WIBU to take a year out before starting teacher training courses in 2017?

[RangeTesKopeks]

Hi everyone! :)

I'd really appreciate your advice or tips please! This is a bit of an AIBU and a WWYD.

I'm in the middle of applying for teacher training courses at the moment to start in September this year. I'm applying for a mixture of PGCEs and School Direct courses. School Direct is a course that lets trainee teachers work as an unqualified teacher at the same time as studying for a PGCE.

However, I've learned that applicants for teacher training courses aren't normally allowed to take a year out between applying and starting the course.

I'm applying to teach Modern Languages (French and Spanish) for the teacher training courses. However, I focussed on French in my final two years of my French and Spanish degree at university (including my Year Abroad).

Partly because I'd like to improve my Spanish and because I'd love to go travelling, I'm thinking about taking a year out before beginning a teacher training course. I'd like to travel from October to December this year before hopefully working as a language assistant in a Spanish school (from January to June next year). I would be reapplying from October this year for teacher training courses next year.

I'll be 24 and a half if I start the teacher training course this September, or 25 and a half if I start the course in September 2017.
I understand that age isn't necessarily an issue, but I would like to start a full-time job or training as soon as possible. This is also what my family and friends think, when I've told them about my plans to take a year out before starting a teacher training course in 2017.

I'd be really grateful if any of you could let me know what you think please! Do you think that it might be better for me to start a teacher training course this September or could I take a year out and reapply for September 2017?

Thanks everyone!!

OP has mentioned though that she is 24 so she is not a 21 year old graduate. If this is your first job I would urge you to take it.

Why do you think that sarah? You seem in a big rush for the op to start training. 24 isn't ancient. I didn't start teaching until 28 which isn't unusual.

Schools are changing beyond belief (academies etc) and I would recommend to go in now, see whether you like teaching in private or state etc and then if not hatch a plan to move abroad!

French and Spanish teacher here - 12 years experience. Here in the north west (a place with many teacher training establishments no less), we are absolutely crying out for teachers. There's a huge shortage. IME almost all schools will want two languages, but won't usually mind if one is weaker.

I'd say go to Spain. Enjoy yourself, immerse yourself and your future teaching will be all the richer for it. Plus- teaching is absolutely shit at the moment, I mean truly unspeakably shit- so you can reassess in a year.

It's not a popular course, Euphemia. If it was, they wouldn't be paying people £25k to take it!