diff --git a/codeforlife/user/serializers/user.py b/codeforlife/user/serializers/user.py
index 121597ca..febac0a7 100644
--- a/codeforlife/user/serializers/user.py
+++ b/codeforlife/user/serializers/user.py
@@ -11,15 +11,9 @@
 
 # pylint: disable-next=missing-class-docstring
 class UserSerializer(ModelSerializer[User]):
-    student = StudentSerializer(
-        source="new_student",
-        read_only=True,
-    )
+    student = StudentSerializer(source="new_student")
 
-    teacher = TeacherSerializer(
-        source="new_teacher",
-        read_only=True,
-    )
+    teacher = TeacherSerializer(source="new_teacher")
 
     # pylint: disable-next=missing-class-docstring,too-few-public-methods
     class Meta:
@@ -35,6 +29,8 @@ class Meta:
             "date_joined",
         ]
         extra_kwargs = {
+            "student": {"read_only": True},
+            "teacher": {"read_only": True},
             "id": {"read_only": True},
             "first_name": {"read_only": True},
             "last_name": {"read_only": True},