Why am I battling to find a teaching job? I was brought over as anbsp; new teacher by an agency to work in the UK. The post ended in the summer and I was literally left stranded by the agency. I spent an hysterical summer desperately joining hundreds of agencies, all of whom promised me the world and, with the exception of sending me to a few inappropriate interviews, did nothing. Eventually I managed to find my own post and worked in a super school covering maternity leave.

I now find myself in the same position, except that schools will only consider overseas teachers as a last resort. I am an excellent teacher who is passionate about her work, why is it so hard to find a post when all we ever hear about is the shortage of good teachers in the UK.

After all this I was amazed to see loads of UK teaching agencies begging South African teachers to come and work here, some of the same agencies that told me, with my UK references and experience, that there is nothing for me. What is going on?

Jessica Stewart

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