What should a high/secondary school teacher wear?

I say it really depends on the type of school you're at. You don't want to be an outcast, but given your position you could pull anything off. Generically, a sport coat and slacks comes to mind.

If you were in the US, I'd say anything that would combine well with a bullet proof vest, without looking too cumbersome...

Not sure how unruly the hoodies in the UK can get

I went to a pretty good public school in California no armed guards, metal detectors and giant fences. Teachers for the most part wore jeans and a polo shirt, sweater and a sport shirt when it got cold.

I've taught at two schools in the UK, both of which required jacket & tie for male teachers. I tended to wear suits and sportcoat/trouser ensembles with roughly equal frequency. Both schools were in the independent sector and had fairly hefty boarding components, as well as uniforms or very stringent dress codes for pupils. If you're going to work in the state sector, or at a less "traditional" private school, your mileage may vary, but I did get the impression that ties are more prevalent across the profession in the UK than in my experiences in the USA.

Jacket and tie if you are aiming to be a great role model and educator.

Otherwise who cares?

 

 

Check out NewYorkRanger-  he's the last word in sartoria pedagogica  

 

http://www.styleforum.net/t/234255/hof-what-are-you-wearing-right-now-part-iii/22440

As a once and future teacher, knowing first hand all the angst about lack of respect, money, status, admiration, etc. I would say that nothing undermines these precarious factors still further than the wearing of jeans.

It's a 'profession' FFS. Dress professionally.

I agree with the suggestion of checking out New York Ranger's posts. He is a teacher and dresses very well but it is always appropriate for his classroom setting.

Otherwise, I think a blazer and sport coat with some dress pants would be appropriate... not sure if you need a tie or not (I would guess probably not).

Dress more or less as the other faculty does. If they don't wear a tie, then don't.
Start with a sport coat and shirt with button down collar. There are a myriad of pants that will work with a sport coat; anywhere from denim to dress pants. Have at least 5 decent belts and 5 decent pair of shoes. Allen Edmonds is a place to start for shoes and belts. Brooks Brothers and Harris Tweed are two suggestions for sport coats. Use the Search feature on this forum and invest several weeks to 'Lurk And Learn'.
To get even better suggestions, post a photo of yourself. An entire body shot (preferrably clothed) and you can blur the face if you like. This way we can study your skin tones and overall body frame and give you even better ideas.
State also your location and there may be members on here that can speifically recommend stores/sales in yor area.

I agree with this, especially since OP will be not far in age from the students he will teach. Any bit of distance will help. Dress well, and your students will think much better of you.

button up shirt, jeans and runners

Tweed, sweaters, the occasional jeans (dark or moderately faded). Always wear decent leather shoes, that'll be a big facet in elevating your look. Basically, New York Ranger's look. Don't worry about jeans making you look like a student/ costing you respect, you can elevate yourself in many other ways. There are a lot of professional jobs these days where jeans are just fine, teaching is one of 'em.

But your students won't be wearing button down shirts, leather shoes, and only rarely sportcoats or sweaters. You should be wearing all those things on a regular basis. When your students are wearing baggy jeans, sweatpants, hoodies and tee shirts, even wearing jeans you won't be underdressed.

Absolutely no running shoes. Ever. Unless you're teaching gym.

I presume you'll be starting out teaching at a comp. There are probably staff dress codes against the wearing of jeans and trainers etc. so it's probably up to you whether you go for a full suit option or the jumpers, jackets and trousers route (although a tie is advisable).

I do have some limited teaching experience and I would say that developing a professional persona is important for classroom control. Whether that is strict discipline, mateyness, humour or calmness, you have probably not finished developing that yet. Your clothes should match your persona, so maybe don't go buying too much stuff yet.

As others have said, wearing a full suit and tie should ensure you're not mistaken for a sixth-former and was pretty common among the staff when I was at school. The US posters are probably forgetting the uniform policy in British schools though, so it's perhaps not as big a concern.