This paper explores Scottish Secondary School Teachers perceptions and experiences of stress in teaching. As teacher stress is best studied in the educational and cultural context in which it occurs a Stressors in Teaching Scale (SITS), based on of the main sources of occupational stress (stressors) elicited from the views and experiences of teachers, was developed specifically for this study. Subsequently, 407 respondents (68.40%) from 18 secondary schools across the central belt of Scotland completed an exploratory survey. To identify 'stressors' specific to the Scottish context and gauge current levels of teacher stress, respondents rated each SITS item on a 4-point scale according to the degree to which it is purported to cause stress in their professional life. Subjects also completed an Occupational Information Form and rated the extent to which they perceived and experienced the profession of teaching as stressful. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ30) and Glasgow Symptom Checklist (GSC) were also included to validate SITS as a measure of 'teacher stress.' (GHQ r=.64; GSC r= .73; P<.001)) Factor analysis revealed seven main factors that accounted for almost 52.0% of the variance in SITS scores: Workload, Classroom Interaction, Professional Devaluation, Paperwork, Resources, Staff Morale and Change. Workload and Classroom Interaction (mean>22.5) were rated significantly higher than any other stressor. While workload was identified as the main stressor the youngest, least experienced and oldest, more experienced teachers consistently rated classroom interaction as more stressful than workload. Overall mean SITS scores of 85.93 (33.10) provided a measure of current levels of teacher stress. While 16% of teachers recorded less than 50 out of a possible 192 on SITS almost 29% scored >106, indicating high levels of stress. As a group 57.0% of teachers perceived the teaching profession as 'very stressful' and 51.20 % rated their experience of teaching as 'very much more' stressful over the last few years. The variables Age, Years of Experience and Years in Current Post were found to have a significant linear relationship (p< .001) with SITS, Perception and Experience scores. Although Middle Managers perception and experience of teaching as stressful did not differ significantly from that of Senior- Managers or Classroom Teachers, they scored significantly (p< .001) higher on SITS. Multiple regression analyses indicated that Experience of teaching in recent years was the main predictor of SITS (25.9%) and Perception (34.0%) scores. While all teachers cited workload and classroom interaction as their main stressors the current experience of Middle Managers and teachers who had been in the profession longer was very different. In addition to the daily grind of workload and classroom interaction they also cited additional stressors linked to Changes (changing demands, curriculum changes), Workload (not enough time for development work) and Classroom Interaction (erosion of teachers' authority) as highly stressful (mean> 2.0). Findings suggest that teacher's perceptions and experiences of stressors are significantly related to the passage of time and current position. Moreover, the precise nature of their experience in terms of the cumulative impact and exact nature of stressors , plays a key role in their perception of teaching as stressful and indeed the generation of teacher stress (SITS). Keywords: Teacher Stress; Occupational Stress; Scotland