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PGCE interview - Leicester Uni

Marie2009

Hi, I've got a pgce interview on 24th Feb at Leicester University. Has anyone been through the interview process at Leicester? We have to do a group work exercise and present back. Does anyone have any ideas what this could be on??? Thanks!

Reply 1

phill.monk

Hey,

completed an interview day about two weeks ago at leicester for PGCE secondary geography.

the day went like this:

got there, they signed you in and checked you certificates

then you go to another room and finish completing your CRB form with the informaion then provide, then you get it all checked over by one of the staff who also check your ID etc.

then you get 5 mins for tea / coffee / smoke while everyone else gets done

then you have a presentation about the outline of the course and finance etc etc

we were meant to have a tour of the school of education here, however the day my interview was the day of the really heavy snow so this was cancelled as they were all running late.

then the group task was for me:

- we were split into 4 groups, 2 groups in one room, and 2 in another, we were spilt into subject areas, so that the person observing you wasnt the person who may interview you later in the day!

- we were given some small cards, each of which had some qualities of being a teacher on, we had to split them up into categories, and then choose our groups top 5. then we had to present our findings to the other group in the room - all of us had to speak.

- whilst deciding in the group we were observed by someone who made notes etc, so if this is the same for you remember to stay vocal! be heard!

now it was time for lunch.

after lunch you return to the room where you completed the group task, and wait for the subject leader of your prospective course to come and collect you, and everyone else hoping to do the same subject.

for me it was just myself and one other bloke, we were taken to a room and given our written task, as i was doing geography the task was about climate change.

then about half way thru this (say about 20 mins into it) they will start to come and collect you for your individual interview.

some questions i was asked in my interview:

- why do you think you will make a good teacher

- what current educational issues do you know about

- how do you think you could make an impact on teaching

- what experience of being a teacher do you have

and more like it. including another task, where i was shown a satellite image of the world at night, and asked to explain certain aspects of the image, such as what certain features were and why they were created etc etc etc etc

then after my interview i had time to complete my written task. then you just have to hand in the work into a deposit box in an envelope provided to you in the interview. then you are free to leave.

hope this helps.

phill.monk

Reply 2

Marie2009

oh my life, Thank you so much Phill. This post is brilliant! My interview is on Tuesday and I'm stressing a little bit about it! Mainly about the written task and the possible themes for Citizenship. How did you do? did you get a place?

Reply 3

undiscovered

Wow, that sounds like a lot of stuff! I know PGCE interviews do tend to involves lots of tasks but my upcoming one sounds easier than that - I think it's the satellite image thing that scares me about yours! Sounds hard...

Reply 4

phill.monk

Hey,

yeah I got a place :biggrin:

found out exaclty one week after my interview, i just happened to be in a free wifi zone so used my phone to check the GTTR site and it was all on there. When i got home there was also a letter from the uni.

sooo glad i got a place...

hope it all goes well today Maria, let us know how you got on and if your day was anything like mine.

phill

Reply 5

Vics

I hope your interview went well!

I finished the Primary PGCE at Leic last summer and am now over half way through my NQT year!! Eek!

Reply 6

ella.biswas

Hi Guys,

I know you guys have probably all finished your PGCEs now but was just wondering if I could get some advise.

My interview for Geography PGCE at the University of Leicester is on 31st Jan and I was wondering if you guys booked your skills tests yourself or did you wait for the Uni to make you an offer.

How did you prepare for the written exercise? Was it difficult?

I am really starting to worry!!

Reply 7

myrtille

Original post by ella.biswas

You can book your skills tests before the interview - universities may like people who have already passed before interview (as they know you won't have to pull out if they offer you a place and then you fail). This wasn't the case for people doing PGCEs in the past as we did our skills tests during the PGCE year. The current PGCE students are the first cohort to take their skills tests before starting the PGCE.

I did my PGCE at Leicester, but not for Geography. I didn't do anything to prepare for it - I think the main thing they're looking for is a good standard of written English (or in my case, French) and the ability to express yourself clearly. Obviously the content of what you say needs to not be utterly rubbish, but it's not really something you can revise that much for as you don't know what they'll ask you to write about.

On the topic of skills tests and written English - "advise" is a verb (ie: could you please advise me) and "advice" is a noun (could I please get some advice). This is a really common area that comes up on the skills tests (especially with practise and practice) so it's worth worth being aware of. I'm not just being picky for the sake of it!

Reply 8

amy.dunkley1

Hey! I see that you did a PGCE in French at Leicester, I've got an interview on January 31st too...AGH! I was just wondering how much of the interview process was actually done in French? Any advice would be much appreciated :smile:

Amy

Reply 9

myrtille

Original post by amy.dunkley1

Amy

Hi,

Not much of the interview was in French.

The group interview task was mixed with applicants from other subjects - I was the only French applicant there on the day - so that was more about the general qualities needed in a teacher. We had to choose the most and least important and then present our ideas to the other groups, obviously all in English.

There was a written task in French (generic essay type task - they asked me to write about 1 side of paper, can't remember exactly what the topic was) but the formal subject interview was mostly in English, talking about my experiences, etc. They then asked me about my year abroad in French, so we chatted for a couple of minutes about that before switching back to English. It wasn't a scary interview question, just a normal conversational topic.

I know it's stressful, but try to relax as much as possible. The interviews I have performed best in have definitely been the ones where I was calm and enjoyed chatting to the interviewers. The MFL tutors at Leicester are both lovely and won't try to make you feel uncomfortable - also they like people who smile at interviews. :smile:

Good luck!

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