Class of 2018
PGCE Primary
Deputy Head Pastoral
Country: United Kingdom
IF YOU STUDIED YOUR UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMME AT YORK ST JOHN UNIVERSITY OR FOUNDER COLLEGES, DID YOU GO ON TO POSTGRADAUTE STUDY?
No.
WHY HAVE YOU CHOSEN THIS PHOTO AS YOUR YSJ SNAPSHOT?
This is the second professional photo of me that was taken at work. It was my first job and I had been there for a couple of years at that point. We all needed to have our photo taken for the school’s website and normally you would have one done and that would stay with you throughout your time at the school. I disliked the first one so much that I asked to have it retaken the next year when the photographers came back! This one looks a lot more like me. That job was my first since graduating York St John and was my first step in my teaching career. It is an old photo but I haven’t changed too much and so I still happily use it on my professional platforms.
WHY WOULD YOU RECOMMEND YSJ TO SOMEONE?
It is a wonderful university, full of history and in the most fantastic city. I loved my time at York St John. The lecturers were excellent and I learnt a huge amount. They say that you learn most about teaching on the job, but I have retained so many key bits of information from lectures and tutorials. One of my favourites is: ‘Squares are just a special type of rectangle’. I always hated maths at school but I never enjoyed maths lessons more than when I was learning the subject at York St John in order to teach it. The lessons were fun! I felt fully prepared for a teaching career after graduation.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE YORK ST JOHN UNIVERSITY OR FOUNDER COLLEGES?
I chose York St John because I grew up in Yorkshire and I love York. The university building is so beautiful and it was so easy to commute in from my parents house. Additionally, the PGCE course came highly recommended and was really well-reviewed. As one of the oldest teaching colleges in the country, which just happened to be on my doorstop, I was really hopeful that I would get in and was thrilled when I did. It was wonderful to graduate in York Minster, too, and I was allowed a day off from my new teaching job to attend. It was a fantastic day, and then I was straight back on the train to London to go back to work the next morning!
WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING SINCE COMPLETING YOUR STUDIES?
Since completing my studies I have been a teacher full-time and have never looked back. I moved straight to London after finishing my course to take up a job at an all-boys’ prep school. This was a bit of a shock to the system as it was bigger than anywhere I had taught while training, but despite the busyness I had a fantastic time and made some brilliant friends. Even though we have all moved on to different schools now, we are still very much in touch and meet up during the school holidays for lunch and a catch-up.
Having gone from NQT to Head of RS to Head of Years 7 and 8 at that school, after six years it was time for a change and I was thrilled to be offered the role of Deputy Head Pastoral at my current school. Alongside this, I am again the Head of RS and this always makes me laugh as I distinctly remember being 15 years old and telling a friend I thought there was nothing more tragic than being an RS teacher. If only I could have seen me now! Alongside my teaching, I am also the Broadsheet Editor for RS at Prep School Magazine, a council member of the Independent Schools RS Association and a former RS exam author for ISEB. Added to which, my weekends are currently spent planning my wedding! Life is busy, but so fulfilling.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE YOUR SPECIFIC COURSE?
When I worked out that I wanted to be a teacher at the age of 22, I instantly knew that I wanted specifically to be a primary teacher. While researching courses, I came across the one at York St John and it was really well reviewed. I liked the balance of time between placements and lectures and there was also the opportunity to complete a two-week placement abroad, which I did and had the most fantastic time. I would highly recommend the Primary PCGE at York St John to anyone interested in training to be a teacher.
WHAT WERE THE BEST FEATURES OF YOUR COURSE?
The placements were a really good length, and got longer the further through the year you went. This meant that you were guided towards being in the classroom full-time and this was a really beneficial way of doing it. The team at the university were fantastic at finding the best placements to suit all the students’ travel arrangements and I had a wonderful time at Harewood and Pannal Primary Schools. The option to undertake a placement abroad was also really attractive and this opportunity definitely broadened my horizons in terms of what job opportunities were out there. Teachers can work in so many countries around the world, which was a large part of why I made the decision to train as a teacher.
HOW DID STUDYING AT YSJ HELP IN YOUR CAREER SEARCH/SUCCESS/CURRENT ROLE?
The staff at YSJ were absolutely fantastic and if it wasn’t for them, I would never have got my first job. The course was so varied and it is so fresh in my memory still; I remember it like it was yesterday. I would recommend that university to anyone looking to apply, particularly the Primary PGCE course.
WHAT ONE PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A CURRENT STUDENT, OR ONE ABOUT TO GRADUATE?
If you are training to be a teacher, stick with it. It is not for the faint-hearted, but you have come so far already and the job is one of the most rewarding out there. You learn so much more in the classroom and you just have to throw yourself into it. On my PGCE, one of my tutors told me that every teacher is different, after I had been concerned that I hadn’t handled a behavioural incident the way he would have. He reminded me that I didn’t have to be like him just because he was my mentor, I could be my own teacher. That rings true every day because there will be colleagues who always seem to handle some things better than you or have a manner with pupils or parents or staff that you wish you could emulate. But ultimately, you are your own teacher and there will certainly be things you can do which others admire. Keep up the good work!