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Best London unis for pgce ?

I’m finalising my pgce choices and I’ve put down ucl and Nottingham so far. I am considering putting down kcl but I’m not too sure.

I’m concerned that I could be end up travelling really far across London/ surrounding areas for the placement schools so I am not sure whether kcl or ucl are good choices, given I wouldn’t be able to know where is best to live without knowing the placement school location first.

I don’t drive either.

If anyone who has studied a pgce at UCL or KCL could give me some advice concerning expected travel times to placement schools that would be really helpful. I know I’d have to be at the school for like 8am ish so I’m just trying to think realistically how far I would be willing to travel.

Thank you! :smile:
Original post by fefssdf
I’m finalising my pgce choices and I’ve put down ucl and Nottingham so far. I am considering putting down kcl but I’m not too sure.

I’m concerned that I could be end up travelling really far across London/ surrounding areas for the placement schools so I am not sure whether kcl or ucl are good choices, given I wouldn’t be able to know where is best to live without knowing the placement school location first.

I don’t drive either.

If anyone who has studied a pgce at UCL or KCL could give me some advice concerning expected travel times to placement schools that would be really helpful. I know I’d have to be at the school for like 8am ish so I’m just trying to think realistically how far I would be willing to travel.

Thank you! :smile:

Why don't you look outside London then? I wouldn't recommend either tbh.
Reply 2
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Original post by Muttley79
Why don't you look outside London then? I wouldn't recommend either tbh.

have you studied at either ucl or kcl ?
Original post by fefssdf
have you studied at either ucl or kcl ?

No but I wouldn't recommend a PGCE in London ...
Original post by Muttley79
No but I wouldn't recommend a PGCE in London ...

Why is this?
Im doing mine at UCL.
Original post by 1secondsofvamps
Why is this?
Im doing mine at UCL.

I've not heard great things - schools tend to be variable as well.
Reply 6
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Original post by 1secondsofvamps
Why is this?
Im doing mine at UCL.

Have you started yet? Or do you mean for 2020 entry. Do you plan to live in halls or elsewhere? I’m quite unsure about how far you’d be expected to travel to work at the placement schools given London and the surrounding areas is quite large aha
Original post by fefssdf
Have you started yet? Or do you mean for 2020 entry. Do you plan to live in halls or elsewhere? I’m quite unsure about how far you’d be expected to travel to work at the placement schools given London and the surrounding areas is quite large aha

2020 entry.
UCL only provide accommodation for PGCE students if they're international. That's why i found student accommodation elsewhere in the city.
If i remember correctly, at the open day they said they TRY to find you placements that takes no more than 15 mins to get to. They're partnered with over 500 schools so there must be some near the area you'll be staying at. When given an offer, they ask you to fill in a form which asks if you will be driving, cycling or relying on public transport to get to placements.
(edited 3 years ago)
Reply 8
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Original post by 1secondsofvamps
2020 entry.
UCL only provide accommodation for PGCE students if they're international. That's why i found student accommodation elsewhere in the city.
If i remember correctly, at the open day they said they TRY to find you placements that takes no more than 15 mins to get to. They're partnered with over 500 schools so there must be some near the area you'll be staying at. When given an offer, they ask you to fill in a form which asks if you will be driving, cycling or relying on public transport to get to placements.

Thank you, that is a lot more reassuring. My plan would be to move to somewhere in south east London. Where did you look for student accommodation ? I’m considering just finding a house share on somewhere like spare room as I feel like student halls will be mega expensive.
How much would you be paying?


Also at one point do you have to tell them where you would be living as I don’t want to risk booking accommodation before like August till I know the course is still running given the whole covid 19 situation.




Thanks :smile:
Original post by fefssdf
Thank you, that is a lot more reassuring. My plan would be to move to somewhere in south east London. Where did you look for student accommodation ? I’m considering just finding a house share on somewhere like spare room as I feel like student halls will be mega expensive.
How much would you be paying?


Also at one point do you have to tell them where you would be living as I don’t want to risk booking accommodation before like August till I know the course is still running given the whole covid 19 situation.




Thanks :smile:


Bayswater, around 30 mins on the tube to UCL. The room seems nice, i get an ensuite and mini kitchenette for £200 a week, luckily it's all covered by maintenance loan!

You have until July to tell them where you live so they have enough time to find your placements.
Reply 10
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Original post by 1secondsofvamps
Bayswater, around 30 mins on the tube to UCL. The room seems nice, i get an ensuite and mini kitchenette for £200 a week, luckily it's all covered by maintenance loan!

You have until July to tell them where you live so they have enough time to find your placements.

Ah I see sounds like you got a good deal :smile:

Do you think it would be possible to commute from Kent? The transport links are pretty reasonable in my area like it would take me 45 mins door- door to get to st Pancras station, and then there’s another slower train that goes to the main London stations.

Did they mention anything at the open day you went to about people commuting?

Thanks :smile:
I think it’s more about where you want to work afterwards. Do you want to continue to work in inner London schools? These are probably some of the most challenging in the country so may not be the best place to start :/
Reply 12
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Original post by Joe Frazier
I think it’s more about where you want to work afterwards. Do you want to continue to work in inner London schools? These are probably some of the most challenging in the country so may not be the best place to start :/

Tbh I think I would try and get a job working in the independent sector for my nqt year. I’m also somewhat interesting in working abroad at an international school to teach maths.
Original post by fefssdf
Ah I see sounds like you got a good deal :smile:

Do you think it would be possible to commute from Kent? The transport links are pretty reasonable in my area like it would take me 45 mins door- door to get to st Pancras station, and then there’s another slower train that goes to the main London stations.

Did they mention anything at the open day you went to about people commuting?

Thanks :smile:

It's definitely possible. As long as you're okay with spending time commuting then do that.
I don't think they said anything about commuting though just because majority of people either already live in London or move to London.
(edited 3 years ago)
Original post by fefssdf
Tbh I think I would try and get a job working in the independent sector for my nqt year. I’m also somewhat interesting in working abroad at an international school to teach maths.


Oh I see, ignore me then😂
Reply 15
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Original post by Joe Frazier
Oh I see, ignore me then😂

Ahaha yeh I’m just considering if it’s like economically viable to live in London for a year
Original post by fefssdf
Ah I see sounds like you got a good deal :smile:

Do you think it would be possible to commute from Kent? The transport links are pretty reasonable in my area like it would take me 45 mins door- door to get to st Pancras station, and then there’s another slower train that goes to the main London stations.

Did they mention anything at the open day you went to about people commuting?

Thanks :smile:


Mad that I've applied for ucl, kcl and notts as well. I live in Kent (Bromley) and will be commuting if I stay in London and don't think it will be much of a problem. For the first couple of weeks where there are a lot of days at uni it might be a bit tedious but after that they usually given you a school within a hours travel from your house anyway (by whichever mode of transport you say) so should be fine. I've chatted to a fair few people in the area who are either doing or just did their pgce at kcl or ucl and they all said they got schools nearby, some mentioned that once accepted onto the course you can try to request schools if you know they have a link with the uni already so that's worth a try.
Reply 17
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Original post by chlorogers
Mad that I've applied for ucl, kcl and notts as well. I live in Kent (Bromley) and will be commuting if I stay in London and don't think it will be much of a problem. For the first couple of weeks where there are a lot of days at uni it might be a bit tedious but after that they usually given you a school within a hours travel from your house anyway (by whichever mode of transport you say) so should be fine. I've chatted to a fair few people in the area who are either doing or just did their pgce at kcl or ucl and they all said they got schools nearby, some mentioned that once accepted onto the course you can try to request schools if you know they have a link with the uni already so that's worth a try.

Hahaha in the same position then! I was considering moving to Bromley too if I can’t commute. I’ve emailed ucl to ask for advice about commuting ect but they didn’t reply to me. I guess I can just ask that question during interview and see what they recommend.
Original post by fefssdf
Hahaha in the same position then! I was considering moving to Bromley too if I can’t commute. I’ve emailed ucl to ask for advice about commuting ect but they didn’t reply to me. I guess I can just ask that question during interview and see what they recommend.

small small world haha, yeah when I had my interview it was so calm, deffo ask but tbh I reckon they'll say it's a personal preference! like from mine it's gonna take me just under an hour and a half to get to campus if i go there, obvs its a bit long but because they focus on finding you a placement near where you live rather than proximity to campus i think on a daily basis it will be fine going to placement! a journey isn't ideal and is partly why i'm also considering notts because campus will only be a 10 min walk away but ucl is the best uni in the world for education and i got such a good vibe at the interview i think commuting could be worth it! good luck at your interview as well
Reply 19
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Original post by chlorogers
small small world haha, yeah when I had my interview it was so calm, deffo ask but tbh I reckon they'll say it's a personal preference! like from mine it's gonna take me just under an hour and a half to get to campus if i go there, obvs its a bit long but because they focus on finding you a placement near where you live rather than proximity to campus i think on a daily basis it will be fine going to placement! a journey isn't ideal and is partly why i'm also considering notts because campus will only be a 10 min walk away but ucl is the best uni in the world for education and i got such a good vibe at the interview i think commuting could be worth it! good luck at your interview as well

Yeh having personally lived near the campus in notts and worked in various secondary schools as a cover supervisor I did find that the transport links were pretty good. Always plenty of buses running, so the average amount of time I’d usually be travelling about was like about 45 mins ish which was good. Deffo felt like a less stressed commute to as I’d just hop on a bus for a long time aha, and would be able to get a seat. I guess london May not be as great especially if you’re negotiating stuff like the tube during rush hour!

So far I’ve hardly heard anything from ucl. They emailed me last week requesting documents to upload including qualifications ect but I only uploaded one thing and accidentally pressed the button saying I don’t have anything else to upload, and now the portal won’t let me upload anything else... I’ve emailed them about the issue but it’s been 5 days and so far I’ve had no reply... original email said I’d need to have everything sent to them by May 12th at the latest, so I’m getting a bit worried that I’ll end up in the auto reject box if I can’t manage to get a response and sort out the documents before then aha... in other news I have an interview with notts on Monday over Skype which should be pretty straightforward

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