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I always wanted to teach, but life happened – Tracey Brown

Tue 18 June 2024 - 10:58

By Tracey Brown in Teacher Training

 
I had always known I wanted to teach, and it had always been in my mind to find a way to get into the classroom. But life happened and I found myself working in a bank for 18 years, dreading going into work. One day I decided to do something about it. At that stage I didn’t have a degree, so I started by going to evening classes to try and find a subject I was interested in. It wasn’t until I took an evening class in Biology that I even considered science. I took my HNC and then secured a place at university studying Biomedical Science. Having completed that, I was offered a funded Masters and eventually I did a PhD. 
 
All the while I was learning, I was still aware that the ultimate goal was to teach and during my PhD I secured a place on SCITT programme. Unfortunately my situation changed, and I realised that paying to train wasn’t an option. I came across Teach First and went along to...

How taking social action can help you stand out

Tue 18 June 2024 - 15:03

By UCAS in Support


Making your UCAS application stand out from the crowd can be challenging. One thing you could consider is taking part in ‘social action’ to show you’re a motivated, disciplined, and resilient person.
 
By social action we mean campaigning, fundraising, or even volunteering. This can give you something unique to talk about in your personal statement, and can reinforce your commitment to your chosen study area. There are loads of organisations you can contact to discuss opportunities – from the Scouts and Girl Guides, to your local council.
 
We’re Step Up To Serve, a charity that coordinates the #iwill campaign. We work with over 750 organisations across the education, business, voluntary, and health sectors, to ensure every young person has the opportunity to take part in social action.
 
The beauty of social action is that it has a double...

The importance of Freshers Week

Thu 4 July 2024 - 11:12

By Aimee in First year

Freshers is an exciting time for all university students whether you like partying or getting involved in the day time activities, there is something for everyone. Obviously the partying is a big part of Freshers week(s) but I won’t go into too much detail about that as that is pretty self-explanatory.
 
The weeks of Freshers is an amazing opportunity to meet new people, help your confidence grow and find out what the university has to offer. During these weeks there are often various bazaar’s ranging from a sports bazaar to a society bazaar to a RAG bazaar. Bazaars are a big must because they show you various clubs you have the opportunity to join from football, to choir, to the hot air balloon society. The variety of societies that are on offer at university is incredible. RAG is at a lot of universities and offer opportunities where you can do a residential to raise money for charity. I’m currently...

Oxbridge application tips

Thu 4 July 2024 - 13:19

By UCAS in UCAS advice

The early UCAS deadline for Oxbridge applications is fast approaching. For those of you who are considering applying to these universities, work will now be well underway regarding your personal statements, academic portfolio and finding suitable references. Representing yourself through so few words is one of the biggest challenges you will have faced throughout your sixth form experience so far, hence it is natural to feel overwhelmed and a little stressed by it all. Fear not – whilst the deadline is approaching, there is still more than enough time for you to complete everything necessary. It’s all in your approach.
 
As far as your personal statement goes, make sure that you have a clear structure as you read over everything. If someone were skim reading this, would they be able to pick out your key ideas from the topic sentences at the beginning of paragraphs? Is there an interesting range and evident fluency to your writing?...

How to write a personal statement

Thu 11 July 2024 - 13:09

By Robyn in First year

A personal statement is what sets up an accurate portrayal of your character to universities. It’s one of the most important things you need to do, and it’s one of the things that your application relies on, but it’s not too difficult to make it perfect.
 
You don’t need to pour every single thing that’s on your mind into those 4000 characters, but it’s a good way of discussing where you are in your knowledge of your subject, where you want to take that knowledge and any past experiences you have had. And believe me, when you’re passionate about a subject, 47 lines is not enough to tell them everything.
 
A few tips for what to write about include:
 
Why you chose to apply for that particular course.
Write about your...

My first week at uni

Thu 4 July 2024 - 10:09

By Robyn in First year

I've successfully survived my first week at uni, and I'm absolutely exhausted from it. The first day was lovely and calm, when the people on my course and the tutors just sat in the main teaching room. We got free reign of the biscuits and the tea and coffee making facilities and we got to chat to everyone, figure out where we were all at and who specialised in what kind of photography. (Also we kind of figured out who our competitions were - which isn't a healthy business relationship). We got a long lunch, got lost a lot around the uni and found where we were meant to be. In the second half of the day, we all piled into the studio in a massive circle in alphabetical order to start the dreaded task of icebreakers and the 'name game'. 
 
The name game was the most brutal thing I think I've ever been through. It went from each lecturer, each one introducing themselves and then the people that...

Student Hall Survival Guide

Wed 17 July 2024 - 13:07

By Lowri in First year

Hi! I’m Lowri, I am in my first year of University and have just moved into student halls. Now everyone has told you that when you first become a student and live in halls it’s going to be so much fun, and that you’ll meet loads of people and go out socialising all the time. BUT they never really tell you the things you’ll face and experiences you’ll have when you move in. So, I’ve made a small list of things you’ll come across while living in accommodation.
 
1. Noise
Obviously when you first move into your new accommodation you also come face to face with fresher’s week. This means lots of fresher’s events and parties. Now, if like me you have moved in right next to the student union, there WILL be noise. Sometimes you may even be the one making the noise. A lot of halls do have curfews on loud noise e.g. 12am all music must be turned off. But if there is loud noise happening after this time, your...

The First Weeks of Uni as a Mature Student

Thu 20 June 2024 - 10:11

By Jack in Mature students


Call it cliché, but the time spent between getting an unconditional offer and actually starting university has flown by. Suddenly, I’m back into the education system after four years away, getting up earlier than I’d like to, and trying to find my way around a campus in Treforest that looks deceptively small, yet is larger than you’d think!
 
My name is Jack. It’s a pleasure to meet you! I guess you could call me a fresher, although I was probably the most boring fresher you could ever meet. As a mature student, I found most of my time during fresher’s week taken over by work. So, unfortunately for me, I missed many benefits the university had to offer, such as the fresher’s fayre.
 
 I’m twenty-two, and I’m only now starting my degree in university. I left college back in 2013, deciding to embark on a career in media. But after three years of working a job where there was very little progress...

The dos and don’ts of differentiation – Rachel Orr

Wed 3 July 2024 - 11:26

By Rachel Orr in Teacher Training

What is differentiation?

The education dictionary defines it as this: Differentiated instruction is the way in which a teacher anticipates and responds to a variety of students' needs in the classroom. To meet students' needs, teachers differentiate by modifying the content (what is being taught), the process (how it is taught) and the product (how students demonstrate their learning).

I always say to student teachers, established teachers, and TAs when they are working with groups – what difference are you going to make to these children’s learning because of your input working with them? If the adult is simply keeping children on task or under control, is the learning right for these kids?

I like to associate differentiation with shoes:

  • If we walk around in ill fitting shoes that are uncomfortable, too big or too small we will struggle to learn.
  • When our shoes are too big we have not yet...

Personal statements: quick-fire questions answered!

Tue 27 July 2021 - 14:44

By UCAS in UCAS advice

Got a question about writing your personal statement? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. We’re often asked about this section of the application, and chances are your question will be one we’ve heard from other students. Check out the answers to five of the most frequently asked questions below – they're all from admissions staff at universities and colleges (the people who spend their time reading personal statements!)

1. When should I start?
  • "As soon as you can! Give yourself time to write it properly. Your first draft alone could take you a whole day to write." Amy Smith, Nottingham Trent University. 
  • "Set yourself a schedule. It will take longer than you think to write your personal statement and it is important that you allow time to review your work several times...

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