Quitting PGCE

Hi all,

I'm hoping to find some advice/helpful tips. I have been on my Primary PGCE since September. I initially had quite a bad placement from october until january and so put down my lack of enjoyment to that and decided to see how my next placement went. It was going ok but the extreme work load is getting to me and now (5 weeks before the end) I have just been plummeting grades wise and struggling with the work load. I spend most nights crying and dreading the next day but I'm so close to the end that I feel like it would but stupid to quit. But then I also don't want to teach in the long run and it's seriously not good for my mental health to keep this up. I'm so lost at what to do. I'm talking to my Uni about it tomorrow but I'm pretty sure they'll just tell me to 'keep my chin up and it'll get better' but I really don't think it will.

What are your experiences with withdrawing/postponing? I'm so lost and scared, I really don't know what to do and am miserable all the time.

Thank you

Did the OP quit?I’m in that position nowI have a constant feeling of dread and have spent the last 4 weeks crying every time I talk about itI’m a mum of 3 and I don’t know what to do instead. I did my degree 15 years ago and I haven’t had a career so there’s basically nothing out there for me but I can’t stand this

Hey Honeyzest,
I am in a similar position, have also had a 15 year career break raising a family and also being a carer and although l have postgraduate and industry qualifications lack of recent work experience, references has been a barrier to employment.
I had always wanted to do teacher training and did various bouts of work experience in schools in the lead up to applying for the PGCE.
I am in my second placement and honestly the whole experience so far has put me off the entire profession and l have absolutely no desire to continue, yet l do not want to quit as l have put so much in and made so many personal and family sacrifices and feel l have nothing else to fall back on. But l know l never ever want to teach in a school if l manage to get through this hell. I really wish l did this course when l was younger and only had myself to think about.

Hi Caz
Sounds like exactly the same way I felt.

I still feel flat about it, feel really sad when I think about how much I liked the “job” part of the training and that I know I was pretty good at it.

I’m sure we’ve both made the right decisions for our families at this time.

I also didn’t plan to go into a full time teaching role straight away. After quitting I spent a few weeks searching for t.a jobs just to keep myself in the classroom. I just kept going round in circles, wanting to work in school but then thinking it’s just not worth me going to work for that pay. I live in a rural area so unless a ta job came up in our village then my kids would have to go to wrap around care for me to be able to get to another school in time (and I didn’t really want to work in our village anyway). And then I also felt that a ta job would still only be a temporary move for me as I’d want to have something to move towards (and I’d want to earn more money). So, I actually trained to be a preschool swimming instructor and work two days a week earning a decent hourly rate, it’s not ideal and I’m not sure how long I can do it for (esp as I have to work a weekend day and my husband will soon be working away again) but it’s a fun job, fairly stress free and it’ll fill the gap while I come up with my next move.

The more I think about it the more I realise that unless there is a total upheaval and new routes in to teaching it’s very unlikely that I will be going back to it. Therefore it’s fairly pointless for me to pursue it and my efforts would be better spent on discovering different options that I’ve never considered before because I just always thought I’d teach. I also think that I also need to not be scared of totally starting again and would consider doing a degree, I’d just need to be certain it’s the right one and confident it would lead me to a job and it’s really difficult to establish all of that.

When you have a lot of dependents You have so many things to consider. I need to know in advance how many hours a week I will need to be somewhere, what days, commute times.

I’m sure you will now find yourself in the same position as me in a “what do I do now?” Googleloop

There seems to be no help or advice out there and when I do come up with something I’d like to find out more about (eg speech and language therapy) its then really difficult to gain some experience to get the ball rolling.

In terms of the PGCE, well done for trying. It’s quite a challenge to even consider and when you have children you have a lot more to consider (I had a three page timetable telling me where each of my children were on each. day and who with) I didn’t want my children to see me quit but actually I think they saw me try really hard to achieve it and they knew it wasn’t an easy decision to make. I also think that it’s not a bad thing to demonstrate to them that it’s ok to say “this is too much for me at this time” and then to move on in a different direction.

I’ve said “I” and “me” a lot there as I don’t know if all of that is the same for you but I suspect over the next six months you will find some of it is.

Maybe we should start a support group for PGCE drop outs 😂

Good luck 😊

Please start a support group I am currently deciding whether to quit or not!!

Oh dear! @Honeyzest experience is exactly the same as mine. I had a great first placement in a lovely school but in my second placement, I experienced bullying from the mentor and my health deteriorated. I was able to withdraw from the placement and will be repeating it later this year. Part of me wants to give it another go in another school but part of me is worried that I won't go into a supportive school for my repeat second placement.

I came across this thread as I also quit the PGCE (Secondary English) a few years ago after just 3 months.

My placement school had a good reputation - for students. But the teachers in my department had zero interest in supporting me, helping me or even talking to me. The department had their own staff room where I tried to mix with them but it was a toxic environment where they avoided eye contact with me, instead they said horrible things about the students and the parents to each other. My mentor also avoided me. I know teachers are busy, but if they don't have capacity for a trainee then they should never accept one (note: schools get paid extra for taking on trainees). During lesson feedback my mentor never gave me constructive criticism; just pure criticism. On one occasion, I asked her for some advice and she said 'I have to go to a meeting' and just walked off. It was a horrible experience and I'd never felt so unhappy.

I spoke to other PGCE students at the school and they weren't having these issues in their respective departments so perhaps I was unlucky. Regardless, I wanted out of the school and teaching altogether. I wasn't interested in deferring so I quit.

Teaching is insanely high pressure. Unfortunately I'm not surprised by any of the stories on this thread which is very sad. Teachers may well be stressed and unhappy, but there is no need for trainees to be treated like this. On the other hand, I know several teachers (who don't work at my former placement school) who are lovely and very supportive but they are few and far between. In hindsight, I think SCITT and School Direct are much better options for trainees as you have a say in which schools you train at, rather than letting the university randomly decide. I also think there needs to be better support for those who drop out of the PGCE.

But if you are doing the PGCE and you hate it, you can quit. There's no shame in trying it and discovering that you don't like it. Quitting the PGCE was the best decision I ever made.

Many thanks for sharing your experience. Can I ask what you did after quitting?

After quitting I took a part-time job in a pub and gained work experience alongside it to figure out what I really wanted to do. I did work experience at a law firm which I loved, and it turned into a full-time paralegal position

I came across this thread as I also quit the PGCE (Secondary English) a few years ago after just 3 months.

My placement school had a good reputation - for students. But the teachers in my department had zero interest in supporting me, helping me or even talking to me. The department had their own staff room where I tried to mix with them but it was a toxic environment where they avoided eye contact with me, instead they said horrible things about the students and the parents to each other. My mentor also avoided me. I know teachers are busy, but if they don't have capacity for a trainee then they should never accept one (note: schools get paid extra for taking on trainees). During lesson feedback my mentor never gave me constructive criticism; just pure criticism. On one occasion, I asked her for some advice and she said 'I have to go to a meeting' and just walked off. It was a horrible experience and I'd never felt so unhappy.

I spoke to other PGCE students at the school and they weren't having these issues in their respective departments so perhaps I was unlucky. Regardless, I wanted out of the school and teaching altogether. I wasn't interested in deferring so I quit.

Teaching is insanely high pressure. Unfortunately I'm not surprised by any of the stories on this thread which is very sad. Teachers may well be stressed and unhappy, but there is no need for trainees to be treated like this. On the other hand, I know several teachers (who don't work at my former placement school) who are lovely and very supportive but they are few and far between. In hindsight, I think SCITT and School Direct are much better options for trainees as you have a say in which schools you train at, rather than letting the university randomly decide. I also think there needs to be better support for those who drop out of the PGCE.

But if you are doing the PGCE and you hate it, you can quit. There's no shame in trying it and discovering that you don't like it. Quitting the PGCE was the best decision I ever made.

Thanks for your reply. I am currently muddling through the end of the coursework and doing a 5 week retrieval placement whenever schools go back. I had a much better 2nd placement so I am glad I didn’t drop out! After my retrieval I am going on the flexi/supply route till I decide what else to do! I am thinking education officer might be more my thing so I will apply when something comes up.
I am glad I stuck with it despite adversities! I think it’s a good qualification to have for other things than teaching.
It is such a shame that so many trainees go through horrific placements though! Hopefully something can be done that supports students better when placements is bad.

I came across this thread as I also quit the PGCE (Secondary English) a few years ago after just 3 months.

My placement school had a good reputation - for students. But the teachers in my department had zero interest in supporting me, helping me or even talking to me. The department had their own staff room where I tried to mix with them but it was a toxic environment where they avoided eye contact with me, instead they said horrible things about the students and the parents to each other. My mentor also avoided me. I know teachers are busy, but if they don't have capacity for a trainee then they should never accept one (note: schools get paid extra for taking on trainees). During lesson feedback my mentor never gave me constructive criticism; just pure criticism. On one occasion, I asked her for some advice and she said 'I have to go to a meeting' and just walked off. It was a horrible experience and I'd never felt so unhappy.

I spoke to other PGCE students at the school and they weren't having these issues in their respective departments so perhaps I was unlucky. Regardless, I wanted out of the school and teaching altogether. I wasn't interested in deferring so I quit.

Teaching is insanely high pressure. Unfortunately I'm not surprised by any of the stories on this thread which is very sad. Teachers may well be stressed and unhappy, but there is no need for trainees to be treated like this. On the other hand, I know several teachers (who don't work at my former placement school) who are lovely and very supportive but they are few and far between. In hindsight, I think SCITT and School Direct are much better options for trainees as you have a say in which schools you train at, rather than letting the university randomly decide. I also think there needs to be better support for those who drop out of the PGCE.

But if you are doing the PGCE and you hate it, you can quit. There's no shame in trying it and discovering that you don't like it. Quitting the PGCE was the best decision I ever made.