I was always lucky doing my A-Levels. I never had to decide whether or not I wanted to go to university because I knew I needed to in order to achieve my dream of being a History teacher.
During my GCSEs, my boyfriend was struggling with his Maths and English and was starting to worry he was going to fail his exams. I therefore started giving him tutoring a couple of times a week in the subjects to help him pass. I soon realised I absolutely loved helping him and so began to contemplate the idea of teaching for a living.
At the end of the year, he got C’s in English and Maths. I was so proud that I had helped him achieve this that I became 100% sure I wanted to teach and haven’t look back since.
I knew teaching was a highly-demanding job with long hours. However the thought of feeling that sense of pride I felt when my boyfriend got his GCSE results, this time with a whole class of children, outweighed the negatives.
I love the idea of helping others develop the same passion for history I have. To be able to help them achieve good grades in their GCSEs and A-Level’s on top of that is an amazing opportunity.
I am currently in my second year meaning I need to start applying for PGCE places in September. I am therefore in the process of building up a strong personal statement.
To teach, you are required to have a minimum of 10 days work experience in a school setting. To help me stand out, I am therefore taking on 3 placements in schools.
It is vital to make a first impression at your work experience placements, as these will be the people writing your PGCE references. I have been extremely lucky with my first placement and have been told by the school that they would like me to apply to do my teacher training with them.
Therefore not only do you get a reference from the school, it is possible you could also be asked to train with them to!
To add to my personal statement, I am taking up as many opportunity as I can to help me stand out from the rest. I have applied to work as a holiday volunteer at a museum, helping organise children’s activities over the summer holiday.
I’m really enjoying all the work I am doing towards my PGCE and teaching career, although I am super nervous to apply in September. Luckily, the university and the government website have plenty of helpful information on them about getting into teaching which have helped me a lot.
Hopefully, if you are thinking about teaching, this has helped give you some ideas on how to make a successful application. If not, there is plenty of information and ideas online to get you started.
Good luck!
Worcester Student Life 