I am so puzzled as to why Clara is a teacher, how did she manage that, was it because she used some of the Doctor's psychic paper or did she actually do her qualifications to become a teacher?

Its possibly the great missed opportunity for the show. One of those great untold stories. Personally I think they should have had at least a six episode arc before the fiftieth following Clara as she goes through every stage of teacher training and finally qualifies. Such a shame!

Maybe they could show it in stages

Clara is young and it takes time to be a teacher, if she is off travelling with The Doctor, how does she fit it in?

Time travel, she can spend months at a time with the Doctor and he can drop her back five minutes after they left

He keeps bloody dropping her off though doesn't he. Which I don't like! Maybe he took her to a special planet where they can fast track teacher training,,.a bit like one of those rapid driving courses you can go on. From Nanny to Scholar in seven blinks of an eye!

I would have thought it takes a long time, even with time travel.

Most likely explanation is that she did her training before Bells of St John.


She had finished Uni/Teacher Training and was planning to travel for a year before taking up a job. She went to stay with her Friend for a week but the Friend died and she instead spent the next year looking after her friends kids.


After Name of the Doctor she finally applied for a Teaching job.


The other explanation is that she did the training after Name of the Doctor which would be possible as Day of the Doctor was set in 2016 or later (The Doctor first met Kate Stewart in/around 2016 so Day must be after this from the Worlds PoV).

I'm starting to question her credentials. We should write to the board of Governors!

Let's not spoil Clara's moment.

Yes Sandy but has the moment been prepared for? This is the question!

Doesn't it depend which moment, so is it the moment The Doctor turns up in Clara's life or is it just a memory of The Doctor in Clara's life?

Ian Chesterton just gave her the job

without the right qualifications?

She got split into many lives in NOTD, theres a version of Clara out there who is a qualified NASA scientist too probably

That could be useful.

Then the Doctor recombined them so she has all of those skills into a skirt that is just a bit too tight.

I can't say I noticed

Jenna mentioned in an interview that occurred during filming of S7P2 that Clara's been to university and has a degree in English. It's on the Series 7 box-set.

So because of the credit crunch she had been stfuggling to get a full time job, and was making do as an au pair/nanny or whatever she was doing, but finally the doc introduced her to Chesterton and she got the Coal Hill gig. Its not what you know people, its who you know, even in this fake not real Who world

Its called 'Networking'! The Doctor just provided Clara's name to a friend (Ian) at the school who was in a position of authority. Just like the real world.

she needed a job where she could skive off at the first sign of snow


I thought they'd done away with the requirement for qualifications now

Is it the gift of the gab that does it nowadays?

I can't imagine anyone better to teach Marcus Aurelius than someone with the opportunity to go meet him

A degree in English and a PGCE, that takes a year so yeah completely plausible... Also taking a year out plausible and she could be an NQT... Though that year is hard enough without running off on a motorbike to time travel!

Then again, going back to the other option in the original post, psychic paper seems unlikely, but if the Doctor was able to fake his own credentials as a teacher for School Reunion, he could presumably fake some for Clara as well. If not, then perhaps Mr Smith (in that lonely attic in Bannerman Road) would be glad of a chance to help.