Why Cameron is wrong – by a teacher with a third

Stuart McAusland, 26, is deputy head of maths at Plantsbrook secondary school in Sutton Coldfield. He got a third in maths at Durham University, and went on to do his PGCE there. In 2008, he was selected for a prestigious scheme to fast-track new teachers towards senior leadership positions: "I agree that teaching should be a high-prestige profession, and that teachers should get the respect that others, like doctors and lawyers, do. But to suggest that there's a correlation between degree grade and potential for teaching, that someone with a third-class degree is incapable of doing it, is fallacious. "There are many teachers who have a lower class of degree than others and yet are better teachers. A good teacher is someone who can understand where the children are, and what they need to do, and how they need to do it. That's not a skill which relates to degree class. "Doing this would deter a lot of people who would otherwise be excellent teachers. It also ignores the discrepancy between all the different universities and different courses. "I feel I've got a good rapport with my students, and help them to succeed. I like to think I inspire them to enjoy maths. That's absolutely nothing to do with the level of my degree."