“I chose the University of Greenwich because when visiting an open day, I got a sense of just how much passion the lecturers within the Primary Education department have. They sold the course to me based on their pride and expertise. What also came across, and has been subsequently demonstrated, is a genuine desire to support the next generation of teachers to not just be teachers but be absolutely brilliant teachers.
With a full-time course, juggling a job, placements and assignment deadlines has been tough. However, the support and encouragement from my Personal Tutor, School Experience Tutors and the wider department team has been unwavering. Becoming a Primary School Teacher is a tough job, however, what I have enjoyed the most from the course has been the placements. This is because they cemented my passion for education and provided me with the opportunity to experience a variety of schools. In addition to this, the freedom in my third year to study our enhancement module of choice and our research projects was also something I particularly enjoyed.
For me, it was a straightforward choice to choose this degree as it was the most efficient way to become a Primary School Teacher. I completed my course within three years and gained Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in the process, something often gained by doing a one-year PGCE after a subject degree.
The lectures, workshops and seminars have all been engaging. Staying on track with directed tasks and readings is the guaranteed way to ensure you get the most out of the course. Owing to the staff having held a range of positions in primary schools previously, they make the content relevant and can provide sound advice, explanations, and examples within context. Many lecturers will teach the subjects they hold the most expertise in such as Maths, English, Science, and wider curriculum subjects such as History, R.E, Geography, Languages, Music, P.E, Computing, DT, and Art. Many staff are working on their own research and have a passion about wider educational topics such as politics, behaviour management, Early Years, decolonising the Curriculum, RSE, and the effects of Covid etc.
There is no getting away from the challenge of placements. However, they ultimately prepare you for the same challenging, yet exciting and fun, career of teaching. The Greenwich Placement Team try to ensure you are placed in a range of settings/year groups to support your learning across the three years. In addition, the support from the School’s Mentor and University’s Link Tutor is designed to provide an opportunity for you to reflect, learn and ultimately progress to become an incredible independent teacher!
Despite our cohort having had a tough start in Year One due to Covid, our second and third years were both in person which made the world of difference. I am now proud of the friends I have made and the long hours in the library spent together to get assignments, presentations and work done together. We recently had our end of year celebration and so that was wonderful to come together and celebrate all our achievements over the past three years.
If asked would I recommend this course at Greenwich… Yes 100%!”
For more information about the Primary Education with QTS BA Hons and to apply visit https://www.gre.ac.uk/undergraduate-courses/eduhea/x320
