PGCE interview

[jo9120]

Hi
Any advice on the type of questions I may get asked at my PGCE interview next week. I'm hoping to do primary . Previously done a law degree but want a complete change.
Thanks

A current issue in education you have noticed. (In an ideal world you can identify one, talk about it, and link it to something you've seen in your own school experience.)

What subjects you might have most difficulty teaching. Again, best to link that to what you intend to do about that and why it's important to give every subject 100%.

What's your motivation to go into teaching? (I'd also be interested why the career change?).

In what ways do you think that the pandemic has changed teaching and what parts would you keep even when it is over?

Something about current education news
Something about why you want to teach and why that age range

Something about what you understand to be important skills/qualities for a teacher to have

I always remind aspiring trainees that ITT providers aren't looking for the finished product who knows everything. They're wanting to see someone who has done their homework and is keen to join the profession.

@jo9120 would be interested to hear how you get on. Also a law graduate, looking for a complete change after a lengthy career break with young family. Have been working as a TA / PPA cover for almost a year, (had 5 years + school volunteer experience prior to this role), as I wanted to be sure before I took it any further. Although many of my teaching colleagues have switched back to TA roles themselves, and most are quite negative about the workload - I’m still quite keen. Good luck with your interview!

I'm about to start my PGCE.

Some questions were:

• Why do you want to teach? (I prepared and practised, practised, practised this answer).
• What are the current challenges facing pupils- esp when it comes specifically to the area you are training in (Swot up 2-3 of these eg Covid, poverty, specific issues in urban/rural environment)
• What would be the areas you need to develop most personally?
• If a senior leader said they were going to remove your subject from the curriculum, how would you persuade them otherwise?
• And then a curveball: go and find an object in your house (it was a zoom interview) and show us how you would use it in a lesson- I went and got some of the kids' lego and demonstrated how I'd use it to teach structure in an English text.