The Best Days

Irrepressible teenagers, irritable teachers and an incomprehensible head.

The summer holidays are over. Liz wonders how she’ll survive the year, wrangling students, handling a trainee and trying to stay on the right side of her new boss—and Ofsted is due any minute.

With last year’s bad appraisal hanging over her, Liz attempts to stay under the radar throughout the events of the school year (teacher training, lesson observations, open evening, sex education, school trips and World Book Day fancy dress)—all while writing a secret blog as an anthropomorphised toilet.

But when Liz needs to protect year seven student, Alfie, from his violent father, the new head and his wife seem intent on obstructing her. And she can’t avoid raising her head above the parapet.

How will Liz keep Alfie safe, avoid being labelled ‘inadequate’ and finally overcome Imposter Syndrome?

This revealing, hilarious and, at times, poignant campus novel reveals what it’s really like to teach in the state system.