Generally speaking, the first quarter of 2021 has been pretty bleak and uneventful. Each weekend, we are faced with a conundrum: shall we turn left or right out of the front door when we go for a walk? Sometimes we jazz things up and go for a bike ride, and we have had a few takeaways, but that is it. 

However, the past three weeks since we returned to school have been the best weeks of 2021. I love being back in the school building, and have come to realise that the things I do not like about working in a school are actually not that bad after all. 

I am not a morning person. However, since we returned, I have been positively bouncing out of bed. 

The commute to work is a dream: I actually have some peace and quiet. Once at school, I know that when I have tech issues - which used to drive me mad - support is on hand. I don’t have to ask the grumpy 16-year-old in the house to help me. 

I know that the school wi-fi, even with the odd glitch, will hold up better than our home wi-fi package. And I have the potential to give a lesson without any form of tech failure. 

Covid and schools: Working without animals or children

When homework is late, I can chase up my students face to face. I no longer have to endure the deathly silent pauses that became a form of teacher torture when teaching on Teams. 

And, finally, I can actually do some work without the blasted cat whining, jumping on me and distracting my classes. Year 7 were obsessed with him: “What’s his name?” followed by “How old is he?” or “He has a really cute face.” They are still enquiring after him now we are back in school.

As much as I love my family, the age-old saying “distance makes the heart grow fonder” is most definitely true. I live in a house full of testosterone, and creating some distance between me and them since we have returned to school has reset the equilibrium. 

I have also really appreciated seeing my work colleagues each day - not least because I can have a conversation that focuses on something other than football or food. 

I have always said that my students and teacher friends are the best bit of my job. In particular, my work colleagues are not only my friends but also a constant source of support and laughter. 

Coffee, a chat and a bucketload of sympathy

They have been there through the highs and lows of life. They have supported me through house moves, pregnancy, weddings, stroppy children (my own), sickness and much more. They are there to help whenever I’ve just needed an extra pair of hands, a coffee or a bucketload of sympathy. 

They know what three hours of Year 7 parents’ evening feels like after a six-period day. And they know what it is like to stand up, day after day, and perform miracles. 

What other job requires you have to plan and deliver lessons, managing 30 children with varying needs, while simultaneously assessing them, engaging them and giving the very best of yourself, day after day, lesson after lesson?

When you put it like that, teaching is a crazy profession, especially during a pandemic, and only your colleagues truly understand the trials and tribulations of teaching with a mask on, while the speed of the breeze blowing through your class feels as if it is off the Beaufort scale. 

To teach without fabulous colleagues must be a tough job. However my day is going, I know there is a core of people around me who know exactly how I feel.

I thought working from the comfort of home was going to be hard to give up. But it turns out that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. 

Teaching with slippers on was fun for a while, but I am in no hurry to go back to it. Being in school is much more fun. 

Emily Gunton is director of music, head of co-curricular and outreach, and school consultant teacher at Blackheath High School in south-east London