How competitive is the PGCE?

Hi everyone,

Very recently I've started to consider a future career in primary teaching and I'm looking for a bit of advice about the applications process for PGCE courses.

My main concern is how competitive it will be to secure a place on the course? Are they massively over-subscribed? (I'm aware the course is an extremely intense year of studying/placements but I can't even worry about that when I'm so concerned about not getting a place).

I spent the last two years applying for masters courses in SLT, only to unsuccessful and I don't think I can face going through all that again for the PGCE course.

Any words of wisdom would be much appreciated! :smile:

Reply 1

bellylaugh

5

Original post by louboutin*

Hi everyone,

Very recently I've started to consider a future career in primary teaching and I'm looking for a bit of advice about the applications process for PGCE courses.

My main concern is how competitive it will be to secure a place on the course? Are they massively over-subscribed? (I'm aware the course is an extremely intense year of studying/placements but I can't even worry about that when I'm so concerned about not getting a place).

I spent the last two years applying for masters courses in SLT, only to unsuccessful and I don't think I can face going through all that again for the PGCE course.

Any words of wisdom would be much appreciated! :smile:

Yes the application process for a primary PGCE is very competitive, but don't let that put you off if it's something you really want to do.

Try to spend as much time in a primary school as you can before you submit your application and this will put you in a great position.

Good luck!

Reply 2

louboutin*

OP

2

Original post by bellylaugh

Yes the application process for a primary PGCE is very competitive, but don't let that put you off if it's something you really want to do.

Try to spend as much time in a primary school as you can before you submit your application and this will put you in a great position.

Good luck!

Thanks! I'm just dreading the idea of putting in all that hard work (like I did for my previous masters applications) and failing again.

I'm currently doing a temporary job as 1:1 TA and I love it. Hopefully the more experience I get the better :smile:

Reply 3

Princess Bubbles

16

Original post by louboutin*

Hi everyone,

Very recently I've started to consider a future career in primary teaching and I'm looking for a bit of advice about the applications process for PGCE courses.

My main concern is how competitive it will be to secure a place on the course? Are they massively over-subscribed? (I'm aware the course is an extremely intense year of studying/placements but I can't even worry about that when I'm so concerned about not getting a place).

I spent the last two years applying for masters courses in SLT, only to unsuccessful and I don't think I can face going through all that again for the PGCE course.

Any words of wisdom would be much appreciated! :smile:

It is competitive especially for primary but you shouldn't let that put you off. If you think it is the career for you and you are passionate about it you just go for it! Make sure you have some relevant work experience and are able to reflect on it well.

Reply 4

JanuaryRose

2

It is competitive, but, as long as you have experience and can demonstrate a passion, you should be ok.
Don't forget you can apply for 3 different courses, so you have more than 'one chance' of getting in.
I have a place for September, I spent a lot of time doing multiple drafts of my personal statement to make sure it was 'just right', and I made sure I had more than the minimum experience- they normally ask for at least 10 days in a classroom- I purposefully arranged 10 days of solid classroom experience before applying, but I had already had a variety of different school experiences over the years.
That said, in a way (as long as you meet the minimum requirement) it is often more about how you can talk about your experience and what you have learnt when it comes to the interview - quality over quantity!

I was actually offered interviews at all 3 uni's I applied to (although I only went to two of them because I already had a place at the one I knew I wanted before the final interview)... Different uni's have different types of interview - in fact the two interviews I had were quite different to each other - so it may be useful to consider the selection process when choosing which uni's to apply to if you think there is one you would be better at.

There is also definitely an advantage to applying early on - the university's run multiple interviews and if you are at one of the first they will have more places left on the course - on the whole they are looking to give people places, they don't want you to fail!

Good luck and don't let competition put you off :smile:

How competitive is the PGCE?

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