PGCE Secondary English, 2018-2019

Current role

KS2 Teacher of English and Humanities at Arnold Academy.

How my course benefited me

I couldn’t have asked for anything more. The course was incredibly comprehensive and provided me with everything I needed to know in order to make a successful start to my teaching journey. The staff at the university are all incredibly supportive and went above and beyond to make sure I felt confident and well prepared for both assessments and placements. The placements also allowed me to grow in confidence and develop and practise the skills I had been learning and exploring academically whilst at University. Both of my mentors were also absolutely fabulous and pushed me to search for innovative ways to improve my teaching practice.

Campus life

The Bedford campus was fantastic. I especially enjoyed the format of this specific course because it enabled us to attend University for at least one day a week and make use of the wide selection of facilities. It was also a great way to form bonds with other trainee teachers, both on the same course and others. I have maintained some of these friendships throughout my NQT year, which has been an incredible support. The University also put on various events to introduce us to unions and employers to help kick start our teaching careers.

What I most enjoyed about my degree and studying at the University of Bedfordshire

It is difficult to pick just one thing. The course coordinator Dr James Shea is a phenomenal human and has an incredible ability to make everyone feel at ease and never allows anyone to doubt themselves. He is also a fabulous tutor for those taking English.

I also enjoyed being allocated various other tutors for the different aspects of the course, which helped me get a variety of perspectives from veteran teachers about a whole range of issues, ranging from behaviour management, assessment for learning and differentiation strategies.

As previously mentioned, I also enjoyed the fact that you have a dedicated day for University studies, rather than completing a whole day on placement and then having to complete additional training in the evening. I felt this freed me up to be more creative with my planning in my spare time and also helped me maintain an acceptable work life balance.

A memorable moment/s

One of the most memorable moments for me was presenting my research to other trainees at the student led conference. At the start of the course, I was incredibly self-conscious in front of adults and doubted myself beyond compare. I would never have even imagined that I could stand up in front of a room full of adults and deliver a presentation, but the course provided me with so much confidence that I was able to do this not only once, but twice. The resulting support and feedback was also an added bonus.

My future aspirations

I am currently enjoying familiarising myself with online teaching during a very unusual NQT year, but I am always keen to learn new things and take on new responsibilities and for me, this currently means looking beyond the teaching of just English and humanities, to the teaching of the entire curriculum to accommodate bubble groups from September 2020. Once normal teaching resumes, I would like to progress within my department and perhaps one day become a mentor myself, so that I too can help people enter such a rewarding profession.

My top tips for current students

Never doubt yourself and your ability, it will feel overwhelming to start with, but it will get better and you have an incredible support network of tutors and fellow trainees, so if you do ever feel like you’re struggling, reach out to someone. Push yourself beyond your comfort zone. Do things you’re scared of doing and have fun. Network, socialise and build yourself a solid foundation from which to build from as you embark on such a wonderful career - it really is life-changing! Good luck!