Former marketing director Charles Allen swapped corporate life for the classroom, proving that a rewarding part-time career in teaching is not just possible, but transformative.
Charles lives by the sea in Suffolk, with his sausage dog, Chorizo. He has two sons in their late twenties; one of whom lives in Australia, and one of whom is completing a PhD elsewhere in the UK.
Charles is a Modern Languages Teacher specialising in Spanish, and teaches at a school in the county. He works a 0.6 day week, or rather 3 days – but spread across 4. He alternates taking Mondays off with Fridays every two weeks, as suits the school’s timetable. He would not be without it now, but, until 6 years ago – working part-time hadn’t crossed Charles’ mind.
Between 2010 and 2020, Charles was a leading light in the corporate team at Arsenal Football Club, as its extremely successful Marketing Director. He lived and worked in central London. He was very much full-time in this role, following successive senior marketing roles for multinational consumer brands including Coca Cola and Diageo, that took Charles and his family all over the world to live in exotic locations: Miami, Argentina, Peru, Mexico.
Charles had actually lived in Mexico before. As a child, Charles spent 5 years living in the country, moving with his dad’s job. He says: “When I was 9 it felt like landing on another planet. So fantastic, so exciting. When we returned to Mexico as a family many years later, it felt like the Mexico I knew had changed. Becoming a parent, seeing the poverty and lack of opportunities for kids from disadvantaged backgrounds all began to fuel a desire to give something back.”
Charles continues: “I thought – if I ever get the chance to inspire just one kid to take up a language, travel and go for the jobs they really want – then job done.” Now Teach would eventually provide the opportunity to fulfil this long-harboured dream.
The pandemic gave Charles the opportunity to reflect on life and what he wanted next. Firstly, he decided to relocate to Suffolk, which he has always thought of as: ‘the UK’s best kept secret.’ Secondly, he decided to explore a move into teaching. He says: “In many ways I had been a teacher already. Once you are in a senior role, a lot of the work becomes about coaching and training the next generation. So teaching had been on my mind as a possibility. When I came across Now Teach, and their call for career changers to come and apply their skills in areas of deprivation; going into the state sector and places where the need is most prevalent… that really appealed to me.”
He adds: “You tend to remember the teacher who shaped your life. I certainly remember my Spanish teacher, Jack Scarr, from my own school days. I thought – I could have a go at being like him, and see if I can inspire any kids to lead an adventurous life.”
He decided to undertake the change. During the one year teacher training programme, which was full-time and supplemented by webinars and seminars from Now Teach, Charles found he really liked one of the schools he trained at: Holbrook Academy, a small secondary, near Ipswich.
Charles began enquiring about a job. He says: “At the time, the school had no obvious immediate need for another Modern Languages teacher. My time there, however, had been wonderful, and the head of department at the time planted the idea of me possibly teaching part-time. But there was still no role as such! So, I drew on my marketing skills and wrote a pitch, for the creation of a part-time role, blending half the time teaching Spanish, and half teaching Life Skills.
And it has been a huge success. Today nearly a third of pupils choose to take Spanish at GCSE.
Charles benefits greatly from the part-time working pattern. He says: “I have seen how gruelling and difficult it is to work full-time as a teacher. You are a slave to that bell. Part-time seemed like an excellent thing to try. I have interests in charities and other bits and bobs and thought: ‘yes, this could work for me.’ Now I would not be without it. I am not exhausted, is the first difference. I have time to build friendships outside of evenings alone. When I get the long weekends (the Friday and the Monday off) I always travel – moving to Suffolk means I can go down to London, to the theatre and see friends. I have also started playing the sports I once had to give up for work. I am now in the local squash league. Plus, my parents are both in their 80s and I am able to see them regularly. I also think I may be a better teacher for my pattern – it means I come to every lesson refreshed and energised.”
Charles finishes: “I think that there are so many potential career changers out there, who are bored and seeking jobs with purpose but who are, if you like, stuck at the top of a funnel. I think some of the block is: ‘I don’t want to work full-time; I have heard how brutal teaching is’. I am here to show that part-time in teaching is absolutely possible. If you come from another career you have a story to tell, and the children need to hear it. Please do consider it, and re-training via Now Teach – think about the value you could bring to a school.”
Published October 2026
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