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Cambridge PGCE 2020

Anyone applying? Anyone going for the open day next month?

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Original post by JonSnow’sTies
Anyone applying? Anyone going for the open day next month?

Hi, sorry you’ve not had any responses to this yet - just giving it a quick bump, so hopefully someone will be along soon :smile:

Are you looking forward to the open day? :h:

If you don’t get any more replies to this over the next couple of days then feel free to give me a shout, and I’ll see what I can do :biggrin:
Thanks - yes there must surely be others going!
Hi, I'm applying although I'm not going to the open day. What PGCE subject are you applying for? I'm secondary English.
Reply 4
Avatar for 91ucy
91ucy
2
Original post by JonSnow’sTies
Anyone applying? Anyone going for the open day next month?


How was the open day??

I have an interview this week! 😬😬
I haven't been to a Cambridge open day as I couldn't fit one in annoyingly, but I have an interview on the 27th! I am so nervous already! I had my an interview at Uni of Exeter yesterday and it was way more relaxed than I imagined! Plus they have already offered me place!
Reply 6
Avatar for 91ucy
91ucy
2
Original post by amberfowkes
I haven't been to a Cambridge open day as I couldn't fit one in annoyingly, but I have an interview on the 27th! I am so nervous already! I had my an interview at Uni of Exeter yesterday and it was way more relaxed than I imagined! Plus they have already offered me place!


Congrats! My interview was supposed to be today but I withdrew my application and have accepted a place at Durham! Good luck at your interview!
Ahhh, Well done on your place at Durham!

I am still really unsure on the colleges, I love St Johns but don't know if this is the right place for a PGCE student. I am keen to have as much of a 'Cambridge experience' as possible while doing my PGCE but also don't want to end up isolated and with no one else doing one.
Reply 8
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91ucy
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Original post by amberfowkes
Ahhh, Well done on your place at Durham!

I am still really unsure on the colleges, I love St Johns but don't know if this is the right place for a PGCE student. I am keen to have as much of a 'Cambridge experience' as possible while doing my PGCE but also don't want to end up isolated and with no one else doing one.


Thanks!

I asked a few friends and was suggested to have a look at Emmanuel or Downing if I wanted a bit of distance from education.
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by amberfowkes
Ahhh, Well done on your place at Durham!

I am still really unsure on the colleges, I love St Johns but don't know if this is the right place for a PGCE student. I am keen to have as much of a 'Cambridge experience' as possible while doing my PGCE but also don't want to end up isolated and with no one else doing one.

I've applied to Hometon first and Girton second, mainly because of how pretty it looks. If you look at all the college websites it's really helpful because some of them specialise in certain extra-curricular stuff (Girton is really into music, not that I'm particularly great at music).
(edited 4 years ago)
Has anyone had their interview yet? Mine is on Wednesday and i'm so stressed with what to expect!
Original post by amberfowkes
Has anyone had their interview yet? Mine is on Wednesday and i'm so stressed with what to expect!


I have! Honestly it was so much more relaxed than I expected. They do it by subject, so at mine there was 4 of us and we were all there for English (what subject are you?). I think the interviews are very subject dependent, so mine had a couple of discussions and a 5 minute lesson, a written task and an individual interview, but everyone was lovely. Sorry I can't be more specific (unless you're doing English of course) as it was all done by the head of the English department. They did get back to me really quickly about the result though (unlike Oxford :frown:).
Original post by DauntlessKilljoy
I have! Honestly it was so much more relaxed than I expected. They do it by subject, so at mine there was 4 of us and we were all there for English (what subject are you?). I think the interviews are very subject dependent, so mine had a couple of discussions and a 5 minute lesson, a written task and an individual interview, but everyone was lovely. Sorry I can't be more specific (unless you're doing English of course) as it was all done by the head of the English department. They did get back to me really quickly about the result though (unlike Oxford :frown:).

I'm applying for general primary. I have been sent examples for a maths task and a document for the writing task (it's 28 pages ahhh!) Yes Exeter got back to me so quickly so hopefully it'll be the same on Wednesday.
Original post by amberfowkes
I'm applying for general primary. I have been sent examples for a maths task and a document for the writing task (it's 28 pages ahhh!) Yes Exeter got back to me so quickly so hopefully it'll be the same on Wednesday.

Wow that's a lot of pages, good luck!
Original post by DauntlessKilljoy
Wow that's a lot of pages, good luck!

Which colleges did you go for? I'm still not 100%
Original post by amberfowkes
Which colleges did you go for? I'm still not 100%

Hometon is my first choice and Hughes Hall is my second.
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by DauntlessKilljoy
Hometon is my first choice and Girton is my second; however, I'm kind of regretting applying to Girton because it's on the opposite side of Cambridge to the faculty of education. When I was putting it down I didn't really consider that I might get accepted, so I put it down because it was pretty and I didn't know where else to put.

Homerton is the original teacher training college, and by far the best choice. All teaching will be done at Homerton and the resources and so forth are there to. You would feel very isolated at a mainly undegrad college like Johns or even Girton. Unless you've previously studied there as an undegrad, they're not really set up for things like a PGCE and you'd probably find you're the only one there.
I was told a few others that have PGCE students also. I was going to put Jesus as my first choice?
How did your interview go?
What was the writing task like?
Sorry for all the questions I've got mine on Thursday for early primary haha
(edited 4 years ago)
Reply 19
Avatar for mariagp
mariagp
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I had my interview for General Primary on Monday and got an offer on Tuesday! (Although just on UCAS - I haven’t actually received my letter yet). The interview was actually a lot of fun and goes really quickly. Everyone is really friendly and not in competition with each other (as there would be places for everyone that’s interviewed, so you’re only really up against yourself)! The group discussion is very relaxed and should be pretty fun if you like talking about your thoughts on education and teaching practices. It’s done in very small groups so there’s plenty of chance for everyone to contribute their opinion. Then it’s the presentation, which I was personally the most nervous for, but everyone is so encouraging and it’s other candidates who ask questions so after your 2 minute talk, it just turns into a lovely discussion about what you’ve spoken about. Then comes the maths task, which required you to really think about what’s being asked (you have to explain your thought process on paper), but it’s not very long and the questions aren’t too difficult. It’s just for them to gage your level of mathematical thought process - in my personal interview my maths was brought up! The final stage is the written task, whereby you’re asked to discuss a topic in relation to the article that you’ve been sent prior to the interview. You have an hour to complete it, but at some point during this hour you’ll be pulled to the side for your individual interview. The interview is mainly personal questions, but it shouldn’t be too difficult as long as you know why you want to go into teaching, have a passion for the course you’re applying for, and some idea of current issues facing education.

Good luck to anyone still going through the application process!

Oh and on the Colleges note, I applied to St. John’s and Christ’s- but that’s only because I already live in central Cambridge and was looking for a college that would allow me access to a library near my home! But I have heard they don’t really take on PGCE students to be honest, so it’s likely I’ll end up being allocated a different college

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