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PGCE - Current Students Thread

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Original post by lawstudent21
I'm a PGCE student on her first placement. I've found a job I want to apply for in September but don't know what to write in my personal statement. Any advice?


Write a list of what defines you as a teacher.. What's different about you e.g. the things you are really passionate about or have special skills in.

Then go through the schools website, policies etc and note down all the things that stand out about the school.

Then take the person specification if there is one or the list of requirements from the ad if not and note next to each one how you meet that. With a concrete example.

Go from there. Mention as many of the person spec things as you can. Try to give a sense of who you are as a teacher, with a paragraph about something you are really passionate about which also ticks the person specification and matches the school's passions.

Xxx

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Original post by Bobble1987
This is exactly why I don't think you should be allowed to do ITT straight from uni. Ridiculous!


... or there are some people like myself who couldn't imagine any other career or job and didn't want to do any other job other than teaching.
How are people managing their social lives/relationships/dating on this course? I feel like I'm constantly having to cancel plans or rearrange things because I have too much to do or something else crops up. I had my first date in God knows how long the other night, and I felt so stressed that I was actually enjoying myself :/
Original post by kpwxx
Write a list of what defines you as a teacher.. What's different about you e.g. the things you are really passionate about or have special skills in.

Then go through the schools website, policies etc and note down all the things that stand out about the school.

Then take the person specification if there is one or the list of requirements from the ad if not and note next to each one how you meet that. With a concrete example.

Go from there. Mention as many of the person spec things as you can. Try to give a sense of who you are as a teacher, with a paragraph about something you are really passionate about which also ticks the person specification and matches the school's passions.

Xxx

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Awesome list thanks!
Original post by Samus2
How are people managing their social lives/relationships/dating on this course? I feel like I'm constantly having to cancel plans or rearrange things because I have too much to do or something else crops up. I had my first date in God knows how long the other night, and I felt so stressed that I was actually enjoying myself :/


It feels like it has taken over my life at the moment. It feels like it is all I am doing. I just feel really tired all the time, I would like a few hours off that's all..! I just think of the bigger picture though and it helps a bit haha.
Original post by Samus2
How are people managing their social lives/relationships/dating on this course? I feel like I'm constantly having to cancel plans or rearrange things because I have too much to do or something else crops up. I had my first date in God knows how long the other night, and I felt so stressed that I was actually enjoying myself :/


Social life? What's that?!

I don't do anything on a school night but I really try and get out on a Friday/Saturday... otherwise I get too sucked into the school bubble.
Original post by peony flowers
Social life? What's that?!

I don't do anything on a school night but I really try and get out on a Friday/Saturday... otherwise I get too sucked into the school bubble.


I manage dating by not doing it!! Ahh the benefits of being a mature student and 4 years into marriage!
I feel very stressed. I am about to go on my second teaching placement and although my first placement went well. I did find the experience extremely tough and it was only 5 weeks! Plus, it is a new placement in year 5/6 which is worrying me. I know this is part of the course and I intend to put my all into it, but I am concerned about this key stage as I do not have a lot of experience.

Any advice or tips would be appreciated.
Original post by parsontaylor
I feel very stressed. I am about to go on my second teaching placement and although my first placement went well. I did find the experience extremely tough and it was only 5 weeks! Plus, it is a new placement in year 5/6 which is worrying me. I know this is part of the course and I intend to put my all into it, but I am concerned about this key stage as I do not have a lot of experience.

Any advice or tips would be appreciated.


Changing key stage is always scary, you feel like you've just settled and now are starting from scratch again! Just remember within a couple of weeks it won't seem so scary any more as it won't be unknown.

Good luck!

Xxx

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Got a Conference presentation this afternoon, not looking forward to it.

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Original post by Samus2
How are people managing their social lives/relationships/dating on this course? I feel like I'm constantly having to cancel plans or rearrange things because I have too much to do or something else crops up. I had my first date in God knows how long the other night, and I felt so stressed that I was actually enjoying myself :/


This is the hardest part. I'm struggling to fit in the everyday stuff like sleeping, eating etc. Definitely no time for a social life! I've heard people say they give themselves a day off at the weekend but I'm not sure how that's possible while on placement.
I have an interview at my first placement school tomorrow, and then at a school local to me on friday. They both have advantages and disadvantages, and I'm pretty shaky on which I would accept if both offered me the same job. To complicate matters further, I want to work as both a science and maths teacher and both schools have expressed interest. So I could in theory be offered 3 teaching jobs. I'm pretty sure my placement school have moved the interview to before the other one, and they've been hinting heavily they'll offer me the job. Would it make it less likely for me to get a job offer if I asked to wait until after I'd been to my other interview to make my decision?


Original post by Bobble1987
This is exactly why I don't think you should be allowed to do ITT straight from uni. Ridiculous!


I went in straight from university, am still really enjoying it and wouldn't have wanted any other job.

Original post by lawstudent21
I'm a PGCE student on her first placement. I've found a job I want to apply for in September but don't know what to write in my personal statement. Any advice?


As someone above said, find the person specification and make sure to evidence everything they ask for. If not, go through their website and get as good an idea of their ethos and try to match to that. As well as that, cram in as much that makes you unique as possible (as long as you can relate it back to why it helps you as a teacher). Be prepared to justify everything you say at interview.
Original post by Samus2
How are people managing their social lives/relationships/dating on this course? I feel like I'm constantly having to cancel plans or rearrange things because I have too much to do or something else crops up. I had my first date in God knows how long the other night, and I felt so stressed that I was actually enjoying myself :/


I'm wondering how I'll fit a part time job in as I won't be able manage on a student loan alone! I don't do much socially at the moment apart from the odd sci-fi convention I go to every few months which I know I'll have to cut back on :eek:. Oh and my volunteering at Brownies plus a homework club I help out at every week but I may have to stop at least one when the course starts…. This is assuming I get on for September! :smile:
I rang up a prospective school to see if they accepted visits and they were really rude! Like asking "why would you want to visit?"

I don't know if our uni have told us wrong but we were told visiting the school is the norm and you should do it or ask if you can because it gives you a better chance of the job. Whereas I feel it has lowered my chances at this school because she made me feel like an idiot!

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Original post by Airfairy
I rang up a prospective school to see if they accepted visits and they were really rude! Like asking "why would you want to visit?"

I don't know if our uni have told us wrong but we were told visiting the school is the norm and you should do it or ask if you can because it gives you a better chance of the job. Whereas I feel it has lowered my chances at this school because she made me feel like an idiot!

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I was definitely told the same by my uni...very odd!
Original post by swarfliam
I was definitely told the same by my uni...very odd!

Universities and schools operate on very different ideas of what is practical. When I was a mentor, I often had to explain some of the basic facts of school life to lecturers who had either never been teachers or had forgotten what it was really like.
Original post by kpwxx
Changing key stage is always scary, you feel like you've just settled and now are starting from scratch again! Just remember within a couple of weeks it won't seem so scary any more as it won't be unknown.

Good luck!

Xxx

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Thank you!! I am glad I am not alone in feeling this and it lovely to hear that.
xx
Original post by clara_oswald
I'm wondering how I'll fit a part time job in as I won't be able manage on a student loan alone! I don't do much socially at the moment apart from the odd sci-fi convention I go to every few months which I know I'll have to cut back on :eek:. Oh and my volunteering at Brownies plus a homework club I help out at every week but I may have to stop at least one when the course starts…. This is assuming I get on for September! :smile:


Having a part time job at the same time will kill you. There just aren't enough hours in the day to do the PGCE so anything on top of that is probably going to be too much.

I barely even see my family now and I have a couple of hours a week where I just sit down with my fiancée and that's a luxury that many don't seem to have.

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Original post by ParadoxSocks
Having a part time job at the same time will kill you. There just aren't enough hours in the day to do the PGCE so anything on top of that is probably going to be too much.

I barely even see my family now and I have a couple of hours a week where I just sit down with my fiancée and that's a luxury that many don't seem to have.

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I think that may be pushing it. I did the PGCE last year and worked 9 hours a week and at times 12. It's doable but it needs good organisation and, if you're lucky, mentors who don't expect that much from you!


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Original post by Airfairy
I rang up a prospective school to see if they accepted visits and they were really rude! Like asking "why would you want to visit?"

I don't know if our uni have told us wrong but we were told visiting the school is the norm and you should do it or ask if you can because it gives you a better chance of the job. Whereas I feel it has lowered my chances at this school because she made me feel like an idiot!

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All the schools I looked at applying to or have been placed or worked at would happily accept visits from applicants, many actually arranged set dates for visits.

There are some which can have odd policies though. I went in to ask for an informal chat about a job (wasn't ire I was qualified) in a nursery, they seemed very confused about why I would possibly want to know more about a job before applying!!! Turns out the company has strict rules about that sort of thing to try to remove bias in choosing people for the job. Problem is I always want to see the place I'm gonna be working beforehand.

Xxx

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