Interview for PGCE at a University- what is my son wearing?

[Manifesto]

A suit? A suit done casually?
Something else?
It’s a long afternoon of face to face presentations and discussion groups and he doesn’t want to look over or under dressed.

my background is business - education is different I know.

any advice?

A suit. It's what he will be expected to wear as a male teacher in most schools

A suit is good. He might find that there is a real range in what the other candidates wear but he can’t go wrong wearing a suit and the interviewers will see that as very appropriate.

Smart trousers, shirt and tie to play it safe. Full suit probably not needed but wouldn't do any harm. For teaching, secondary usually has a more formal dress code than primary.

How does he not know this?? He's going to be a teacher and needs his mum to tell him what to wear?

It's very clearly a shit and tie situation, and if he feels a very dressed then he can take the tie and/or jacket off...

I’d encourage smart trousers, a shirt and tie. A full suit would be overkill .

You haven't been inside a school in decades, have you?!

Suit and tie. If he is not used to this i suggest he practise wearing it. Does not want to.constantly be fiddling with tie

That’s pretty abrupt.

You can see from the range of replies in here that it’s not cut and dried.

he doesnt need his mum to tell him. He’d already decided on a suit. It was me who was considering whether that might be too formal.

Lol at "shit and tie". Please don't tell him to wear that, OP.😀

I think a suit would be fine in the circumstances.

Best of luck to him in the interview.

A suit or a jacket and trousers. The male teachers at our children's school who got the most respect wore fitted suits from The Kooples or similar.

https://www.thekooples.com/gb/en_GB/p/dark-grey-pinstripe-straight-suit-jacket-HVES31029KGRY29.html

Genuine question. Do schoolteachers really still generally wear ties? It"s unusual in a lot of corporate settings nowadays.

And now a flippant comment - If it's for geography - shouldn't it be a tweed jacket with leather elbow patches? 😁

'Shit and tie' 🤣Cringing for you

Which university? I’ve worked on some PGCE courses in the midlands and a man wearing smart jeans, shoes and a jumper would be fine - maybe with a shirt under the jumper if he wanted to look smart. That is if the interview is on the university campus and not in a school; if it’s in a secondary school he should wear a suit jacket if he has one.

In many close families, parents are supportive and discuss this stuff with their children, even as adults. There is nothing wrong with the OP’s question. Your answer on the other hand…

Suit and tie is becoming quite unusual in most corporate settings, open necked shirt and maybe a jacket seems to be the norm.

I'm quite surprised to hear that male teachers are still wearing a full suit to work

Ridiculous comment get off your high horse it’s hardly impossible that young man would know exactly what to wear to a pgce interview. He would know it is smart but it’s not uncommon to not know how smart to go.

Perhaps because many of the students still have to wear a tie to school (when will this end!?)

Lol

As if a PGCE student can afford a suit from the kooples. Joker.

Smart trousers, shirt and tie minimum.

Most male staff don't bother with a suit, but the ones that do stand out in a good way. Mostly SLT wear suits tbh

Any aspiring PGCE student can do online tutoring which is extraordinarily well paid and a few sessions easily cover the cost of a suit.

I would suggest that in situations like these better to err on the side of overdressed rather than underdressed.

What you wear for work and what you wear to the interview are absolutely not the same thing.

Best of luck to your DS!

I went to my first PGCE in office smart. Everyone else was in jeans. I went to the second one more casual and everyone else was in a suit.

I had an interview in a school for SCITT with the Head and Deputy. The Head wore a smart skirt suit with heels, the Deputy was in jeans and converse. The Head asked me what I considered to be appropriate professional dress for a teacher and I had no idea what they wanted me to say.

Seems to me like no-one knows.

Definitely " office smart".
All the SLT I have come across in recent years wear suits and there has definitely been a move back to expecting teaching staff to dress more formally.
A recent memo to staff at a school near me for a parents evening stipulated " dress formally as you would for an interview"
I think that shows the current mind set.

A suit and tie is overdressed for a PGCE interview. He is applying to a uni course, not a job. Something a little more casual would be better, a nice shirt and trousers for example.

This