Cambridge degree in Education

[TwixForTea]

Hi does anyone have any experience of the undergraduate degree in Education at Cambridge? My dd wants to work in primary education (probably pgcse after undergrad studies) and likes the syllabus but it’s not easy to find out what it’s like. I noticed the annual cohort is small. Is being academically isolated likely to be a problem or does it tend not to matter because you’re in a college with a mix of students?

DD has never really been sure what degree she wants to do. DD’s A levels include biology and maths and her alternative degree is psychology as some degrees have a “with education” psychology degree.

DD is y12 very bright and driven (10 x 9s and 1x 8 at gcse) and is aiming for at least A*AA at A level. She has always been fantastic with kids and it gets noticed - she was invited to teach her main sport to the under 6 age group since she was 13.

Also she is highly organised and a natural leader - I could see her running a big academy chain or a huge outward bound centre more than specialising in academic research into SEN support.

Im wondering if she’d be better off somewhere less academic than Cambridge? She is more practical than bookish.

My knowledge of the Cambridge UG course is very out of date. Fewer students are doing university based teacher training though, with many opting for school based training after graduation. If your daughter enjoys Psychology I'd encourage her to consider doing a degree in that and taking a PGCE afterwards, as it will give her more options. In many universities she would be able to pick up modules relevant to education and children, and get voluntary work or even sign up with the Teach First programme to get some early training and insight.

Thanks that’s helpful and probably goes towards explaining why it’s such a small course. My dd only stumbled on it by accident.

I think psychology is a good route forward.

@TwixForTea She sounds ideal for Psychology. The courses vary quite wildly. My DD has just had a couple of offers for 2025. I recommend a close read of the course descriptions. And keeping an eye on the size of the postgraduate depts. I know that Bristol currently has 14 PhD students 13 of whom are specializing in education.

Hi @TwixForTea your DD sounds similar to my DD. She taught ballet to little ones during sixth form and also worked in the holidays at a climbing centre where she was a natural with the young children. She went to Oxford to read Biosciences (she took A Level Psychology but found it to be a memory test rather than the opportunity to apply knowledge which put her off studying it at undergrad level) and planned afterwards. She shadowed teachers and researched all the training options but decided it was not right for her. (She spent a year working for the UN as a scientist and is now a consultant with a global engineering company.) She continues to tutor Biology and Chemistry to GCSE and A Level as she did throughout Oxford which she really enjoys.
So, a very longwinded way of saying that a first degree followed by postgrad teacher training might keep options open.

*planned to teach