Teach First Interview Guide
Teach First's Teach Lead Change programme: the stages and how to practise for them.
Overview
Teach First's graduate programme, now called Teach Lead Change, is a two-year programme that starts in the classroom and builds leadership skills, as part of Teach First's mission to end educational inequality. The online application takes about an hour and you can save and come back to it. You will need your degree and GCSE details and a 250-word answer on why you want to apply.
Checked against Teach First in October 2026. Selection processes change each year, so check the employer's own page before you apply. AI Career Mentor is independent and not connected to Teach First.
The interview process
Application form (about 60 minutes)
Your academics and qualifications, then your subject and location preferences, plus a short answer (250 words) on why you are applying and how you align with Teach First's mission.
Check an application answer →Online assessment (about 50 minutes)
Sent one working day after you apply, to complete within five days. Competency-based questions about your motivation, leadership and adaptability, with a chance to tell them about other relevant experience.
Practise interview questions →Screening (up to 20 working days)
Your application is assessed individually and you hear back within 20 working days.
Development Centre (one day)
Virtual or in person. It includes a competency-based interview, a group case study with self-evaluation, and a teaching episode with self-evaluation. Assessors have not seen your application, and you get feedback during the day.
Practise a group exercise →What they look for
Questions to practise
Written by AI Career Mentor to practise what each stage looks for. They are not Teach First's own questions.
Q: “Tell me about a time you helped someone understand something difficult.”
How to answer
Good practice for the teaching episode: show how you checked understanding and adapted your explanation.
Q: “What would you do if a lesson you had planned was clearly not working?”
How to answer
Shows adaptability. Explain what you would notice, what you would change in the moment, and what you would do next time.
Q: “Why does educational inequality matter to you?”
How to answer
Be personal and specific. Connect it to why you want this programme rather than teaching in general.
Tips
The self-evaluations matter: be honest about what went well and what you would change, and show you can act on feedback.
In the group case study, build on others' ideas and help the group reach an answer.
Practise your teaching episode out loud to time, with a clear aim and a quick check that people have understood.
AI Career Mentor
Practice for your Teach First interview
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