Headteachers say they are struggling to recruit professionals to teach core subjects likes English, maths and science.

This is according to a new survey by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), which noted that 44 per cent of school leaders have vacancies in English posts, 52 per cent in maths and 50 per cent in science.

Further compounding this shortage of teachers is a fall in the number of youngsters going to university - principally because of high tuition fees - and a rise in the number of children entering secondary school.

Brian Lightman, general secretary of the ASCL, called on the next government to make sure “schools and colleges can recruit and retain the highest calibre of staff”.

“The existing teacher supply model does not work,” he continued. “Schools all over the country are experiencing unprecedented difficulties recruiting trainees, qualified teachers, middle and senior leaders.

“The next government must act urgently to ensure that effective processes are put in place to model numbers of teachers needed in each sector and region and then promote the status and value of teaching as a profession.”

The ASCL has developed a ten-point plan to help alleviate the “teacher supply crisis”, which it says both the government and the profession can work to deliver.

Some of the recommendations include reviewing and adapting the current teacher supply model, expanding the number of schools that are capable of delivering initial teacher training and launching a “profession-led” campaign to get more people into teaching.

“Teaching remains a great job which continues to offer people a rewarding and fulfilling career,” Mr Lightman went on to say.

“It is vital that the profession and government work together to emphasise this positive message. Teaching must be promoted as a high-status profession and a proposed Royal College of Teaching, to set standards and encourage professional learning, would help to do this.”

Everything leading up to your first proper day as a teacher is challenging, exhausting and at times so difficult that you wonder what sort of daze you were in when you sat down and applied to gain a qualification in the profession.

Yet, as you arrive into your school, on the back of having successfully made it through teacher training, the application process and the interviews, you feel a slight pang of unease, a rumble of sorts in the belly, a brief stutter in your confident stride.

The reality hits you. This is it; the next step, the beginning of a new chapter, a whole new way of working and living. It’s not easy, but with our guide, you can rest-assured that as the bell rings and your pupils settle into the seats, by the time you’ve told them your name, you’ll be more than ready to make a positive difference.

Be the best teacher you can be

Without quite knowing it, children and young people have high expectations not just for new teachers who are starting out, but any teacher they come across for the first time during their entire experience of education. Live up to this - in fact go further.

Now, of course, you’re certainly not going to win any fans after one class, but, if you consistently exceed what they expect, through quality, engaging and creative teaching, you’re well on your way to being the best teacher you can be.

Be a master of your subject

The likelihood is that the subject you’ve chosen to teach is one you are passionate about, knowledgeable of and skilled in. Sure, there are some teachers who opt for a subject that they are good at, but if they are lacking the previous attributes, something is always going to be missing.

In which case, keep on top of new developments in your field, analyse the latest reports, engage with key figures, read new books and never stop asking questions. The deeper and more comprehensive your understanding and abilities are, the more students will get out of it.

Assess your work with reflection and feedback

The only way we’re ever going to learn is to pick up on positive and negative patterns - ask yourself, for example, why one particular lesson always goes down well or why a certain subject, told a certain way leads to apathy?

Through regular assessment - using your own reflective model - and pupil feedback, you can gather the data needed to analyse the good, the bad and even the ugly. Make time for this and you’ll notice things that you’ve previously overlooked or misunderstood.

Get to know your students

This is easier said than done but knowing your students as human beings helps you tailor your teaching, while also giving you insight into their character. You spend a lot of time working with them, after all, so it pays to be informed.

Moreover, you will be more adept at pushing them to go further at the right time, while also supporting them so that even when they’re struggling, they still possess the resolve, the character to succeed. You can’t do this if you don’t really know your students.

For generation upon generation, teachers and pupils have been locked in a head to head battle in the arena that is the world of homework. The back and forth sees teachers give pupils work that they know will do them the world of good in their learning, while the other laments the loss of their free time given up to continue their education. 

Whether it was to head out into the street with friends to play football, spend an evening chatting with friends and foes on MSN Messenger or to discuss the ins and outs of the lives of various members of One Direction, pupils have long had distractions that get in the way of doing their homework. 

And for years, there has been one rather amusing constant; the excuses that can follow when pupils are faced with a less than pleased teacher, homeworkless and without a plan. Of course, there's the classics such as the dog having eaten their homework, but the good people of Reddit have asked people what the very best excuses they've ever heard were, with hilarious results. 

We take a look at a few of the best. 

At one with nature

School pupils are rarely as lucky as Reddit user maleficuslues' friend, who once managed to convince their mother to be a co-conspirator in their bid to get away with not having done their homework. 

The excuse? The parent in question had excused the pupil from completing their homework because they felt it was more beneficial for them to experience the natural beauty of a particularly breathtaking sunset. 

Million dollar question

One Reddit user spoke of a creative student in their class at high school who capitalised on a popular TV show's format to get off with not doing their assignment. 

When asked where their homework was, the student informed the teacher that their uncle had been a contestant on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire the previous evening, and they had been asked to sit by the phone all night in case the call came from Chris Tarrant and the Phone a Friend lifeline. 

Animal troubles

Ok, so we all know the problems dogs can cause with their unquenchable appetite for homework, but one pupil found trouble with another animal when they tried to reach their assignment one morning. 

One Redditor tells of a student in their class who told the teacher the unfortunate tale of a hapless turkey, which got confused and ran headlong into their garage door, rendering it unusable and leaving the family unable to prise the door open. How unfortunate that their completed homework was trapped in the car inside. 

The bizarrely true

One teacher struggled to believe a pupil had the confidence to even suggest that while swinging his school bag, the strap broke and sent the bag flying onto the back of a passing lorry. 

However, they were shocked a few hours later, when recounting the story to colleagues, when another teacher, laughing, corroborated the unfortunate student's story. 

The brash tactic

And then there's the story of the fantastically brash student who took the excuse for not handing in their work to an all new level. 

Rather than claiming their work had been stolen, lost, eaten or otherwise damaged, one pupil claims to have told their teacher that they asked their mother to check their work...only for their mum to be so impressed that she promptly took the paper to have it framed. 

If there's one time of year that injects fear into the minds of teachers and pupils alike, it's the exam period. In a time where the whole year's work comes together and pupils have the chance to show off their knowledge and set themselves up well for the future, it's a worrying time for both themselves and the teachers who have imparted knowledge to them. 

But if one thing can really help to ease the stress, it's a good old fashioned laugh, and some pupils even seem to carry this philosophy into the exam hall with them. Over the last few years, there's been a trend for teachers to share some of their favourite ever exam answers, and some of them show that school pupils have some of the sharpest wit and humour around. 

Here, we take a look at just a few of our very favourite exam answers we've ever seen on the web. 

Question: In Spanish, ask your sister to do the following…
Answer: I don't even have a sister.

As simple as it gets to start us off. We've all been in a modern languages class where we had to explain various simple tasks to a theoretical brother/sister/mother/father/penpal, but this stubborn pupil was having none of their teacher's apparent lack of attention to detail!

Question: Name six animals which are native to the Arctic.
Answer: Two polar bears, four seals. 

To be fair to this pupil, the examiner didn't actually say they wanted them to name different animals. With the skills to look for loopholes as small as this, perhaps this intrepid pupil's future may lie in law rather than in the biology exam they were sitting when they came up with this excellent answer. 

Question: What are your three main aims for the future?
Answer: 1. Get a girlfriend; 2. Kiss her; 3. Rule the world. 

It all started so well for this young megalomaniac, too. Content with finding the love of their life and experiencing their first kiss in the early days, it soon escalated for someone who may have watched a few too many episodes of Dexter's Laboratory. Scary stuff!

Question: A company wants to open its new fashion factory near Birmingham. Is Birmingham a good place for this? Explain why.
Answer: No. The people in Birmingham are not very fashionable. 

Not great news for the people of England's second city, but this child is not impressed by their colour palettes and choices of outfit. We're pretty sure the teacher did not expect this budding Versace to have quite a cutting analysis when discussing the geographical suitability of a factory, but it certainly made us laugh. 

Question: In no more than 50 words, explain the concept of risk.
Answer: This.

Sometimes there's the funny and witty, and other times the deep and clever answer. Rarely do the two ever meet. However, here we come across an answer that manages to combine both. With one simple word, the witty pupil manages to answer the question succinctly, but also with the sort of swagger and wit that almost deserves a round of applause. We would give them an A+.

There are many reasons people get into a teaching career. Being able to teach kids about the world and a range of different subjects means it is one of the most rewarding jobs you could ever hope to find.

However, like any job, there are those little problems that everyone seems to experience at some point. Those little common issues that everyone who has spent in the job will nod at with that little knowing smile. Here, we take a look at a few of the most common teacher problems. 

They're just not listening

As every teacher knows all too well, explaining something once, or at times even twice, is never going to be enough. How many times have you spent your time going over something with the class in as much detail as you can, making sure you speak clearly and in a way you know everyone can understand, only for that one hand to shoot up in the air at the end. "I don't get it", they moan. Only when you ask what part you don't get do you realise it was the whole thing, because they weren't listening at all. Oh well….back to the start!

The troublesome parent

Every parent wants to know that their child is performing well and doing their very best at school. You're a teacher, you get that, and you appreciate the parent having a hands-on approach to their kid's education. But just not too hands-on. When parents are always trying to call meetings with you, or answering your marking of homework with some comments of their own, well there's few things more draining and problematic. You just want to be left alone!

The constant battle

If there's one thing you truly hate hearing as a teacher it's that age-old question...."when will we ever use this?" Pupils love to ask where something fits into their everyday future life, no matter how problematic it can be for you to answer. Sure, telling them that learning to cook will stand them in good stead for being an adult is easy, but try explaining to a 14-year old why they'll ever need to know trigonometry or Pythagoras' theorem. If you do, you're in for something of a long day for sure. 

The rebellion

Pupils are great, and they're the reason anyone gets into teaching, to impart knowledge on the young minds that could be tomorrow's geniuses. However, it's not always that simple. In high school in particular, kids are going through so many changes growing up, and for some this sparks a need to challenge authority in their own little way. The problem? To them, you're authority. You just want to tell them you're on their side, but what do you get in return for your help? Talking behind your back, giggling at nothing, throwing things at each other...it's such a drain.

Friends don't get it

It's not all rosy away from school either. You think the little problems you encounter in your school day will just fritter away when it comes time for the bell to ring. But after you've spent all day trying to keep 30 little delights happy, you've then got to deal with another group who don't understand you - your friends. They all work happy, carefree office jobs where five o'clock comes and they can swan off into the night, paying not a thought to work until the alarm goes the next day. The problem? Well no one seems to understand that your life as a teacher is a little less straightforward. Try telling them why you're spending pub quiz night reading about the Tudors 30 times back to back and just wait for the confused looks to start.

Every class has those few pupils who it is hard to gain the attention of throughout the day. At some points, it'll be just one or two, and then for harder and drier lessons it can sometimes feel like the whole class's attention has gone on holiday and left their empty shells in front of you, refusing to learn. 

Here, we take a look at some novel ways to help pupils pay attention better in your classroom, sure to help any teacher in times of real frustration. 

Regular recaps

Nothing will make someone pay attention more than the worry that they might be asked what is going on and not know. Let it be known in your class that you'll regularly be looking for someone to recap the lesson so far so everyone can keep up, and the chances are, everyone will be paying attention so they don't end up looking like they weren't paying attention on the off chance their turn comes around. 

Talking item

When it comes to answering questions, have an item, a soft toy or the like, that gets passed randomly to the next person to answer. If pupils don't know they're next, but are aware they might well be, then the chances are they'll be listening in. Not only that, but they'll be far more likely to engage and think of answers before it comes to them, helping enhance learning throughout the lesson. 

Flashing lights

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, attention spans will falter and you'll be in front of a class that was once working hard, but is now deep in a 30-person chat about who the best Kardashian is, or the like. The best way to tackle this is with a quick sensory gesture. Flashing the lights on and off will grab everyone's attention, and they're sure to know you're not best pleased quick as a flash. 

Allow texting

Sounds like such a weird notion, but allowing pupils to text their answers to each other, which the recipient then has to read out, is a really great way to engage everyone. Pupils are basically glued to their phones these days anyway, so why not use this to your advantage? Besides, most people are probably faster with a phone than a pen these days anyway, so you're likely to get through a lot more!

Walking talking

If it feels like you're losing the class' attention, say late on a Friday afternoon, why not take the chance to be a little bit different and help them engage in a different way? Leave the classroom and take the kids for a stroll around the playing fields for a while, all the time keeping the same conversation from the classroom alive to keep people engaged.