Most maths teacher CVs read like the job description copied into bullet form. A list of duties, a few soft-skill adjectives, and nothing a head of department can actually check.
The CVs that get shortlisted look different on sight. They are formatted to be skimmed in seconds, they name the key stages and exam boards the teacher has taught, and they prove impact with results rather than claims. If you want the fundamentals first, see how to write a CV. Format is the first thing a recruiter judges, so it is the first thing to get right.
Key takeaways
- Lead with a clean, ATS-friendly format: two pages, reverse chronological, one column, standard headings.
- Send a PDF for direct school applications and keep a Word copy for supply agencies.
- Name the key stages, exam boards, and specifications you have taught. "KS3 to A-level, AQA and Edexcel" beats "secondary maths".
- Prove impact with numbers: results, progress measures, intervention groups, attendance.
- Put QTS status, your training route, and an enhanced DBS check near the top. Schools screen for them.
- Open with a short personal statement built on subject specialism and measurable results, not adjectives.
Formatting your maths teacher CV
For a qualified teacher with classroom experience, use a reverse chronological format so your most recent role and results sit at the top. Save the skills-led structure for a training or career-change CV where the classroom history is still thin.
Keep it to two pages, one column, standard headings, and a readable font. Heads of department shortlist in the gaps between lessons, so they skim rather than read.
Order the sections for a teaching reader: a short header, then your personal statement, teaching experience, skills, and education with QTS. A recruiter should find your current school, the stages you teach, and your results without scrolling.
The header does more work than most candidates give it. Your name, a professional email, a phone number, and your general location are enough. Add your QTS status and a line for your enhanced DBS check so the two things a school has to confirm are answered before the reader reaches your first bullet.
Send a PDF for direct applications to a school so the layout holds on any screen. Keep a Word copy for supply and recruitment agencies, which place a large share of teaching roles and often paste your CV into their own template. If the advert or the agency names a file type, follow it.
Many multi-academy trusts route applications through an online form or a tracking system, so keep the layout clean and the headings standard for an ATS-friendly CV. Stick to conventional labels like "Personal statement", "Experience", "Skills", and "Education" rather than clever alternatives a parser may not recognise.
One format point is specific to teaching. If the vacancy is for a specific phase or a mixed timetable, put the matching key stages in your first two bullets rather than burying them on page two. A secondary school hiring for A-level wants to see A-level in the first glance.
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Choosing a maths teacher CV template
A template earns its place by staying out of the way. Pick one with clear section headings, generous margins, and a single column a parsing system can read cleanly, then let your results do the talking.
Avoid heavy graphics, photos, and two-column designs that scramble inside an application portal. A maths CV is judged on evidence, not decoration.
The one place to spend design effort is legibility. Consistent heading sizes, clear spacing between roles, and bullets that break to a new line cleanly all help a tired reader move down the page without losing their place.
Build it from a tested layout rather than a blank page. Enhancv's CV templates export to a clean PDF and keep the formatting consistent, and there are free CV templates if you want to start simple.
What UK schools look for in a maths teacher
Knowing what a maths department screens for tells you what to put near the top. The list is short and predictable.
| What schools check | What to show on your CV |
|---|---|
| Qualified status | QTS, plus your route (a PGCE, School Direct, or a degree with QTS) |
| Subject and stages | The key stages and exam boards you have taught (KS3, GCSE, and A-level across AQA, Edexcel, and OCR) |
| Impact on results | Attainment and progress data for your classes, not just a list of duties |
| Safeguarding | An enhanced DBS check and current safeguarding training |
| Classroom management | Evidence you can run a calm, well-managed room with mixed-ability sets |
Two of those decide most shortlists. A recruiter needs to see the exam boards you know and the results your classes achieved, because that is what predicts a smooth start in September.
Everything else on the CV exists to support those two claims.
Match the emphasis to the school. An exam-focused secondary will care most about grade outcomes, while an all-through school or one with a large SEN cohort will weigh differentiation and classroom management just as heavily. Read the advert and the school's most recent inspection focus, then lead with the version of your experience that answers it.
Writing your maths teacher personal statement
Three or four sentences at the top: who you are, the stages and boards you teach, one hard result, and the department you want to join. See more personal statement examples if the opening line will not come.
Skip the adjective soup. "A passionate, dedicated and hard-working teacher who is good with children" names nothing a head of department can check, and every other CV in the pile says the same thing.
Lead with evidence instead:
Maths teacher personal statement example
Qualified maths teacher with QTS and five years teaching KS3 to A-level across the Edexcel and AQA specifications. Raised higher-tier GCSE pass rates from 61% to 78% at Oakwood Secondary through targeted intervention and weekly data tracking. Confident with mixed-ability sets, exam-board moderation, and leading Year 11 booster groups. Looking to bring measurable results and a calm classroom to a maths department in Greater Manchester.
When we read a maths teacher CV, the ones that stand out never open with "passionate about maths". They tell us which key stages and exam boards they have taught, what their classes achieved at GCSE and A-level, and how they moved a struggling set. Name the specification, name the result, and let the numbers carry the enthusiasm. A head of department can then picture you in front of a Year 11 class in ten seconds, and that is what earns the interview.
Writing your maths teacher experience section
Give each role a dated heading, then bullets that lead with a verb and end with a result. For the mechanics, see work experience on a CV.
Teaching is more measurable than it feels. Grade boundaries crossed, progress scores, intervention groups, attendance, and marking turned around to deadline are all CV achievements you can quantify.
Do not stop at what you were responsible for. "Taught GCSE maths to three classes" is a duty any teacher could copy. "Moved a bottom set from a projected grade 3 to a grade 5 average" is yours alone, and it is the line a head of department remembers.
Show range as well as results. A strong maths CV signals that you can plan across the ability spectrum, run intervention for borderline students, and stretch a top set toward Further Maths, all from the same role.
Tailor every application: pull the stages, boards, and duties from the advert and mirror the ones that are true of you. Enhancv's CV tailoring feature reads the advert and suggests the matching edits, which saves rewriting from a blank page each time.
- Teach KS3 to A-level maths across the Edexcel and AQA specifications, delivering around 22 lessons a week to mixed-ability sets
- Raised higher-tier GCSE pass rates (grade 5 and above) from 61% to 78% over two years through targeted intervention and weekly data tracking
- Led a Year 11 booster programme for 30 borderline students, with 24 securing a grade 4 or above in the summer exams
- Introduced low-stakes retrieval quizzes that lifted mid-year assessment scores by 12% and cut re-teaching time
- Mentored two trainee teachers through their ECT induction, both passing their first year
PRO TIP
Name the exam-board specifications you have actually taught, exactly as the school writes them: "Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Mathematics", "AQA A-level Mathematics", "OCR Further Maths". A department head reads that as "can start in September with no ramp-up".
Top skills for your maths teacher CV
Read a dozen maths teacher adverts and the same demands repeat. The hard skills are subject and classroom specific: curriculum planning across key stages, exam-board knowledge, assessment and data tracking, differentiation for mixed-ability sets, and confident use of classroom technology.
The soft skills that matter are the ones a recruiter can picture in a classroom: communication, patience, organisation, and teamwork within a department. Prove each in a bullet rather than listing it.
List only what you can stand behind, and put it in the skills section using the words the adverts use.
A short, honest list beats a long one. Six or seven skills you can each defend in an interview will do more than fifteen that read as a wish list, and a maths department will spot a padded one immediately.
Top skills for your maths teacher CV:
Curriculum planning (KS3 to A-level)
Exam-board specifications (AQA, Edexcel, OCR)
Assessment and data tracking
Test result analysis
Differentiation for mixed-ability sets
Intervention and booster programmes
Classroom technology and edtech
Behaviour and classroom management
Communication
Patience
Adaptability
Organisation
Teamwork
Qualifications and training UK schools check
To teach in a state-maintained school you need Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Put it near the top with the route you took: a PGCE, School Direct, or an undergraduate degree with QTS. Your degree subject matters too, so name it if it is maths or a maths-heavy field.
List these in your education section with dates and awarding bodies. If you are an early career teacher, say where you are in your two-year ECT induction. Add any relevant certificates, such as exam-board examiner training, a subject knowledge enhancement course, or an SEN qualification.
An enhanced DBS check belongs on the CV. It is a baseline expectation for the role, and naming it saves the school a question. If yours is on the update service, say so, because it lets a new employer check it without a fresh application.
Keep ongoing training visible. Safeguarding refreshers, first aid, and subject-specific CPD all show a school you stay current, and they are quick wins in a section that is otherwise fixed once you qualify.
Writing a maths teacher CV with no classroom experience
If you are a trainee, a career changer, or applying straight out of your PGCE, lead with a skills-led structure: personal statement, subject knowledge and training, then teaching placements and any related work.
Your placements count as experience. Give each one a dated entry with the school, the stages you taught, and what your pupils did, exactly as you would a paid role.
Mine the rest of your history for evidence. Private tutoring, work as a teaching assistant or cover supervisor, STEM outreach, and running a club all show you can plan, explain, and manage a room. See more CV examples for a first job if you are starting from scratch.
Write the subject knowledge itself as evidence, not a claim. A maths or engineering degree, an A-level in Further Maths, or a subject knowledge enhancement course all tell a school you can teach to the top of the ability range, which is where trainees most often get stretched.
One line lifts a trainee CV: name your ECT status and the date your induction started. It tells a school you are already on the path.
Conclusion
Format for the skim, name the stages and boards you have taught, and prove your impact with results a head of department can check.
Pair the CV with a short cover letter that says why this school and this department, and you turn a tidy CV into an interview.
Author's take - the Enhancv team
When we read a maths teacher CV, the ones that stand out never open with "passionate about maths". They tell us which key stages and exam boards they have taught, what their classes achieved at GCSE and A-level, and how they moved a struggling set. Name the specification, name the result, and let the numbers carry the enthusiasm. A head of department can then picture you in front of a Year 11 class in ten seconds, and that is what earns the interview.