PGCE Secondary Teaching experience

I was wondering if not having Secondary teaching experience would hurt my application in math or computer science PGCE for Secondary.

I am an grad from Software engineering from 2019 and graduated a few months prior to COVID( literally 4-6 months) - life and COVID happened and 4 years pass in a blink of an eye and i lost the drive to enter the rat race that is junior web development and rebuild a portfolio after all those years. Oddly i super enjoy math at GCSE and a level and would be willing to pursue it as a teaching career.

I have looked at the teach experience direct gov website but it only list those super far from Bristol when i know there are 7 big local secondary schools nearby and 1 of those i went to 25 years ago - is it worth the pain to try and go to one of the teach experience schools or pester my local for classroom experience?

I am aiming to enter the course for 2024 September.

(edited 5 months ago)

Reply 1

caroline138

6

Original post by Sketchspawn

I was wondering if not having Secondary teaching experience would hurt my application in math or computer science PGCE for Secondary.

I am an grad from Software engineering from 2019 and graduated a few months prior to COVID( literally 4-6 months) - life and COVID happened and 4 years pass in a blink of an eye and i lost the drive to enter the rat race that is junior web development and rebuild a portfolio after all those years. Oddly i super enjoy math at GCSE and a level and would be willing to pursue it as a teaching career.

I have looked at the teach experience direct gov website but it only list those super far from Bristol when i know there are 7 big local secondary schools nearby and 1 of those i went to 25 years ago - is it worth the pain to try and go to one of the teach experience schools or pester my local for classroom experience?

I am aiming to enter the course for 2024 September.

It would be worth it not only for applying for a PGCE but to make sure you actually like it. Universities would want to know that you know what it is like to work in a school setting and the challenges of working there before you enter the course. It should be relatively easy to be able to shadow a teacher for a week or so as many school would like the help. This can be done by simply emailing them. Most schools do work experience on a regular basis, at least where I live.

Original post by Sketchspawn

I was wondering if not having Secondary teaching experience would hurt my application in math or computer science PGCE for Secondary.

I am an grad from Software engineering from 2019 and graduated a few months prior to COVID( literally 4-6 months) - life and COVID happened and 4 years pass in a blink of an eye and i lost the drive to enter the rat race that is junior web development and rebuild a portfolio after all those years. Oddly i super enjoy math at GCSE and a level and would be willing to pursue it as a teaching career.

I have looked at the teach experience direct gov website but it only list those super far from Bristol when i know there are 7 big local secondary schools nearby and 1 of those i went to 25 years ago - is it worth the pain to try and go to one of the teach experience schools or pester my local for classroom experience?

I am aiming to enter the course for 2024 September.

Hi @Sketchspawn

I hope you're well.

Both, Maths and Computer Science are very much in demand right now, with bursaries that reflect this. If you're looking to apply for teacher training starting in 2024, then you can apply now as the recruitment cycle started last month. However, before you apply, I would speak to a Teacher Training Adviser (an experienced teacher) who specialises in helping candidates with their application, i.e. providing feedback on your personal statement, helping with interview preparation, etc.

You can register for a free adviser using the link here.

In regards to school experience, this isn't a mandatory requirement for an application, however, it is highly recommended and it offers some good reflection points for your personal statement. It also helps you to make an informed decision about whether teaching is for you. If you're struggling to arrange some experience, then speak to your adviser (once you have registered). They can give you some advice on how to arrange school experience, what to write in an email if you contact schools or discuss with you other opportunities that lead to some experience working with young people.

I hope that helps.

Best wishes,

Zee

PGCE Secondary Teaching experience

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