Ignore the people who tell you not to do it. It's the most wonderful job in the world, but one of the hardest. So, when you start, be gentle with yourself. What really matters is knowing the kids' names, so have a seating plan. Be consistent: a few lessons spent sorting out the ground rules pays dividends in the long term: get the kids to agree what the rules are (for example, only one person speaks at a time - OOPS!) Don't talk over them and never shout. Then make your life no harder than it needs to be: ask for advice from your colleagues and if they offer you a lesson plan or a worksheet, take it. Ask to watch experienced teachers do their stuff - it can be awe inspiring. Look outside your own subject: wonderful ideas from different departments.You've got 40 years to perfect your teaching techniques, so stand on the shoulders of giants when you start.

Use textbooks and the exercises in them: no they're not creative, but, as I said, 40 years to become creative. Try to make it as interesting and fun as you can, but remember both you and the kids need some quiet time too. Not every lesson needs to be singing and dancing: tell the kids that, if they want fun, the quid pro quo is quiet sensible work at the appropriate time. But most of all, pace yourself. Don't beat yourself up about being perfect all the time ... you can't/won't be. Don't set more work than you can reasonably mark ... and don't feel a failure if you occasionally flick-and-tick. If something doesn't work, it's not a disaster, it's something you have learnt ... and it might (and probably will!) work fine with a different group. And ask the kids what they think works ... and what they find useful ... and what they enjoy.

Most of all, don't run yourself into the ground. Don't work every evening and set aside at least one evening and a whole day when you don't even think about work. Keep your non-teaching friends - they are precious.

And don't try to impress staff in your new school. If you are a good person and committed to the kids, they will be impressed. They're shrewd old buggers and won't be taken in by much. But you could provide a tin of biscuits for the staffroom, just to get off on a good footing!

And enjoy it ... it's a wonderful job and you will change peoples' lives.