I love, love, love this book with all my heart. A kind of ‘Bridget Jones diary’, by a fifty-something English teacher, the memoir is tender, warm, honest and very, very funny. For me, a story which makes me laugh and cry, sometimes in the same paragraph, is bound to be a winner.

As a teacher, I could relate to that peculiar blend of frustration and passion which characterises the job. There are also many moments of humour in school and the way Fran Hill describes these had me (almost) longing for my old job back. Interactions with students and colleagues had me laughing out loud. Everything is there – the clever one, the quiet one, the attention seeking, the work shy. And that’s just the teachers.
As a human being, also in my ‘middling’ years I could totally relate to the bittersweet way in which the young can unwittingly cause us to look back. Hill gets the balance just right here. We are moved but not pitying, stirred but not sad We see how our own stab at ‘being young’, along with those who helped or hindered us, can impact our relationships.

I found the few mentions of faith intriguing. It is a rare thing to find a writer who speaks of it so naturally, so honestly, rather than as someone who has made better choices, and is a better person, than everyone else. Faith can be fragile and messy as well as sustaining. Less is definitely more here, and, in my opinion, Hill has got this just right.

I would heartily recommend the book. If you are a teacher, it will have you nodding with recognition. If not, it will open up a world which, for many reasons, is often shadowy and closed to those outside it. I envy you this read. I want to do it all over again, for the first time.

A good easy read with an interesting style of writing. I enjoy memoirs of various occupations and this one didn't disappoint.

Moments of funny, moments of reflection and moments of not niceness this is a book well worth a read

The writing style of the book was frankly terrible. Instead of prose it is more written in snappy, bullet point style, which is hard to read and lacks flow. My first thought was 'please tell me this woman isn't an english teacher', and lo and behold that's exactly what she is. I can't believe that an english teacher can put together something as badly written as this!

This year in a life of an English teacher in a secondary school is done on the form of a journal. She’s in her 50’s, menopausal with spots, a bit chunky round the middle,loves a drop or two of Baileys, totally overwhelmed with marking, the usual a mixture of students and there’s Ofsted looming following a rather poor report in the last inspection.

This is a very funny memoir which I chuckled my way through and much of it resonates as I’ve been there, done that and worn out the t-shirt! I laughed out loud at the heads unmotivational motivational speeches, the work avoider (trust me, there’s always at least one who has it down to a fine art), there’s always a Rebekah (very clever), a Zak who struggles and a León who surprises himself. There are some of the funny classroom situations she gets herself into and the conversations with her colleagues are fun too. The conversations with the mirror and the scales are especially funny. It’s full of humour throughout and some is very witty, clever and a bit snarky and I love the literary references. I wish she hasn’t reminded me of exam invigilation which is death by boredom - we used to count the bricks on the rear wall of the sports hall and never got the same number twice. What can we say about the hovering (or hoovering) presence of the inspectors? It’s almost a relief when they come, a bit like toothache. I really enjoyed the various plays on words the author gave to that venerable institution. However, what shines through all this is her sheer hard work, her absolute dedication to her job and her students , the hours and hours she put into marking which clearly made her the excellent teacher her colleagues declare her.

Overall, a very enjoyable read which reminds me why I used to loved my job especially the students, being in the classroom and the camaraderie and the things I didn’t like - Ofsted obviously, Forth Bridge marking, and blooming SIMS!!!!

Thanks to NetGalley and SPCK for a copy of the book.

As an ex-school teacher myself, I'd been looking forward to reading this memoir based on the author's experience of teaching English in secondary schools. The diary format made it easy to read, meaning it would be a good book to dip in and out of...although I was so hooked that this wasn't an option!
The characters - both staff and pupils - are well-observed, and I frequently found myself sniggering at pupils' responses to lessons and homework. However, Fran Hill also manages to explore some of the darker aspects of school life. This is done with great sensitivity, so that I found myself really caring about the characters and how their stories unfolded.
I also liked the fact that Hill included snippets of her home life, so the reader gets to see how her career impacts on family and church relationships, and I was particularly moved by the way she used this as a mechanism to explore her own vulnerabilities.
Would definitely recommend this book!

A touching yet humorous look at a year in the life of a teacher. There's a good mix of work and home life which features Hill's battles with the mirror and scales as well as an upcoming Ofsted inspection. The only downside for me was the heavy focus on religion which detracted from the rest of the book somewhat.

An easy, honest and entertaining read.

Thanks to SPCK Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

All human life is here in this witty and touching memoir of one academic year in a teacher’s life. From the annoying headmaster to the supportive teaching assistant, from the fellow teacher always on the edge to the mysterious ailments of the Head of Department, I found plenty to keep me turning the pages.

I read the book in two days, resenting the household duties that tore me away. What is Camilla’s secret? Will Zak be OK? Can Sally find the strength to call it a day with Archie? How about the Goater? The author blends school life with home life, a supportive spouse, a bathroom mirror and scales who tell the author the Awful Truth every morning and her Bible study group, who learn about her back story at about the same rate as we the readers do.

There are many things to love about this book. For me, one of them was the delicate blend of humour, truth, characterisation and painful delving into the past. Several passages took me right back to places I haven’t been for a very long time. This is very clever writing.

Any teacher reading this book will be laughing wryly and nodding their head. Parents too will recognise much of the depiction of school life. It’s a great read and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

A laugh out loud, eye opening account of life in the classroom, and just what your little darlings get up at school as told by a teacher, who has great patience and humour in all situations. Well worth a read for those who have to home school their children recently and may have a new found respect for the job teachers do.