Where to live while doing my PGCE

Don't live with your parents. The last thing you need after a shattering day at school is a 2 hour bus ride. Get some cheap digs close to your transport connections. It is only for a year. It won't kill you.

Good luck!

For me personally, I am living with my parents and commuting (my Uni is just under an hour a way) but placements can be all over the county. I would suggest that you go with what you feel more comfortable with. If you would prefer the independence and can afford to live away, then do that but if you would prefer to save money (my understanding is that working and doing a PGCE is very difficult), then commute.

For quality of life, you want your school commute to be as easy as possible. Do be aware that you'll usually need to be at placement for 8am at the latest, so if you don't drive, somewhere with good public transport links is essential. You'll spend far more time at placement, but obviously being based centrally is better for socialising- there won't always be loads of this, but when there is it's nice to be able to join in and share stories.

One option that might work well is looking into a Monday-Friday short term let near uni for the times you are in uni, staying with parents at the weekend, and then similar near your schools/colleges during placement. This may also be a bit more affordable!

Thank you for replying, I have worked out my finances and I think I will be able to afford to live away in a studio flat, it would cut down the commute time. I am going to see what it is like on the course before I decide whether to work or not, I just work on zero hours and pick them up in the holidays and things. I know it's going to be a difficult hear, I'm not expecting to socialise much but I might be able to do more if I'm not travelling all the time. Thanks for putting forward your view, I will definately be going home most weekends but I think it's a good compromise.