PGCE Applications 2016

Did anyone else get a rushed call from the Paddington Academy yesterday in relation to an interview on Wednesday? If so did they get back to with the details of the interview, time and location?
They called to see if I was available then they said they would call or email with the details but I have not received or heard anything since.

Reply 3701

Great444

14

why you don't call them and ask, probably they are busy.

Reply 3702

Ms Jamdown

Hi

Im going for my maths qts at the end of the month. All help is needed. Thanks.

Alsoy start date is in September but im not sure of the actual date. Im doing the university led route. Can anyone give me approximate start date,whether is early September or late September.

Reply 3703

Great444

14

I passed my numeracy few weeks ago I used you tube there is useful videos there , also I studied the material which they have on their website around 68 pages, I also used this site which is really good http://www.qtsmathstest.com/qts-maths-test-practice/

Hope that helped.

which university?

Original post by Ms Jamdown

Hi

Im going for my maths qts at the end of the month. All help is needed. Thanks.

Alsoy start date is in September but im not sure of the actual date. Im doing the university led route. Can anyone give me approximate start date,whether is early September or late September.

I found just doing all the practice tests they have online was enough. It really isn't anything to worry about. Good luck!

Reply 3706

fabuloussam_

1

Original post by Ms Jamdown

Hi

Im going for my maths qts at the end of the month. All help is needed. Thanks.

Alsoy start date is in September but im not sure of the actual date. Im doing the university led route. Can anyone give me approximate start date,whether is early September or late September.

Hi,

I went to a support session at my university for the numeracy test and they gave me loads of top tips. Definitely brush up on calcuating percentages/fractions/decimal (example question: "in a class of 28, 4 pupils are predicted an A, what percentage is this?"). Additionally, I found there were quite a few questions surrounding calcuating time so brush up on those 6 times tables.

I personally made a habit of writing the 60 times table (up to 360) in the top corner of the rough paper once my test had started, so that I could use it for reference on time questions, and I found it really helpful.

In terms of practice, I just used the tests available on the website, but if you search in youtube you can find walkthroughs of them too, which helped me in the very beginning when my maths confidence was on the floor. I think the best advice is to not get bogged down with the time constraint, because rushing led to silly mistakes so many times when I was practising.

And finally, regarding start date, I'm doing a university based route and my start date is 12th September. Maybe check your institution's website to see if it says so on there.

Good luck!

Reply 3707

Agreen

Hello. I have a place on a pgce course starting September 2016, the only condition left to be confirmed is my health questionnaire. This was sent off and received by them on the 3rd August. I put on this form that I have asthma, have suffered with anxiety and depression and have b12 injections every 3 months. My deadline date for my conditions is the 31st August. Does anyone know why this is taking so long to hear my fitness to teach has been approved, or does anyone know any reasons why this may come back unfit? (Hopefully not!) thanks

Reply 3708

charlotteprott

Hello Everyone,
Please can someone help me!
i am currently going into my third year at university so am getting to the stage where i am applying for a PGCE.
My problem is that i go to a lower rated university but I am on the borderline between a 1st and a 2.1.
Im wondering if my lower ranked university will hinder my application for Primary PGCE as i really am hoping to go to somewhere like Cambridge, UCL, and other competitive universities.
I do have a lot of classroom and child based experience but am wondering whether to just take a year out to make myself an even better candidate.
Any response of advise will be greatly appreciated.

Reply 3709

Great444

14

Original post by charlotteprott

Hello Everyone,
Please can someone help me!
i am currently going into my third year at university so am getting to the stage where i am applying for a PGCE.
My problem is that i go to a lower rated university but I am on the borderline between a 1st and a 2.1.
Im wondering if my lower ranked university will hinder my application for Primary PGCE as i really am hoping to go to somewhere like Cambridge, UCL, and other competitive universities.
I do have a lot of classroom and child based experience but am wondering whether to just take a year out to make myself an even better candidate.
Any response of ad

Depends what is your major and your experience too I don't think the university matter unless there is a competition

Reply 3710

Ashleyclaire

10

Original post by charlotteprott

Hello Everyone,
Please can someone help me!
i am currently going into my third year at university so am getting to the stage where i am applying for a PGCE.
My problem is that i go to a lower rated university but I am on the borderline between a 1st and a 2.1.
Im wondering if my lower ranked university will hinder my application for Primary PGCE as i really am hoping to go to somewhere like Cambridge, UCL, and other competitive universities.
I do have a lot of classroom and child based experience but am wondering whether to just take a year out to make myself an even better candidate.
Any response of advise will be greatly appreciated.

I don't think the university is very important - I'm going to be starting a PGCE at Cambridge and I did my undergrad at the University of Birmingham.
The most important thing is to do as much work experience as possible in a variety of schools. It's also great to do things like help with after-school clubs and similar.
And try to keep up with educational news (I found reading the education section on the BBC website everyday kept me up to date).
If you can, have one of your references written by someone at a school you did some work experience at.
If you struggle with mental maths, start revising for your Maths QTS as soon as possible.
Good luck!

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Reply 3711

n1rdf

1

Hi, I've got a Chemistry PGCE interview at Kings next week, quite nervous about it.

Anyone have any experience with what to expect from Kings interviews??

Reply 3712

tory88

18

Original post by n1rdf

Hi, I've got a Chemistry PGCE interview at Kings next week, quite nervous about it.

Anyone have any experience with what to expect from Kings interviews??

If you have been asked to prepare a lesson, you will be asked to present this in front of the other interviewees who will play your class. They will likely be allowed to ask questions if they want at the end of the 'lesson'. If this is relatively short (mine was 5 minutes a couple of years ago) then the intention is to see you delivering content. Don't make worksheets or question the class, focus instead on the quality of your explanations, diagrams and concepts.

The actual interview part was quite straightforward. Be sure to know about a couple of issues in education (academies are a hot topic, the new GCSEs, grammar schools) and be able to articulate why you want to be a teacher. Be prepared to use your school experience to support your views. A written part of the day may be used - this is just to check your writing ability and is nothing to worry about.

Reply 3713

Anna.Karenina

20

Hi! How much classroom experience did you have if you were successful in securing an offer? Thank you :-)

Reply 3714

Ashleyclaire

10

Original post by Anna.Karenina

Hi! How much classroom experience did you have if you were successful in securing an offer? Thank you :-)

I had one week private and four weeks state.
I also had experience of mentoring sixth formers (helping them choose what to do after sixth form, and working out how to achieve those goals) and helping first year university students doing the same course as me to consolidate their knowledge.

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Reply 3715

Anna.Karenina

20

Original post by Ashleyclaire

I had one week private and four weeks state.
I also had experience of mentoring sixth formers (helping them choose what to do after sixth form, and working out how to achieve those goals) and helping first year university students doing the same course as me to consolidate their knowledge.

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I'm really concerned at my lack of classroom experience - I only have 7 days in a secondary school and 5 days in a sixth form lined up :/

Reply 3716

fabuloussam_

1

Most places will ask for 10 days recent school experience, but having more always helps if you can use it to give strong answers in your interview.

I personally did three placements in schools during my undergrad degree (one per year) through a scheme set up by my uni, so I had 30 school days of experience. However, some people have a lot more, coming from jobs in schools such as TA, while others have less; one of the people at my PGCE interview had spent 2 days in a school but her application was still considered so it can go either way 😊

Short answer: aim for 2 weeks/10 days of meaningful experience (in your chosen age range or subject specialism)