He was the author of the 1959 autobiographical novel To Sir, With Love, which was made into a 1967 British drama film of the same title, starring Sidney Poitier and Lulu.

[9][10] After the war, despite his extensive training, Braithwaite could not find work in his field and, disillusioned, reluctantly accepted a job as a schoolteacher at St George-in-the-East Central School (now the Mulberry House apartments)[11] adjacent to the north side of St George in the East church, in the Wapping area of the East End of London.

[15] In 2007 he said on a BBC Radio 4 programme, To Sir, with Love Revisited, written and presented by Burt Caesar: "I detest the movie from the bottom of my heart.

[7] Braithwaite continued to write novels and short stories throughout his long international career as an educational consultant and lecturer for UNESCO.

He recorded his experiences during the six weeks he spent in South Africa in his book Honorary White (London: The Bodley Head, 1975, ISBN 978-0370103570).

[20] He turned 100 in 2012, and on a visit to Guyana while serving as the patron of the Inter-Guiana Cultural Festival, he was given a national award, the Cacique Crown of Honour, by then-President Donald Ramotar.

[7] Braithwaite died at the Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center in Rockville, Maryland, on December 12, 2016, at the age of 104.