Primary Teacher Education, 2016
“The best thing about the course is the lecturers. It is the lecturers and seminar leaders that make this course. Most of our teachers have had primary experience at some point, most with recent experience”
After studying Performing Arts at the College of West Anglia, Richard became a family entertainer for Haven Holidays. After 2 to 3 years Richard decided to seek work closer to home. At a local school, Richard worked as a one-to-one teaching assistant for a term with a Year 6 pupil, and a further 2 years with a second pupil in Year 5–6. His time and experience as a teaching assistant helped him to realise his potential in becoming a primary teacher.
When I decided I wanted to become a teacher, this was the fastest route to becoming a qualified one. The Brookes course attracted me because the specialised training in Primary Teacher Education with QTS was what I was looking for in order to become a Primary Teacher. Not all universities offered this type of course with QTS. The Oxford location was also an attraction.
The best thing about the course is the lecturers. It is the lecturers and seminar leaders that make this course. Most of our teachers have had primary experience at some point, most with recent experience. It is their experience that transcends into their teaching; they model high standards and teach in a way we are expected to teach our pupils. My favourite module on the course is Mathematics. Each session is prepared and taught, and modelled in a way we are expected to teach primary education. Resources are always available to help, and these are encouraged to be used actively in each session. The module supports students and lays out expectations in a clear and precise way that students find helpful.
I like living in Oxford for a number of reasons, including the historic venues, the feel and vibe of the city, and the unique historic features and places. Not to mention the variety of free museums available to explore all year around. The Oxford Museum of Natural History is my favourite, including the Pitt Rivers museum next to it! Not forgetting the Ashmolean too. There are so many inspiring places to visit at any time. They help with ideas for work but also help you to unwind at the times you need to switch off.
In the future I hope to become an inspiring teacher, responsible for helping to develop good young people. I also hope to pursue other interests, knowing I will always have a degree that is useful and important to society that I can always use later in life too. The School of Education at Oxford Brookes is supporting my career by teaching me how to develop important aspects of how to become a good reflective practitioner, with high standards. The diversity of the course prepares students to consider all aspects of education and ways of learning. It caters for different types of learners and presents opportunity for each individual to discover their talents.
There are many members of staff that inspire the subject they teach. However, Amanda Barton is an extraordinary role model for teaching. She inspires us to lose all inhibitions while teaching and demonstrates perfectly just how to “go for it”!
I chose this course due to the reception I received on my interview day. It was my experience at Harcourt Hill specifically that made me feel very welcome and at home there. Due to the nature of this and the individual treatment I received throughout the process, this made the experience stand out from other interviews I had attended, and for this reason also, I chose to study at Harcourt Hill.