How intensive is the PGCE?

I would be doing MFL at UCL IOE.

Would it be possible to still continue to volunteer at the museum I work at during this time? Would I be able to have a life, write in my spare time etc?

I would be doing MFL at UCL IOE.

Would it be possible to still continue to volunteer at the museum I work at during this time? Would I be able to have a life, write in my spare time etc?

During university weeks - yes.

During placements - it will probably be really difficult. I think I did manage to keep up going to dance classes most weeks during my PGCE though.

You'll be able to do something for yourself, but if you have a lot of hobbies you may have to prioritise and pick between them.

How are uni hours vs placement hours?

Depends on your uni.

If I remember rightly, we had full days on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Wednesday we had compulsory lectures in the morning and then optional workshops in the afternoon (so you normally went to one, but if you had something else on you could skip it). Friday mornings were optional modules (I did an EAL one, others did a teaching sports one).

On placement, you'll be in school I'd say a minimum of 8am-4pm, 5 days per week. In the first placement, a lot of this will be "free" time for planning (I had to teach 10 hours per week in my first placement), but planning just takes forever when you're new to it.

The biggest difference isn't so much the time spent physically at school/uni. It's the amount of work you have to do outside. During the uni weeks I could mostly go home and relax (or sometimes spend an hour or two on reading for assignments). On placement, I'd get home at 5 or 6, have a brief break, then spend 4-5 hours planning and evaluating lessons, making resources, etc. And the same sort of thing at the weekend.