Why Jo gave up her six- figure barrister’s salary to teach in a then-failing inner-city school
And growing numbers of successful women over 40 are doing the same
AN OXFORD graduate, she had achieved all the hallmarks of career success: a six- figure salary as a barrister specialising in family law, the acclaim of her peers and an enviably comfortable lifestyle.
Why, then, you might wonder, has Jo Crossley joined a growing band of high-powered women abandoning their glittering careers to become ‘just’ teachers?
Jo, a 47-year-old mother of four who was a barrister for 22 years, is emphatic that she doesn’t miss any of the garlands of the legal profession. Indeed, she turned her back on it at what some might say was the very moment she achieved a personal pinnacle, last year earning her place in the prestigious Legal 500 ranking of lawyers in the UK. But after two decades of clawing her way to the top, the stress of endless bitter divorce cases and harrowing childcare battles had taken its toll.
Her job no longer felt fulfilling. More than that, it was exacting too great a cost on her family life. ‘There was always time pressure,’ she says. ‘I’d be the mother racing across the playground at 6.30pm to pick up my children from after-school club. There was that pang of guilt because my child always seemed to be the last one there.
‘During the holidays, I’d take time off but I’d be answering the phone or checking my emails. I lost count of the number of times I’d be sitting in the car begging my children to be quiet so I could take a work call.
‘For years I really enjoyed law, but you deal with so many people in conflict and I’d had enough. It was stressful, tiring and I needed a new challenge. Growing up, I’d always wanted to be a teacher like my mum, but she’d discouraged me, which is one of the reasons I ended up doing law. But when she died in 2015, I thought: “Right, it’s now or never”.
‘I knew I wanted a job where I could make a real difference — but maybe subconsciously there was another reason. My two daughters, aged 19 and 18, are already at university and my sons, aged 16 and 13, would be leaving soon. Perhaps I needed something to focus on so I didn’t experience that sense of loss at an empty nest in the future.’
Understandable, you might think — but can teaching dozens of unruly children satisfy a high-flying woman in her 40s the same way a lucrative job in the legal profession could? After all, aren’t schools losing thousands of teachers every year? Figures from 2017 show that almost a quarter of teachers qualified since 2011 have already walked out.
But what Jo proves is that a pool of untapped talent — more mature women who have already worked in other professions — is coming to the rescue. According to the Get Into Teaching campaign, 12,516 people working in other fields registered their interest in teaching last year.
And Teach First, which helps train teachers, says almost a third of its 1,400 students were so-called ‘careerchangers’, compared with 22 per cent in 2011.
Significantly, the age profile is also increasing, with 5 per cent of the 2017 cohort now over 35, compared with only 1 per cent in 2011.
‘We’re seeing an increase in professionals in their 20s and 30s who have found the standard nine- to- five routine isn’t for them, and also those in their 40s and 50s who are following a long-considered dream to take on a job where you can make a real difference every day,’ says Ndidi Okezie, executive director at Teach First.
‘ In 2017, we saw a 60- year- old student join a school in West London and our first career- changer headteacher appointment — a 50year-old woman who went from 20 years in the boardroom to retrain for the classroom.
‘Seven out of ten teachers are women and it’s one of the most rewarding careers you can have.’
It seems that older women who have achieved professional success in other fields often have the magic mix of characteristics that some younger teachers may lack: mature perspective, iron determination and a deep desire to give something back.
Combined with a need for a role that fits in with family life, you can see why more and more middle- aged women are making the jump — despite the fact teaching often pays a fraction of their previous wage.
Yet Jo — who lives in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, with her husband, who is also a barrister — experienced that rarest of things earlier this month: no back-to-work blues after the Christmas break, despite being up at 5.45am for a 7.20am start at her school in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
‘I didn’t have any of that familiar dread about the first day back and was really happy to return to school to see the children,’ she says.
‘I haven’t felt like that for years — it was lovely. I’d been away for a few days before the Christmas break, so the children brought in presents and cards I’d missed out on.
‘One girl bought me a copy of her favourite book, writing inside that she thought I’d enjoy it. As an English teacher, it was thrilling to feel I’d made a connection with a pupil, that she wanted to share her love of reading. I was completely overwhelmed.’
Jo applied to become a teacher in April last year and was accepted on an eight-week training programme over the summer.
‘My husband could not have been more encouraging. He was the one who first pointed me in the direction of the course because he knew of another barrister who had been on it. We knew we could manage on his salary, so I can’t say I agonised over the decision. But some colleagues thought I was having a mid-life crisis and that I’d be back at the bar in no time.’
By September, she was teaching English to 11 to 18-year- olds in a school that, when she started, was in special measures. ‘Walking into a classroom for the first time was incredibly daunting, but the school was so supportive,’ says Jo.
‘You’d think standing up in front of judges would be preparation enough for talking to 30 teenagers, but it’s completely different.
‘Being a mother definitely helped. I’m used to having doors slammed in my face and people telling me they hate me. I know not to take it personally. But I also love making connections with pupils.’
WHILE her salary may be only a fifth of her previous earnings, Jo says the other benefits of her new career far outweigh any financial imbalance.
‘Now school holidays are amazing. I have no emails to check, no phone calls to take. I can switch off and enjoy the time with my children. My family have noticed a difference. Even after two weeks my husband said I was a completely different person, more relaxed and happy.
‘I never thought I’d get to my mid40s and have a chance like this. I thought it was about changing children’s lives, but the life I’ve changed has been my own.’
Claire Merryweather, 41, is another high-flier who left everything behind to become a teacher. At the height of her career in PR and marketing, the mother of two was on a six-figure package with a company car, a private pension scheme and healthcare. But, she says, she felt as if she was living in a ‘parallel universe’. ‘Every day as I commuted for an hour into London I was feeling conflicted,’ says Claire, who lives with her husband, Martin, a company director, and their children Ella, eight, and Henry, six, in Reading, Berkshire. ‘I had the sense that this is what modern women do. We have a family, we have a career, we can do it all and it’s wonderful. But, actually, it wasn’t. I was feeling increasingly uncomfortable on the corporate hamster wheel. I felt disconnected from the things that mattered in life.
‘My husband was working in an equally demanding job which, combined with mine, put pressure on our home life. For a long time I kept thinking: “Is this all worth it?” ’
In 2016, fate stepped in when Claire was made redundant. ‘In some ways it was a relief, and the time felt right to make a change that I’d been contemplating for many years — to train as a teacher. Many people I spoke to were negative, telling me why it was a terrible idea. But I wasn’t put off.’
Last May, Claire applied to do a PGCE in Secondary English via an unsalaried School Direct course with Reading University.
‘It took a while to come round to the idea of such a drop in income, but over time it made more and more sense,’ she says. ‘We simply cut back. We didn’t go abroad last summer and, now I’m not commuting, we’ve swapped my 4 x 4 for a smaller car.
‘But we have a much better quality of life and I get to spend the school
holidays with my children. Crucially, I really enjoy the job.
‘Not long ago, a mum came up to me and told me how much her daughter loved my lessons, which meant the world to me.
‘Before Christmas, I was making paper snowflakes with my students and they were writing poems on them. The looks on their faces were magical. I’m no longer checking my phone at night or rushing to work in the early hours to meet a deadline. The job feels meaningful.’
Clearly, long school holidays are a huge pull when it comes to teaching — but they’re by no means the only draw.
‘When we launched in 2016, we had an overwhelming response with more than 500 applications from women,’ says Katie Waldegrave, co-founder of Now Teach, which helps senior professionals in other fields to retrain as teachers.
‘Teaching is not an easy option, it’s incredibly tough. It does afford more flexibility around school holidays, which appeals to some working mums, but the biggest driver to retrain is the desire to do something worthwhile.’
Erika Stiles, 46, agrees. The married mother of one from Surbiton, Surrey, left a desirable job in publishing in 2016 to become a language teacher. She hasn’t once regretted it.
‘As a commissioning editor I used to travel all over Europe, earning good money and having lots of fun,’ she says. ‘I lived in Greece for many years and would spend every night out and every weekend by the sea. But after the Greek part of the company folded, I returned to the UK and went freelance. Then my job began to feel pointless. ‘ Having my son Loukas seven years ago made me value time off even more. My husband and I discussed the financial implications.
‘I was earning around £50,000 and we realised that if I got a tax-free bursary of £20,000, it really wouldn’t make much of a difference to our income.’
Today, Erika teaches French and Spanish in a secondary school. ‘At first I was very nervous, I felt like an imposter. But the school is so supportive and I love those moments when a child says: “Thanks Miss”. I really feel I’m making a difference.’
While she admits she is often marking homework for many hours after school has finished, she is emphatic: ‘I absolutely love it.
‘ When you are younger or have no family, it’s very easy to lose perspective.
‘ I worry that some younger teachers coming in to the profession will give too much of themselves to the job and possibly suffer burnout. When you’re older, you can be more realistic.
‘You know what you need to do to get your pupils to succeed, but you also know when to rest and give yourself time.’
SIAN CASE, 53, agrees the life skills and maturity of older women only add to the qualities of a good teacher.
The mother of three, from Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, used to work in project management for the Government, earning around £50,000 per year. After being made redundant, she decided to retrain as a maths teacher.
‘I’d got to the point where my children were growing up. Earning mega-money was no longer the most important thing,’ says Sian. ‘I was working 50-hour weeks, pouring my heart and soul into projects only to see funding pulled. I wanted a job I liked every day.’
She first stepped into the classroom to teach in September 2016. ‘I remember thinking: “Just breathe…” but it was so daunting looking out at a room of 30 young faces, all expecting you to teach them something new.
‘It helps if you’ve had your own stroppy teenagers because you’re more mature, you can remain calm.’
She doesn’t see her career as being stuck in a cul-de-sac, either. ‘People talk about teachers being poorly paid, but you can work up the levels of management, even in your 40s. I still have ambition.
‘I’ve already been offered training in middle- management and perhaps one day I would like to be deputy head.
‘As a more experienced person, you also have the confidence to negotiate your starting salary and know your own worth. I’m sure as a younger person I would have accepted a much lower salary.
‘The impact it’s had on my life has been wonderful. I work hard from Monday to Friday, 8am until 6pm, but never take any work home with me.
‘It’s a long day, but I enjoy being able to spend the school holidays with my family. And the emotional rewards are huge — every day you feel you’re making a difference to the lives of young people.’