PE Teacher CV example

An unstructured or rushed CV won’t do justice to the energy and planning you bring to your lessons. In a few short sections, you need to give recruiters a real sense of your teaching style and the impact you have on students’ development.

Every paragraph while you’re writing a CV should move you closer to your goal: a call for interview. This guide will break down how to build a CV that gives schools every reason to put you at the front of their next PE class.

Just like preparing a sports tournament or a packed lesson schedule, your CV needs clear organisation and structure. Recruiters will appreciate a document that’s easy to navigate and immediately highlights your experience and coaching skills. A messy, disjointed CV will quickly lose the attention of a busy school leader, no matter how good you are.

Here’s the layout to stick to:

• Name and contact details – Place your name and personal details prominently at the top of your CV for quick access. Adding a photo is up to you.
• Profile – Open with an impactful summary of your teaching background and approach.
• Core skills – List your key abilities in this section, focusing on those that will be most relevant to the job.
• Work experience – Provide a detailed breakdown of your work history, starting with the most recent job first.
• Education & certifications – List your qualifications, including degrees and relevant certifications, in reverse chronological order.
• Additional info – Optionally include coaching badges, sports achievements, or related hobbies.
  

Make sure your format is divided into sections with clear headings, and use bullet points to present information cleanly without overwhelming the reader. Stick to a readable, professional font – not too casual, not too stiff – and keep your CV within two pages length to make sure it’s polished, focused, and respectful of the reader’s time. The way you present your experience is an early clue that you understand structure, clarity, and planning – essential qualities in any outstanding teacher.

Think of your CV profile as your introduction at a school assembly: short and setting the right tone for the rest. In just a few lines, you should highlight things like your teaching philosophy, the age groups or key stages you’ve worked with, and the sports or activities you’re passionate about leading. All of this aims to convince recruiters that hiring you would bring genuine, tangible value to their classes.

Here’s what to include:

• Where you’ve worked – Secondary schools, primary schools, academies, or international schools.
• Your top qualifications – Degrees, PGCE, QTS, or coaching certifications.
• Essential skills – Lesson planning, pupil motivation, health and wellbeing promotion.
• Specialisms or focus areas – Specific sports, extracurricular leadership, SEN experience.
• Positive impact – Emphasise any outcomes like improved participation rates or successful team achievements.

Your core skills section is like a warm-up before the big match – it sets the pace and tone. It gives recruiters a quick glimpse of the strengths you’ll bring to their PE department.

Rather than just listing obvious traits like “teamwork,” use skills that genuinely add value: check the job description for some ideas of the sort of keywords recruiters are going to be looking for. The skills for your CV should cover your biggest strengths and your soft skills.

This is where you show that you’re not just passionate – you’ve delivered results, and you’ll continue to do so. Schools want to know how you’ve improved participation, driven engagement, built confidence, or helped students achieve personal bests.

List your roles starting with the most recent. For each role, include your job title, school name, and dates of employment. Then, break down your contributions using bullet points, focusing on achievements. Here’s a tip – include some numbers and figures to back up your accomplishments and make them feel more tangible and real.

• Outline – Briefly introduce the school, year groups taught, and extracurricular involvement.
• Responsibilities – Use action words like “developed,” “delivered,” “led,” or “organised.”
• Achievements – Highlight clear outcomes: “Increased extracurricular participation by 30%,” “Organised a district-wide sports tournament attended by 15 schools,” or “Developed new fitness programme raising pupil engagement in KS4.”

For teaching roles, qualifications are a must – so make them easy to find. List your highest level of education first, including teaching qualifications and any additional certificates that add to your PE credentials.

Keep this section short: schools are more likely to value work experience. Relevant training might include safeguarding, SEN support, first aid, sports psychology, or coaching qualifications through bodies like FA, RFU, or ASA. These extras can really help you stand out.