The Student Room Group

Help I'm being pressurised into going to Cambridge!

I really want to become a primary school teacher, I get on really well with children and I can explain things well to them. I have done 5 weeks work experience last summer after my exams in a primary school and currently work 2 afternoons a week i the primary school. I got all A*'s in my GCSE's and all A's in my AS's so for this reason my college wants me to got to Oxbridge. When my college tutor found out I wanted to apply to a primary education course something I have spent a long time researching into she was disgusted and found an education course for me to do at Cambridge. I do not want to do this, there is no experience with teaching children and it is mainly about education policies. She looked at my personal statement and said it sounded like I wanted to be a primary school teacher too much! That is what I want to do! she's threatening not to send off my application unless I change it which makes me less likely to get into the universities I actually want to go to (Durham, York St John, Canterbury Christ Church, Sheffield Hallam and Bedfordshire) please help me sorry for the rant!

Scroll to see replies

So don't apply. A large reason why they want you to apply is so they can say they have students that went to Cambridge or Oxford. If you're just going to decline the place if you get an offer then there's really no point in wasting an application spot.

If you've thought about it, then apply where you want to.
Reply 2
You should consider the following.

1) if you can, you should never turn down an opportunity to study at Oxbridge; it is an experience you would not want to miss.
2) teachers cannot stop you from applying to university so that's nothing to worry about. If they do then you need to speak to UCAS or your chosen universities (you really should consider Cambridge).
3) some of my relatives are primary school teachers and it is not what it is cracked up to be: have you done any work experience where you actually get to see the real side of teaching?
4) around 80% of people who attend university with a career in mind end up changing their career ideas before they enter the world of work. I'm guessing you're going into Year 13 so you still have five years (minimum) before you would qualify anyway- plenty of time to change your mind.


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by Hannahmay01
I really want to become a primary school teacher, I get on really well with children and I can explain things well to them. I have done 5 weeks work experience last summer after my exams in a primary school and currently work 2 afternoons a week i the primary school. I got all A*'s in my GCSE's and all A's in my AS's so for this reason my college wants me to got to Oxbridge. When my college tutor found out I wanted to apply to a primary education course something I have spent a long time researching into she was disgusted and found an education course for me to do at Cambridge. I do not want to do this, there is no experience with teaching children and it is mainly about education policies. She looked at my personal statement and said it sounded like I wanted to be a primary school teacher too much! That is what I want to do! she's threatening not to send off my application unless I change it which makes me less likely to get into the universities I actually want to go to (Durham, York St John, Canterbury Christ Church, Sheffield Hallam and Bedfordshire) please help me sorry for the rant!


Ugh that is disgusting behaviour! Excuse me while I go slap your college tutor with a wet fish...

Anyway, I was in the same position as you OP (well they didn't threaten me). I was constantly badgered to apply to Cambridge for Maths even though I totally hated their course and I wanted to stay in Scotland. It was just my grades + the fact I had previously been to private school but ticked all the access boxes that made them think I was a shoe-in which was a bit ridiculous.

What I did:
-took my least favourite choice and sacrificed it to take up a cambridge place. After the application was sent I contacted cambridge to cancel my application and didn't attend my interview

I realise you may want all your choices so the other option is:

-go over your college tutors head and report this to your head of year/headteacher (or whoever is in charge and has authority over your tutor). Get parental support for this and have them help you make this complaint. This is a ridiculous abuse of power. It will be in your interest to make sure your head agrees for you to see your reference / it gets written by someone else if that was your tutors job.

- or if possible ignore her and just send your application off yourself (I'm not sure if you can actually do this because of the reference thing)
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 4
Original post by chickenonsteroids
So don't apply. A large reason why they want you to apply is so they can say they have students that went to Cambridge or Oxford. If you're just going to decline the place if you get an offer then there's really no point in wasting an application spot.

If you've thought about it, then apply where you want to.


The Cambridge reject strikes again.
Original post by LawKid
You should consider the following.

1) if you can, you should never turn down an opportunity to study at Oxbridge; it is an experience you would not want to miss.
2) teachers cannot stop you from applying to university so that's nothing to worry about. If they do then you need to speak to UCAS or your chosen universities (you really should consider Cambridge).
3) some of my relatives are primary school teachers and it is not what it is cracked up to be: have you done any work experience where you actually get to see the real side of teaching?
4) around 80% of people who attend university with a career in mind end up changing their career ideas before they enter the world of work. I'm guessing you're going into Year 13 so you still have five years (minimum) before you would qualify anyway- plenty of time to change your mind.


Posted from TSR Mobile


why? what makes Oxbridge so god damn wonderful that even if the course is inappropriate for your career goals you should go anyway?

I realise your post was directed at the OP but as someone who got sick to death of hearing how awesome Oxbridge is and how everyone who can go should go I really feel like people need to speak up and say:

It's the course not the uni
You need to report her if she really threatened to not send off your application. Report her to the head of the college, and say if they don't act, you will report to the LA and the papers. That is awful behaviour. It is not her place to force you to go somewhere, especially for a course that isn't what you want to do.

It is your life not hers, and there are no guarentees you would get into Cambridge, so it could just as easily be a wasted spot on your application (never mind a waste of three years if the course doesn't give you QTS).

Yes, there are negatives to being a primary school teacher, and it can be hard to find jobs in the most desirable schools and some parts of the country. However, if it's your passion (and it clearly is), then you should go for it.

If you need to, however, you could be sneaky and get around her. You don't have to add all your ucas choices at once, so just put two on, get her to send the application (by lying and saying you'll add Cambridge later) and then add your other three choices.
My tutors always pressured me to go to Uni.

They basically told me I would never achieve anything if I didn't go.

I am currently in the process of proving them wrong. I've already got a job which will see me achieve the chartered accountant status when i'm 22. (In which time everyone else who applied to Uni would have only had one or no years work experience.)

Stuff your college tutors and do what you want to do. Don't be afraid to go against the flow. Worked for me.
Reply 8
Original post by Hannahmay01
I really want to become a primary school teacher, I get on really well with children and I can explain things well to them. I have done 5 weeks work experience last summer after my exams in a primary school and currently work 2 afternoons a week i the primary school. I got all A*'s in my GCSE's and all A's in my AS's so for this reason my college wants me to got to Oxbridge. When my college tutor found out I wanted to apply to a primary education course something I have spent a long time researching into she was disgusted and found an education course for me to do at Cambridge. I do not want to do this, there is no experience with teaching children and it is mainly about education policies. She looked at my personal statement and said it sounded like I wanted to be a primary school teacher too much! That is what I want to do! she's threatening not to send off my application unless I change it which makes me less likely to get into the universities I actually want to go to (Durham, York St John, Canterbury Christ Church, Sheffield Hallam and Bedfordshire) please help me sorry for the rant!


This is horrible, do not succumb to the pressure. Tell your parents, get their support and then go to the head of year/sixth form with a complaint. Next time your teacher threatens to not send off your application you should be extremely firm with them and tell them that you are not going to do that, it is not what you want. Explain your reasons calmly and make it clear that you've decided on your universities and course already.
Reply 9
Original post by LawKid
You should consider the following.

1) if you can, you should never turn down an opportunity to study at Oxbridge; it is an experience you would not want to miss.
Posted from TSR Mobile


Wrong. There's many institutions that provide vastly superior quality of teaching as far as teaching/education is concerned, you just wouldn't have heard of them.
Reply 10
Original post by monkyvirus
why? what makes Oxbridge so god damn wonderful that even if the course is inappropriate for your career goals you should go anyway?

I realise your post was directed at the OP but as someone who got sick to death of hearing how awesome Oxbridge is and how everyone who can go should go I really feel like people need to speak up and say:

It's the course not the uni


I really don't get why Cambridge is considered any better than any other university my cousins went to Cambridge and Oxford to do classics and history retrospectively however they have both been unemployed for 5 years. Why is Durham considered worse than Cambridge- Personally I think it's because the people who write the league tables went to Oxbridge. Thanks for all the useful comments guys :smile:
Reply 11
Original post by monkyvirus
why? what makes Oxbridge so god damn wonderful that even if the course is inappropriate for your career goals you should go anyway?

I realise your post was directed at the OP but as someone who got sick to death of hearing how awesome Oxbridge is and how everyone who can go should go I really feel like people need to speak up and say:

It's the course not the uni


As my name suggests, I want to become a lawyer (barrister to be precise). Given the choice I would go to Oxbridge purely because of the status of the uni. It is 100% about the university, whether that is fair or not is debatable, but when it boils down to it, it's the university, not the course.


Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 12
Original post by JakeyKakey
Wrong. There's many institutions that provide vastly superior quality of teaching as far as teaching/education is concerned, you just wouldn't have heard of them.


I did also make the point that teaching is not what it is made out to be and that anyone looking to be a teacher should research it properly and not judge the profession based upon when they see on TV or during a weeks' work experience because that is not what teachers do.


Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 13
Original post by LawKid
I did also make the point that teaching is not what it is made out to be and that anyone looking to be a teacher should research it properly and not judge the profession based upon when they see on TV or during a weeks' work experience because that is not what teachers do.


Posted from TSR Mobile

I have done 7 weeks in total primary experience. I work 2 afternoons a week in a primary school. I know being a primary school teacher is one of the hardest jobs out their but it's something I really want to do as I want to make a change to children's lives and have a veried job where no 2 days are the same. I know I could get a much 'better' well paid and easier job than being a primary school teacher but there is nothing I can see my self doing other than teaching.
Original post by LawKid
As my name suggests, I want to become a lawyer (barrister to be precise). Given the choice I would go to Oxbridge purely because of the status of the uni. It is 100% about the university, whether that is fair or not is debatable, but when it boils down to it, it's the university, not the course.


Posted from TSR Mobile


Whilst this is true for law to an extent, it is not true for every profession. A course that leads to QTS would be a quicker route to primary teaching than a course that doesn't. That is a simple fact.


Original post by LawKid
I did also make the point that teaching is not what it is made out to be and that anyone looking to be a teacher should research it properly and not judge the profession based upon when they see on TV or during a weeks' work experience because that is not what teachers do.


Posted from TSR Mobile


OP has said that she has done 5 weeks work experience and is working in a school 2 afternoons a week. This will probably give her a good idea of what teaching involves. Teaching does have some advantages as a profession as well, such as long holidays and the ability to work anywhere in the country for equal pay (excluding London).
Reply 15
Original post by LawKid
I did also make the point that teaching is not what it is made out to be and that anyone looking to be a teacher should research it properly and not judge the profession based upon when they see on TV or during a weeks' work experience because that is not what teachers do.


Posted from TSR Mobile


OP has clearly stated that she has over 6 weeks of work experience and regularly works in a primary school. After this amount of time she has to have picked up the realities of teaching by now. Yes it is a difficult profession, but many people do still enjoy it despite the downsides. What applies to you (Oxbridge being best for your course etc) does not apply to teaching in the slightest. Schools do not care where you did your degree, and if they are they are more impressed by reputable former teacher training colleges such as York St. John or Leeds Trinity.
This doesn't sound legal to me.
If she has genuinely threatened not to send your application then report it to everyone possible. She is failing you as a teacher if she does this, and I wouldn't mind betting she'd lose whatever authority she has to help with applications.
Original post by Hannahmay01
I really want to become a primary school teacher, I get on really well with children and I can explain things well to them. I have done 5 weeks work experience last summer after my exams in a primary school and currently work 2 afternoons a week i the primary school. I got all A*'s in my GCSE's and all A's in my AS's so for this reason my college wants me to got to Oxbridge. When my college tutor found out I wanted to apply to a primary education course something I have spent a long time researching into she was disgusted and found an education course for me to do at Cambridge. I do not want to do this, there is no experience with teaching children and it is mainly about education policies. She looked at my personal statement and said it sounded like I wanted to be a primary school teacher too much! That is what I want to do! she's threatening not to send off my application unless I change it which makes me less likely to get into the universities I actually want to go to (Durham, York St John, Canterbury Christ Church, Sheffield Hallam and Bedfordshire) please help me sorry for the rant!


Seriously you should do what makes u happy. You don't want to live the rest of your life saying "what if"...although Cambridge is a well respected institution I think teaching and healthcare courses as well as many other courses *Just can't think of any at the moment* the course matters and not the university. Although that may not be the case for Law and some other stuff your not applying for them so do what makes you happy. If being a primary school teacher is what makes you happy then seriously go for it. It's you who will be doing the course and paying the money at the end of the day NOT your teacher.

Btw what AS subjects did you do?and congrats for your GCSE and AS results :smile: good luck x


Posted from TSR Mobile
(edited 10 years ago)
Please just do what you know is right for you, don't get pressured into anything, it is you who will be studying, it is your career and it is your life, don't let yourself be forced into anything. Also your tutor can't refuse to send off your application, go and speak to management after all it is you who is applying, not her. Btw you sound like you know what teaching entails and have experience of it, well done and remember do what is right for you, not what someone else thinks especially if they think reputation is everything because it is most certainly not. Good Luck :smile:
(edited 10 years ago)

Quick Reply

Latest