teachers set out their stall (figuratively and literally) and talk to parents and pupils about what their subject can offer. This is where I have really had to up my game, but it seems to be paying dividends. I try and get examples of excellent work so that I can show rather than tell them what the course is like. I get this copied in colour, blown up and laminated. I also make sure that we have some student helpers who are very well briefed on what to say and the key points to mention; pupils who love your subject are your best sales people.

5. Keep it professional

I hope the things I have suggested, and the things that I have done, come from a sincere belief that my subject is important and that most pupils will benefit from studying it further. Over the years though, I have seen this take a somewhat sillier turn. I was working in one school where the history numbers suddenly shot up. When talking to the pupils about why this was, it became clear that their teacher had been artificially inflating their assessment grades, so that all pupils felt that this was the only subject they were doing really well in. I have also seen too many teachers talk up their own subject by talking down others; this is just not cricket. Not only do these kinds of tactics destroy professional trust and teamwork, but they lead to classes of pupils who probably shouldn’t be there, have a miserable time themselves and make it a miserable time for others.

Like it or loathe it, the options process is a part of life for many teachers in secondary school and further education. Rather than seeing it as an imposition, let’s see it as a chance to talk passionately about the greatest subject there is - whichever one that is for you.

Mark Enser is head of geography at Heathfield Community College and blogs at Teachreal.wordpress.com

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