Dropping out of PGCE

I've just started my primary pgce this week and I can already tell it's totally not for me, my heart isn't in it and I'm finding the long days (lectures from 9-4pm with a 45 min break) so challenging and mentally draining. I am not excited to go on placement at all and I can't even imagine teaching as a career any more; I'm considering suspending for 12 months and restarting next September but I'm worried I won't want to do it in a year's time either. I feel like such a failure and that I'll be letting my family down but I can't help feeling that this will make me so unhappy and it'll ruin this whole year for me. Can anyone give me any advice? I feel like I've made up my mind but I would like to hear if anyone has opinions on this.

I've just started my primary pgce this week and I can already tell it's totally not for me, my heart isn't in it and I'm finding the long days (lectures from 9-4pm with a 45 min break) so challenging and mentally draining. I am not excited to go on placement at all and I can't even imagine teaching as a career any more; I'm considering suspending for 12 months and restarting next September but I'm worried I won't want to do it in a year's time either. I feel like such a failure and that I'll be letting my family down but I can't help feeling that this will make me so unhappy and it'll ruin this whole year for me. Can anyone give me any advice? I feel like I've made up my mind but I would like to hear if anyone has opinions on this.

I'm going to offer a contrasting opinion here:

I hated the university-based elements of the PGCE because I was there to train to be a teacher. In my eyes, that was me teaching classes and interacting with students. I did what I had to do, and I'll admit, in September I was thinking 'oh my god what have I done I should drop out before placement'.

...The course and your feelings will totally change dynamic when you go to placement. It becomes like a job and not studying, which in my mind made the long days and early mornings/late finished more bearable because I was in the 'going to work' mind frame.

It's challenging, there's no doubt, but I would suggest - you went into the course wanting to train to be a teacher, so give yourself the opportunity to actually see what it's like to be a teacher and decide after you've been to your first placement for a few days/a week or so whether it's for you or not. If you were THAT sure it wasn't for you you wouldn't be questioning it here.

You'll soon know after a few days in placement whether it's for you or not and it'll take any doubts away from your mind in regards to reapplication next year. Nothing will change with the uni stuff next year so if you're not enjoying that element now what makes you think you will next year?

Seriously, give the actual school-based training a chance before you make any decisions.