Chemistry Teacher Interview Questions UK: 8 Real Questions and What Interviewers Want

Before your Chemistry Teacher interview, it helps to see the questions from the interviewer's side. We have picked eight from our set of 16 and added the reason each one gets asked.

Eight Chemistry Teacher interview questions, and what the interviewer is thinking

1. Why do you want to teach Chemistry, and how would you make a subject that pupils often find abstract accessible and exciting?

Why they ask: To check subject passion and awareness of pupils' difficulties.

2. How do you teach the required practicals in GCSE and A level Chemistry safely and effectively, and how are practical skills assessed?

Why they ask: Practical skills and safety are fundamental.

3. How do you teach a difficult topic such as the mole, moles calculations or equilibrium so that pupils really understand it?

Why they ask: Pedagogical content knowledge in a notoriously challenging area.

4. A pupil's reaction in a practical lesson unexpectedly gives off a lot of smoke and a smell. What do you do?

Why they ask: Safety judgement in the chemistry laboratory.

5. Tell me about a time you identified and corrected a misconception that many pupils held in chemistry.

Why they ask: To test diagnostic teaching ability.

6. How do you teach and assess chemical calculations and the maths skills needed in GCSE and A level Chemistry?

Why they ask: Maths is central and often a barrier.

7. You arrive to teach a practical and discover that the technician has not been able to prepare the equipment or the reagents. What do you do?

Why they ask: Practical resilience and communication with support staff.

8. How would you teach organic chemistry at A level, including reaction mechanisms and spectroscopy, so that pupils can reason through unfamiliar problems?

Why they ask: Advanced subject knowledge for post-16 teaching.

A sample answer to question 1

Why do you want to teach Chemistry, and how would you make a subject that pupils often find abstract accessible and exciting?

Chemistry explains why the world behaves as it does, from why bread rises to how batteries work, and I enjoy that moment when pupils realise that invisible particles explain what they can see. I also know it is a subject many find abstract, because they have to move between the macroscopic, the particle and the symbolic levels. I'd make it accessible by starting with a vivid demonstration or phenomenon, such as a rapid reaction or a colour change, then teaching the particle explanation step by step, using models and drawings. I'd focus on precise language, for instance, the difference between atom, molecule and ion, because confusion about vocabulary leads to confusion about ideas. Regular retrieval would keep earlier content fresh, since chemistry is cumulative, for example, bonding supports reactivity, which supports rates. I studied chemistry at university, and I'd like pupils to see it as a subject they can master with practice, not something for a select few.

Common mistake to avoid: Only saying you like explosions; ignoring the difficulty of abstraction

Want the rest?

Full model answers, key points and common mistakes for all 16 questions are on the Chemistry Teacher interview questions page. The first five are free, no sign-up needed.