BA (Hons) Primary Teacher Education
I chose the course because of the balance of personal and professional support
When I first began the course, I really valued pastoral support. Having people there to talk to whenever I needed it, especially to share any worries, was really helpful. Also, having the resources and materials available to support my academic studies is great. I really love the Center of Academic Development, which was spoken about in my course induction days.
I've enjoyed all aspects of the course
I've enjoyed the lecture aspect and the level 7 placements as well. We also have a really lovely school newsletter, which is brilliant. It advertises different social events and other things going on.There are lots of clubs and societies that you can join, and many other opportunities.
I've had really good relationships with my tutors
I make sure to check in with them regularly to let them know how I’m getting on. One of the things that struck me when I first started the course was how kind and approachable they were, which is something that I really value. My academic advisor has been incredibly helpful and supportive, guiding me to particular resources for my work and offering advice on how to manage my time effectively. I like how they respect my other commitments too, while supporting me to become the best professional that I can be.
At the start of university, it was definitely a little bit overwhelming
When you first start university, there's a lot of information coming at you, and figuring out what works best for you can be quite taxing, especially while also trying to manage your personal time outside of your studies. I loved the support that I had from everyone, including my friends and my cohort. When you join university, you're more responsible for organising the time you devote to your studies.
Placements have been a really, really good experience
It's not without its challenges, but it's really helped me to develop my teaching skills and helped me learn how to operate within a school system. I’m also learning how to do backwards planning and then implement that on my placement. So that's been a really good opportunity to marry the lectures with the things that we're studying and being able to practice that in a teaching setting. I also have a teacher mentor on my placement, and we have regular meetings about my progress. Learning on placement has been comprehensive. Also, it’s really good that the placements team is based at Oxford Brookes - they help you find a good school depending on where you live, and they're there to support you while you are on placement. I’m looking to go straight into teaching in a school when I graduate and I’m looking forward to becoming a Early Career Teacher (ECT) in my first year.