Considering PGCE at Sheffield Hallam... advice?

Hi there, I am applying for my PGCE in the next few weeks and I am struggling to decide where my first choice should be. I am stuck between Manchester Metropolitan and Sheffield Hallam for their PGCE in Secondary Social Sciences (with QTS). Both courses look great and both offer good opportunities but I am now thinking about quality of life in each place.
If you studied your undergrad/postgrad/pgce at SHU, please can you tell me what it was like to live in Sheffield, what was cost of living like, green spaces, social life, commuting, transport around the city, how friendly is it, how safe etc. I am autistic and adhd so getting this right is extremely important as I know a PGCE will be stressful.

Additionally, any advice on what the best living situation for a PGCE student is would be a massive help (ie: houseshare, halls, my own place etc)
TIA!!!

Reply 1

hallamstudents

Official Rep

Original post

by jazzmac964

Hi there, I am applying for my PGCE in the next few weeks and I am struggling to decide where my first choice should be. I am stuck between Manchester Metropolitan and Sheffield Hallam for their PGCE in Secondary Social Sciences (with QTS). Both courses look great and both offer good opportunities but I am now thinking about quality of life in each place.
If you studied your undergrad/postgrad/pgce at SHU, please can you tell me what it was like to live in Sheffield, what was cost of living like, green spaces, social life, commuting, transport around the city, how friendly is it, how safe etc. I am autistic and adhd so getting this right is extremely important as I know a PGCE will be stressful.
Additionally, any advice on what the best living situation for a PGCE student is would be a massive help (ie: houseshare, halls, my own place etc)
TIA!!!

Hi @jazzmac964 !

I just wanted to respond to this to give you some more insight into Hallam and also Sheffield in general in case it helps you to make your mind up at all 🙂

Firstly, I don't do this course myself but I know a couple of people who are doing it this year and are really enjoying it so far! As far as I am aware, they are doing four days on placement each week and then they have uni on a Friday, but this may change next year.

In terms of Hallam in general, I have found all of my tutors to be really supportive and friendly which is so nice. They are always there when you have questions and it is really reassuring to know that if you need any help at all they will help you out until you are happy and confident in your work. Most are easily reachable by email but you can also talk to them after lectures and in seminars too.

There is also a great amount of support on offer at Hallam. Every student has access to an academic advisor, a student support advisor and an employability advisor who are all so helpful when you need them and I have always had a good experience with them.

I think that Sheffield is an affordable city for students and I think is one of the most affordable cities for students at the moment! The rent for halls is not too bad, and there are lots of choices in terms of price and then if you wanted to live in a student house they are reasonably priced too. My first year rent was around £110 per week in halls and then I've been paying around £115 for a student house, but this varies from house to house and year to year! There are lots of student deals in the city too and food shops are around average I would say. There is a Lidl in the centre and then an Aldi near Ecclesall Road so one of them should be fairly close by to you.

Sheffield is a very green city too! We have some lovely parks here like Endcliffe park, Norfolk Park and Crookes Valley park, and they are all walking distance from town which is nice! We also have the Winter Gardens which is in the middle of town and is nice and peaceful - it's not huge but has lots of greenery and I find it really relaxing and calm in here.

Sheffield also has great transport links. We have a tram system which is very handy and goes to Hallam, Uni of Sheffield, Meadowhall, the train station etc so it is well covered. We also have loads of buses which go to uni which is nice and a student single ticket is around £1.70 at the moment. Our City campus is likely where you would be studying and it is right next to the train station and bus station too so this is very handy too.

I have always felt very safe here. I've not had any trouble and everyone I have met in general has been nice and friendly which has always made me feel at home. Of course things happen like in every city, but nothing sinister has ever happened to me or my friends and I do feel very safe here!

The social life is great too in my opinion. There are lots of students here so there are always students in town and the SU put lots of events on throughout the year which is nice. We have lots of societies too which are always very popular and the socials for these are great.

In terms of where to live, it's really up to you! We have lots of options for halls or you could look into a house share and often people advertise on Facebook if they have a spare room or if they want to find people to find a house with! Have a look at our accommodation and then see which you would prefer but I've enjoyed both and often if you do go into accommodation you can ask to see if you could be with third years/post grad students (if they have availability for this).

I hope some of this helps!🙂

Lucy -SHU student ambassador.

Reply 2

Manchester Metropolitan University

Official Rep

Original post

by jazzmac964

Hi there, I am applying for my PGCE in the next few weeks and I am struggling to decide where my first choice should be. I am stuck between Manchester Metropolitan and Sheffield Hallam for their PGCE in Secondary Social Sciences (with QTS). Both courses look great and both offer good opportunities but I am now thinking about quality of life in each place.
If you studied your undergrad/postgrad/pgce at SHU, please can you tell me what it was like to live in Sheffield, what was cost of living like, green spaces, social life, commuting, transport around the city, how friendly is it, how safe etc. I am autistic and adhd so getting this right is extremely important as I know a PGCE will be stressful.
Additionally, any advice on what the best living situation for a PGCE student is would be a massive help (ie: houseshare, halls, my own place etc)
TIA!!!

Hi @jazzmac964

Great to hear you are considering Manchester Met for your PGCE Secondary Social Science. Making the right choice is definitely extremely important, as you said.

If you haven't already, I'd recommend coming to our Postgraduate Open Day on 12th November 2025, as you will be able to meet with the PGCE academics in person, tour our campus, attend the Student Life fair where you can have a chat with our Disability and Inclusion team who will be able to discuss what support we can offer you in your studies.

Students on the PGCE programme have two placements, the first being October till December and the second March to June and typically students are on placement five days a week working the hours of the teaching staff. Placements are allocated by the university, but we take into account your address, and any special circumstances such as dependents, disabilities, cultural requirements and medical conditions.

Whilst I absolutely love our campus, I personally don't know what it's like to be a student at Man Met, so I'd suggest you have a chat with one of our student ambassadors here: Student Ambassador Chat Platform - there is a student on there who is currently studying our BA (Hons) Primary Education, so they should be able to give you some insight into the education faculty, school placements, student support, as well as what it's like to study in Manchester at Manchester Met. There is also some content on there produced by our student ambassadors which will show you what life is like as a Man Met student.

In terms of accommodation, usually our uni halls are allocated to the undergrad students, however I would advise you contact our Accommodation team on 0161 247 2958 or at [email protected]. Manchester Student Homes offer university approved accommodation so they might also be worth getting in touch with: 0161 275 7680 or [email protected]. If you can make it to our Open Day, accommodation will be at the Student Life Fair so you'll be able to have a chat with them there.

Hope this helps. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away on here or you can also contact our Course Enquiries Helpline on 0161 247 6969 or [email protected].

Mel 😊

Reply 3

samanthaorwin

Original post

by jazzmac964

Hi there, I am applying for my PGCE in the next few weeks and I am struggling to decide where my first choice should be. I am stuck between Manchester Metropolitan and Sheffield Hallam for their PGCE in Secondary Social Sciences (with QTS). Both courses look great and both offer good opportunities but I am now thinking about quality of life in each place.
If you studied your undergrad/postgrad/pgce at SHU, please can you tell me what it was like to live in Sheffield, what was cost of living like, green spaces, social life, commuting, transport around the city, how friendly is it, how safe etc. I am autistic and adhd so getting this right is extremely important as I know a PGCE will be stressful.
Additionally, any advice on what the best living situation for a PGCE student is would be a massive help (ie: houseshare, halls, my own place etc)
TIA!!!

Currently 22 starting my studies at SHU

I was diagnosed with ADHD a month ago and they’ve been really helpful in supporting me with everything I need, as I had to go through the DSA process

Living wise, I find Sheffield to be pretty good prices and a lot of places offer discounts for students. I’ve previously lived in Brighton which was far too unaffordable. I’m a commuter and live a city over but I’ve found the buses are regular and I’ve only ever seen them really busy around school times. It’s an easily walkable city too and both Hallam campuses are within walking distance of the city centre, the train station and other things like the hospitals etc

Hope this helps x

Reply 4

University of Sheffield Students

Official Rep

Original post

by jazzmac964

Hi there, I am applying for my PGCE in the next few weeks and I am struggling to decide where my first choice should be. I am stuck between Manchester Metropolitan and Sheffield Hallam for their PGCE in Secondary Social Sciences (with QTS). Both courses look great and both offer good opportunities but I am now thinking about quality of life in each place.
If you studied your undergrad/postgrad/pgce at SHU, please can you tell me what it was like to live in Sheffield, what was cost of living like, green spaces, social life, commuting, transport around the city, how friendly is it, how safe etc. I am autistic and adhd so getting this right is extremely important as I know a PGCE will be stressful.
Additionally, any advice on what the best living situation for a PGCE student is would be a massive help (ie: houseshare, halls, my own place etc)
TIA!!!

Hi jazzmacc964, 👋

While I don't go to SHU, I can concur with what other people have mentioned about Sheffield. I came to UoS for my undergraduate degree and chose to stay on for both my master's and my PhD. This is both because of how much I enjoyed my time at University of Sheffield but also because how much I love the city!

The quality of life is amazing (and I say this having lived in various places such as Shropshire, Warrington, Sheffield and London briefly). The green spaces I find are one of the best selling points (The Botanical Gardens in particular is so nice!) but also we are situated right next to the Peak District which has great public transport links (buses and trains). 🚈🚌

As others have said, travel options are great, it really is a very accessible city. And price of living is quite good too, I have definitely found it reasonable compared with other places I have lived.

I hope this offers some more insight into Sheffield and if you have any other questions about being a student in Sheffield, do let me know and I'll be more than happy to help!

Best wishes to you,
Phoebe 😃
Student Ambassador - PhD in English Literature