PGCE Applications for September 2018

[PersianCatLady]

After the last thread went a bit off course and ended up dying a death, I thought that it would be nice to see where we are with our applications and to make this the go-to thread if anybody wants any help, support or just general chit-chat about their PGCE Applications for September 2018.

I am currently waiting to hear back from my UCAS application. I applied to the SCITT programmes at two local schools to do a PGCE in secondary Computer Science.

My skills tests are booked for 1 February 2018 and I am currently waiting for Amazon to deliver some books to help me prepare for the tests.

I am really looking forward to hearing how you are all getting on with your applications.

Thankfully I did my maths and English on a return to study course before I went to university for my degree.

I left school at 14 with nothing so I am super proud I have got this far.

You should be proud!
I was 31 when I passed my maths

Well done, it is a great achievement

Good luck everyone.
I’m halfway through my PGCE year at the grand old age of 38. 2 DC’s (10&6) and a supportive DH.
I am on a schools direct placement and living every second.

Yes, it is hard work, yes, it has taken over my life but I love it. I went in with my eyes wide open, prepared for the long hours and extra work and it has so far been manageable.

I’m already applying for jobs for September when hopefully I’ll be a qualified primary school teacher.

I am thoroughly enjoying myself. I’ve met some fab people along the way, I’m certainly not the oldest on the course but the life experience I have has certainly helped. My tutor is supportive and my mentor in the classroom is insoirational.

I read /hear so many bad things about teaching, I know it’s long hours and you carry on working when at home, but i knew all that when I started.

Don’t regret the things you don’t do

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for not coming back to this thread for ages.

I was given a "Subject Knowledge Audit" from to complete before my interview and I have been going through everything on it to ensure that I actually know it before my interview on Friday.

crazycatgirl and Redwineistasty congratulations on your offers!!

AnnaFiveTowns, RenaissanceBunny and Sunshineintheclouds have you had your interviews yet or are they still to come?

Looking forward to hearing from you all.

Hi all,

I applied a few weeks ago for secondary biology. I've got interviews lined up at 2 out of 3 of my choices which I'm pretty nervous about, especially as one of the choices has only given me a week to prepare and no details on what they expect at interview. The 2nd interview is probably my first choice uni and they have been much more helpful!

I'm doing my skills tests today. Has everyone already done these?

I applied with 5 days school experience but have 2 more lined up before interview. However I've got a lot of experience working with teenagers and teaching them in small groups so hopefully this will count in my favour!

Good luck to everyone with interviews coming up!

Hi lady congrats on getting interviews! my 1st choice interview was also 2nd, which was great as it meant I could 'practice' on the 1st interview :grin:

How did your skills tests go? I haven't done them yet, although stressing about the numeracy one! My loca uni run free workshops so I'm going to one of them next month.
I can do the maths, just not fast enough!

PersianCatLady

Yes had my interview, and got an offer on condition I get a grade c + on my science o and and pass the skills test.

I have past my numeracy test just the literacy to go :-)

Congrats sunshine !

Redwine I passed both skills tests! I found elements of both tests easier than the online practices, but maybe that's down to the prep I've done. I found some great youtube videos which gave me quick strategies for the mental arithmetic questions, which also helped. I think if you have all/most of your times tables up to 12x12 on instant recall that really helps with being faster too.

For anyone about to sit the tests, I would advise doing lots of online practice to familiarise yourselves with the tests- the way they are administered is a bit weird if you aren't used to it. Also, read the questions carefully, as some of them are definitely designed to catch people out.

Good luck everyone.

Thanks lady yeah I've found some good youtube videos! Which is great! I'm still stressing about the time limit, but I have a month to get myself sorted.

Well done btw :grin:

Can anyone recommend anything that they used to help with the maths skills test? I need to improve my mental maths.

crazycatgal It's pretty boring but I just did lots of practice, using the sample tests online and there are books with other similar questions available as well. The more I practiced, the more I found techniques that worked for me in order to speed up, and I got better at spotting patterns in the questions.

Don't forget, you are allowed a pen and paper or pen and whiteboard during the test, so you can write down sums for long addition/long multiplication, it doesn't all have to be in your head!

crazy I’m currently trawling YouTube vids. One which has helped is this:

And this:

I hope the links worked!

I also have a timestable app on the go on my iPhone, when I have 5mins here and there I quiz myself.

I’ve also raided the local library of numeracy books!

Also, the dfes practice tests online too. But atm they just stress me out!

So I went for my interview on Friday and it seemed to go quite well.

I was asked to fill in a basic health questionnaire when i was there but i am wondering if anybody knows the actual health questionnaire process?

I am so scared that I am going to get this position and then be rejected because of some issues in my past.

Glad to hear the interview went well OP.

I don't know anything about the health screening and I too am slightly worried. My DP was on a PGCE a couple of years ago so i'll ask him about it later and report back.

Hi,

Not sure if this would be the right thread to ask...I'm thinking of a career change to teaching but worried about loosing a good wage and making the finances work.

How much have you saved for the years course? What is the bursary in scotland like?

@Puttingmyselfoutthere I'm doing primary, have no savings as I went straight from an undergrad degree to a masters degree, I will have my maintenance loan.

Bursaries depend on what PGCE you are looking to do.

@PersianCatLady I'm glad the interview went well. I'm sure if you have any specific health issues, the uni you interviewed with would be happy to let you know how they're viewed. Good Luck!

@Puttingmyselfouthere The bursaries available are listed here getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-and-salary/overview. I believe they apply UK wide. Otherwise, you can apply for student finance as normal, which I believe is fairly limited in Scotland. I'm applying for a shortage subject, so fortunately the bursary is very generous, although I think I might still have to take out a fee loan due to the way the bursary is paid.

I've got an interview coming up on Wednesday. I'm fully prepped but feeling nervous! It's not my first choice uni, so it's nice to have a practice interview before then, but I'm still keen to get offers!

My final uni are querying a qualification that I entered a little oddly on my UCAS application, as UCAS were having technical difficulties. Hopefully this doesn't cause any issues as I followed UCAS advice. If it does cause a problem, I'll be sending UCAS a strongly worded complaint!

@puttingmyselfoutthere

I am in Scotland too, from what I have read the finance in Scotland is different than in England. You can apply for a student loan and bursary through SAAS which is up to a total of around £6725 dependant on income. There may be other options for lone parents, childcare grants etc.

BUT the Scottish government announced in October that they were introducing £20K bursaries in some shortage subjects, Science, Computing, Maths etc.to encourage career changers, which is meant to be starting for August 2018 PGDE students. Full information does not yet seem to be available on these bursaries so not sure about eligibility etc.

I have my fingers crossed that I am eligible for a new bursary, but am trying to save up enough in case I am not. I am aiming to save enough so that (when added on to the student loan) I will have as close to 12 months salary as possible.

Had my first interview today, at Exeter, and they've emailed me an offer this evening! It's conditional on doing an SKE, which we discussed at interview and I did think was a good idea as I have been out of education for a little while, and my degree isn't the most traditional one for my subject.

I've got another interview in two weeks at Bristol, so I'm waiting on that before making any decisions!

I sent my application off over the weekend and this morning had an interview date come through. Am terrified, my subject knowledge is really rusty.

@PersianCatLady I'm glad the interview went well. I'm sure if you have any specific health issues, the uni you interviewed with would be happy to let you know how they're viewed. Good Luck!
It is irrelevant now as I didn't get it as although they were pleased with my subject knowledge and my enthusiasm, I didn't have enough classroom experience.

@Persiancatlady That's a real shame :( I think I saw you mention that on another thread. Do you have any more interviews lined up, or could you reapply via apply 2?

It is difficult to get school experience, and I think some unis almost don't realise how tricky this can be at times. I've been lucky to be able to use family contacts to get experience, but not everyone has this. Also, in a shortage subject, a couple of schools have ironically turned me down as they only have temporary members of staff in my subject!

@Persiancatlady That's a real shame I think I saw you mention that on another thread. Do you have any more interviews lined up, or could you reapply via apply 2?
I have another interview tomorrow so I am currently just finishing off the slides for my presentation, creating a lesson plan and printing out some handouts.

I am disappointed about my rejection but part of being a teacher is resilience so I am putting that into practice and putting all of my effort into doing better tomorrow.

The thing that annoys me a bit is that they knew how much experience I had before my interview and I had asked for school experience at the school and they were great and gave me a whole day but the computing department didn't have enough time to offer me any more.