At this time of year, just before I go back to work, I take my annual clothes shopping trip for work outfits to see me through another year. Luckily, our dress code is not as strict as in a school, so my usual wardrobe of jeans, shirts, T-shirts and jumpers works for both on and off the clock.

I remember being a newly minted secondary school teacher and having to shop for smart trousers and tops for school, which were not my bag at all. I actually wore heels to work - how I did an eight-hour day pounding the corridors in those I don’t know. At five-foot nothing I always had to have my trousers taken up by my mum which made me feel even younger than the 23 I was. I dressed like someone twice my age at school but this meant that when I inevitably bumped into sixth formers in clubs they had no idea who I was, a handy bonus.

There are some things which are forbidden in college - football shirts for one, though if I wore my Manchester United shirt to my workplace I’d be more worried about being spat at in the corridors than being hauled into a manager’s office. T-shirt designs and slogans must be “appropriate” - I once got home from a hard day’s work and realised I had been wearing a T-shirt showing various beer styles. Not a single person mentioned it.

Occasionally, during the Term of Death I will wake up and realise that I have forgotten to do the washing and that I have to delve into the wardrobe to see if there is anything work appropriate in there. Usually this means a dress and I have to spend the day telling people why they can see my legs all of a sudden. “Ooh, have you got a date? Are you off to a wedding?” Not at all tedious.

Shoes are very important, I am known for my sometimes outlandish choice of ankle boots, which can be silver, studded or sequinned. Students have been known to walk into the classroom and look straight down at my feet. I often forget to rotate my wardrobe, though: I recently saw two photos, taken a year apart at the annual end-of-year gig in which I am wearing the exact same outfit. The fashion blogs would have a field day.

Teaching in FE: How education has changed - looking back after 34 years

Comment: What I want for my learners? It’s in the art around us

Classroom practice: Five-minute lesson tasks to keep in your back pocket

I do sometimes theme my outfits - I will often teach the same lesson three times in one day adjusted for different levels, so I have taught a lesson on music merchandising wearing a Queen sweatshirt, and a lesson on superhero movies wearing a Captain Marvel shirt. This might seem cringy but the students genuinely love it. Unfortunately this also means they are disappointed when I’m wearing a dress featuring unicorns and the lesson is about SMART targets.

Clothes can sometimes help you to make a connection with students who aren’t that forthcoming in class. If I wear a T-shirt featuring a student’s favourite band, animal, or film, they will come and let me know, and it might be one of the few times they feel confident enough to come and speak to me directly, especially in the first few weeks. I also have a shirt that Stonewall sent me, which says ‘Some people are trans, get over it’. I break this out in the first few weeks and don’t call attention to it, and I have never had a transphobic comment in my classroom - a coincidence maybe, but I think the subtle reminder helps.

I have made a couple of wardrobe adjustments - the lockdown pounds that I have failed to shift have put me up a jeans size - but for the most part, I’m not trying to make any fashion statements. We have been promised branded hoodies which will save my life on those ‘forgot to do the washing days’, or days when I have inadvertently decided to extol the virtues of a variety of beers. Cheers!