A Surrey teacher ditched the "long hours" and "huge workload" in her school job to set up her own tutoring business - and can match her previous wage working half the number of hours.

Holly Ayling, 25, loved the staff and students at her school, but said the intensity of her job meant that no amount of work was ever enough.

She regularly worked 10 hour days, from 7am to 5pm, and quit her job in December 2025, before spending a month travelling Australia’s sandy beaches and gorgeous coastlines.

Holly was drawn to the “relaxed pace”, and “chilled lifestyle” in Australia, and keen to incorporate this into her life back home, decided to start tutoring so that she could continue her passion for teaching, whilst working at her own pace.

She charges £40 an hour for her tutoring sessions, and said she will only have to work four or five hours a day, Monday to Friday, to match her £30,000 teacher salary.

This comes as data from the Department for Education shows 114,000 teachers have quit the profession in the last three years, with many citing increasing workloads as the reason.

Holly said: “I loved the school I worked in, and the staff and the children were all so lovely, but the job was just becoming too intense.

“I worked from 7am to 5pm every day and had a huge workload. As much as the job can be rewarding, I felt like nothing I did was ever enough, and I could never catch a break.

“Since leaving teaching I feel so much less overwhelmed and have time to cook healthy food and exercise.

“I went to Australia in January and I was so attracted to the chilled-out lifestyle there.

“I love that people go to the beach before work, and that there’s so much emphasis on wellbeing.

“I decided to set up a tutoring business because I love teaching, and I know I was a good teacher, so it’s a way of using my passion, whilst focusing more on my wellbeing.

“I love the flexibility that it gives me, which I didn’t get from teaching.

“I charge £40 an hour, and I’ve worked out I can match my teacher salary by working five hours a day, Monday to Friday, which is half the hours I was working before.”

Holly was a primary school teacher for three and a half years, and although she loved the staff and students at her school, the job could be very demanding, with long hours and a huge workload.

In December 2025, she said a “bittersweet” goodbye to her pupils and then in January 2026, she jetted off to Australia for a month, to escape the harsh British winter.

She quickly fell in love with the relaxed lifestyle, emphasis on wellbeing, and the focus on work-life balance.

“All I’ve been thinking about is when I can go back," she said.

Holly is hoping to one day relocate to Australia, but now that she is back in England, is incorporating the relaxed Australian lifestyle in her everyday routine.

She said: “I'll wake up early, go for a run, work in a coffee, shop and take the time to make myself healthy meals.”

Keen to do a job that she “loves” but that also lets her focus on wellbeing, Holly decided to set up a tutoring business, so that she can still utilise her passion for teaching.

She currently has a few students, who are children from the school she used to work at, and is growing her business every day, through word of mouth, and advertising on social media.

She mostly tutors in the afternoon and evening, when school is finished, and is also hoping to teach children who are homeschooled.

“I tutor children who are a variety of ages," she said.

“I’m helping some of them prepare for assessments, and others have come to me because their teachers are off on long term sick due to stress.”

Holly charges £40 an hour from tutoring and her goal is to match her teacher salary, which she has worked out she can do by working five hours a day on weekdays.

She offers both online and in person classes, and has created a learning space in her home, so that students can come to her house.

She added that tutoring allows her to be much more creative with how she teaches, so she can make learning fun for her students.

She shares her story on @hollyymay_