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On campus at University of Greenwich
University of Greenwich
London

PGCE Interview and Skills tests!! SO WORRIED

Hi,

I have my interview at Greenwich this Friday for my PGCE and I feel relatively confident for it but if anyone has any relevant tips or advice that would be great, especially for the group discussion and maths test. I have been revising a lot.

My skills tests are booked for April 11th because I work in a school at the moment so I needed to book it during a school holiday. I feel ok with the literacy test but the numeracy one is really causing me troubles, I am only getting about 12-16/28 right when I do the practice ones!! I have heard that Numeracy Ready is a good website to use but I quite literally can't afford the cost for it, I work part-time on a pro rata salary so i'm hardly cutting even at the moment... I practice the tests a lot and revise everyday but not a great deal of improvement so far and I am really concerned!!

HELP?!

Thank youuuu in advance!
Reply 1
Avatar for Sampaa
Sampaa
2
What PGCE course are you applying for?

I've been accepted for PGCE Primary and managed to pass the tests first time so I can try give you some advice but I'm not great at it.

For the interview, you have the english test, maths test and group interview. I am currently a full time TA in a school which helped me immensely for the english test as it was a question I knew I could answer because I know my school's policy and about the topic that came up so I could answer with personal knowledge and experience. The maths test is really to see where you're at, if you don't do too well then don't worry because it's to see your ability in relation to the maths skills test and then they offer support classes prior to your taking them.

The group interview is as you'd expect, be respectful but make sure you speak and your point of view is heard. One thing I would say is that I felt a lot of the people I was with were too eager to speak and ended up bringing up points that I personally felt weren't answering the questions. They went off on a bit of a tangent which wasn't really relevant or answering what they were asking. But then I don't know who was accepted or rejected so they might have got onto the course too, I don't know.


Don't worry too much about the skills tests. I didn't, but then I am very laid back so maybe it's just easy for me to say. I did the english practice test once (I am very confident in my spelling and grammar so I wasn't concerned about that, but I do struggle on comprehension questions and found the ones on the actual test quite hard). The maths test I practiced once and got 50% and then just before my test came up I went through just the mental ones again and didn't really improve on that. But the actual test is a lot easier, I found. I ended up getting 75% on the maths and 68% on the english.

I wish I could give you proper advice which I felt would help you but it's not as if the questions are the same. I'd just say don't worry about it too much, especially since it's your first try (right?). You get three tries so try not to worry about it now. If you don't pass the first one at least you'll know what to expect the second time.

Also, remember you'll get a whiteboard and pen to write down the information during your maths test. I didn't use one when I did the practice ones so maybe that's why I didn't do great initially (although still the practice ones are definitely harder). Are you practicing with writing it down or just in your head like I did? Either way, don't worry.

Sorry for the long post and also lack of useful advice. :smile: Good luck!
On campus at University of Greenwich
University of Greenwich
London
Hi,

sorry I only just saw your post! It doesn't seem to notify me!! I have been writing down and doing working out on paper, I am useless at mental arithmetic, actually useless!! I have been practising a lot and only have about 9 days left until my test :frown: and I still don't feel very sure of myself, I really want to pass as tests are being booked up a lot now and I have until the 12th of May from my uni to pass it to secure my place!! AHHHH!

Haha i've been using numeracy ready the past few days and it is very helpful but I just hope the numeracy one really is easier than all the practice ones i've been doing and I hope the literacy one isn't too much harder than the practice ones :smile:. EEEK!! I wish I was better a math!!

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