primary school teacher personal statement example

• mrsstrickey
• Jan 16, 2021

Writing a Personal Statement

Going for your first NQT post can be a daunting prospect... especially when in teaching, you need to write a personal statement to support your application form.

Schools use your personal statement to help short list candidates for a position by checking off the criteria of the person specification that they can see in your statement. It is always a good idea to write your personal statement alongside the person specification, ensuring that you have included all the "essential" criteria and as much of the "desirable" criteria you can that are assessed through the application.

Where possible, you should also use the language of the school you are applying to - their vision, values, mission and ethos statements will help you here and should be available on the school's website. You will also sometimes find these in the application pack. Read this carefully and then read it again, reading between the lines of what they might be looking for.

Here is an example of the structure of a personal statement for a trainee teacher applying for their first NQT job:

Begin with an impact statement that summarises your philosophy on teaching or that refers to the mission/vision/values/ethos of the school you are applying to:

I believe that it is, as Einstein said, the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. As a passionate teacher, dedicated to ensuring the very best outcomes for all students I teach, this statement resonates with me as I endeavour to awaken joy in all of the learners within my classroom. It was your belief all young people have the right to a transformational educational experience, that will enable them, no matter what their starting point, to fulfil their potential and realise their ambitions that first attracted me to your school as it aligns with my own personal and professional philosophy on education.

Throughout my practice, I constantly encourage pupils to participate and contribute in an atmosphere highly conducive to learning. I have consistently set high expectations of pupils in different training contexts. There are high levels of mutual respect between me and pupils. I am very effective in promoting learners’ resilience, confidence and independence when tackling challenging activities. In my lesson, I generate high levels of enthusiasm, participation and commitment to learning.

Back this up with an example from your training.

I have also assumed a high level of responsibility for the attainment progress and outcomes of the pupils I have taught. I have demonstrated confident judgement in planning for pupil progression both within individual lessons and over time and I am able to articulate a clear and well-justified rationale as to how I am building on prior achievement. Within my lessons, I seek to actively promote engaging and effective methods that support pupils in reflecting on their learning. I have demonstrated that I am able to set appropriately challenging tasks, drawing on a sound knowledge of the pupils’ prior attainment, which has been obtained through systematic and accurate assessment. I regularly create opportunities for independent and autonomous learning. As a result the majority of pupils make very good progress.

In order to plan effective lessons, I draw on my in-depth subject and curriculum knowledge of [your subject or phase] to plan confidently for progression and to stimulate and capture pupils’ interest. Throughout my training, I have demonstrated very well-developed pedagogical subject knowledge, by anticipating common errors and misconceptions in my planning. I am astutely aware of my own development needs in relation to extending and updating my subject, curriculum and pedagogical knowledge in my early career and have been proactive in developing these effectively during my training. I always model very high standards of written and spoken communication in all professional activities. I also successfully identify and exploit opportunities to develop learners’ skills, in communication, reading and writing.

I plan lessons that often use well-chosen, imaginative and creative strategies, and that match individuals’ needs and interests. I am highly reflective in critically evaluating my practice. I am able to accurately judge the impact of my practice on individual and groups of learners and can use my evaluation to inform future planning, teaching and learning. During my training, I have shown initiative in contributing to curriculum planning and developing and producing effective learning resources in my placement settings.

I have been able to quickly and accurately discern my learners’ strengths and needs and I have been proactive in differentiating and employing a range of effective intervention strategies to secure progression for individuals and groups. I have an astute understanding of how effective different teaching approaches are in relation to impact on learning and engagement of learners

I can confidently and accurately assess pupils’ attainment against national benchmarks. I use a range of assessment strategies very effectively in my day-to-day practice to monitor progress and to inform future planning. In my practice, I systematically and effectively check learners’ understanding throughout lessons, anticipating where intervention may be needed and do so with notable impact on the quality of learning. I have shown that I am able to assess learners’ progress regularly and work with them to accurately target further improvement and secure rapid progress.

I have been able to rapidly adapt to the different circumstances in which I have trained, working confidently within the frameworks established in different settings and applying rules and routines consistently and fairly. I have also demonstrated an ability to adapt to remote working and remote delivery in response to the Global Pandemic. I consistently have high expectations and understand a range of strategies that experienced teachers use to promote positive behaviour and apply these very effectively, including use of school sanctions and rewards, and use of praise, in order to create an environment highly supportive of learning. I am able to manage pupil behaviour with ease so that learners display very high levels of engagement, courtesy, collaboration and co-operation. Where it is needed, I actively seek additional support in addressing the needs of pupils where significantly challenging behaviour is demonstrated.

During my training, I have been proactive in seeking out opportunities to contribute in a significant way to the wider life and ethos of the school. I have built strong professional relationships and have demonstrated that I am able to work collaboratively with colleagues on a regular basis. I have taken responsibility for deploying support staff in my lessons and for seeking advice from relevant professionals in relation to pupils with individual needs. I deliberately seek out opportunities to develop my own professional learning and respond positively to all the feedback I receive. I have also demonstrated that I can communicate very effectively, both verbally and in writing, with parents and carers in relation to pupils’ achievements and well-being when required to do so formally, but I am also proactive in communicating in relation to individual pupils’ emergent needs.

I always treat pupils with dignity, building relationships rooted in mutual respect, and at all times observing proper boundaries appropriate to a teacher's professional position. I realise the need to safeguard pupils' well-being, in accordance with statutory provisions. I show tolerance of and respect for the rights of others. I do not undermine fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. I always ensure that personal beliefs are not expressed in ways which exploit pupils' vulnerability or might lead them to break the law. I am always punctual and have good attendance. I have attended numerous CPD sessions and will continue to do so. I have also completed a weekly duty (before school and at break} and attends daily briefings (whole school, subject or pastoral). I have taken on board the policies of the school and maintain a high standard in all my practices. I have a good understanding of the framework within which I work and my professional duties

End with a statement that implies/assumes you will be invited for interview:

I would relish the opportunity to work at your school and look forward to discussing this further with you at interview.

You can download the word version of this

Recent Posts

Nurturing Minds: The Art of Breaking Down Complex Material for Effective Learning

Enhancing Learning: The Role of Working Memory and Prior Knowledge in Education

Elevating Success: The Role of High Behavioural Expectations and Positive Reinforcement in Education

Cookies on Teaching Vacancies

We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use this service and help us improve it. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.

beta This is a new service - your feedback will help us to improve it.

How to write a teacher personal statement

What experience do you have, are you engaged in teaching theory and research, are you up to date on safeguarding statutory guidance, what are your skills and qualities, how can you contribute to wider school life, search for roles.

Your personal statement is your first opportunity to show the school you’re a great fit for the job, and gets you closer to being shortlisted for an interview. The more you show how your skills and interests match the school’s ethos and values, the better. We’ve spoken to a range of teachers to get their top tips for success.

Schools want to hear about your trainee experience with different subjects, key stages, types of school, and working with a range of pupils.

Think about your approach to teaching, how you keep pupils engaged, and how you communicate with different kinds of people (children, staff, parents and carers). Ensure you provide evidence for how you have improved student engagement and built positive relationships with pupils.

Schools will be interested in your approach to behaviour management, so think about your go-to strategies.

Think about any research that has affected your teaching practice. Explain what has worked well and if it didn’t, what you learnt.

You need to demonstrate your awareness of the importance of safeguarding and the requirements of Keeping Children Safe in Education . Include any examples of how you worked with a Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Are you a well-organised, confident, and motivated teacher? Say it, and provide examples! Schools are looking for great communicators, team players and relationship builders. Make sure you say how you create a positive learning environment, and consider skills like time management, organisation, and flexibility. Schools will also want to know how you overcome challenges.

Set yourself apart by showing how your hobbies and achievements could contribute to the wider school community. Could you run an after school club or organise school trips?

Search for roles on Teaching Vacancies now.

• Schools directory
• Back issues
• New Teachers
• Resources Jobs Schools directory News Search

How to write the perfect teaching personal statement

Application and interview, tes editorial.

When applying for a new job, you may be competing with tens or hundreds of other applicants in a race for the role.

The HR manager or headteacher recruiting for the job will be scrutinising every detail of your application to make sure they are bringing in the right people for interview.

The application form is the first hurdle you have to get over and sets the first impression of you as a person in the recruiter’s mind.

• Advice on honing your job search
• How to write a personal statement for teacher training
• How to write a must-read CV

The personal statement: why does it matter? 

The personal statement presents the perfect opportunity to show you are an exceptional candidate, understand teaching and know the school you are applying to.

It is not an easy task and is a tricky thing to get right. It requires being concise and clear – it shouldn’t be too long or read like a list.

You should talk about yourself and your professional achievements, while at the same time apply those experiences to the school itself.

We spoke to Malcolm Trobe, deputy general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders , about what goes into the perfect personal statement. Here's what he said:

What does a great teaching personal statement look like?

"In general, I would say no longer than two sides of A4 – typescript. It needs to be well structured and linked to the specific school. It will need to include a number of key areas, including behavioural management, educational philosophy, subject expertise, pedagogy, personal organisation and skills and enrichment activities that the candidate can bring."

What should it contain?

"I would recommend that candidates include three elements in each of the key areas:

• What their beliefs/philosophy/approach is – i.e., the theory
• Their experience in that area
• How they would use that experience in the school they are applying to and specific to the job they are applying for

The statement should also include something personal in terms of their outside interests to indicate that they live an interesting and well-balanced life."

What are school leaders looking to read in a good personal statement?

"They will want to see something of the person’s character come through. It must not be just a list of achievements or repeat of the CV. It needs to be well-written, error-free and mention the school they are applying for – but not too many times. It should read as if it has been specifically written for the school and job they are applying for. I would be looking for something similar to the approach I have indicated above, covering all of the key areas and indicating that they have a vocation for working with young people. Somehow I would like to see a ‘generosity of spirit’ come through in the statement."

How can a candidate stand out in a personal statement?

"A good personal statement needs to include something of the person themselves. It has to make the reader believe that the candidate has something special without bragging or appearing arrogant – but something a bit above what other candidates may offer. A really good introduction and ending are important, and it's worth spending a great deal of time crafting those sections of the statement. Hook the reader in at the beginning and finish on a high note so that they want to meet the person and explore what has been written."

Want to keep up with the latest career advice? Follow  Tes Jobs on Twitter  and like  Tes Jobs on Facebook

• Skip to content

How to write a great personal statement for a teaching job

Vinny Potter

Last updated: 7 Feb 2024, 16:23

Discover our top tips on what to include in your personal statement for a teaching job and how to present your skills, knowledge, experience and attributes.

Supported by:

Academies Enterprise Trust

Your personal statement is the heart of your application for work as an early career teacher and should be tailored for each role. For teaching applications this is sometimes also called a letter of application, but it is essentially the same thing. This is your opportunity to provide evidence of how you match the needs of the specific teaching job you are applying for, and earn yourself an invitation to the next stage, which is likely to be a selection day held at the school.

Writing tips for personal statements

See our example personal statement for primary school teaching, below. Imagine it was written in response to the following job advert:

We are advertising for a Year 3 Classroom Teacher. The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate the following:

• Committed to our school and our values
• Experience across a range of age groups
• Committed to reflection and improving practice
• Knowledge of the National Curriculum
• Excellent lesson planning
• Knowledge of assessment
• Good knowledge of SEND and positive interventions
• Positive approach to provide challenge and support student success
• Excellent behaviour management
• Good communication skills with parents
• Enthusiastic and creative approach to lessons
• Willing to contribute to the wider life of the school.

See our personal statement for secondary school teaching, below. Imagine it was written in response to the following job advert:

Country High School are advertising for an enthusiastic Secondary PE Teacher. The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate the following:

• Ability to adapt and tailor your approach for the differing needs of pupils
• Knowledge of the National Curriculum for your subject
• Knowledge of a wide range of sports
• Willing to engage in extra curricular activities and the wider life of the school
• Experience of supporting high ability students, as well as those who may be less able or motivated
• Ability to use data effectively
• Teach across all ability levels including SEND
• Ability to use Technology to enhance learning.

When completing a personal statement for a teaching job, you should typically observe the following guidelines:

• Do not write a generic statement. Instead use the person specification and job advert for the vacancy as a structure for your statement or consider using the government's Teachers' Standards if no person specification is provided.
• Do not exceed two sides of A4, unless otherwise instructed.
• Tailor your statement for each new application according to the nature of the school or LA and the advertised role.
• Always read any guidance provided – many schools and LAs will tell you how they want this section set out.
• Emphasise your individual strengths in relation to the role.
• For a pool application, make sure you give a good overview of your skills and experience.
• It is essential that you give specific examples of what you have done to back up your claims.

Primary school personal statement

Examples of a personal statements for a primary school teaching job.

Primary school personal statement example

Secondary school personal statement

See our example of a personal statement for a secondary school teaching job.

Secondary school personal statement example

What you should cover in your personal statement

When schools advertise graduate teaching jobs , they write a job description which states the essential attributes they are looking for. This is their marking criteria for the job. When they read your statement, they will usually score this based on their essential and desirable criteria. Therefore, you need to read their documents carefully to find the criteria and provide an example or evidence of each point. If the job advert does not include any documents which include their criteria, then you can use the following structure for your statement and use the Teachers’ Standards as a guide for the criteria they may be looking for.

Why you are applying for the role:

• Refer to any knowledge you have of the LA or the school, including any visits to the school and what you learned from them.
• Show you would be a good fit for the school. The best way to do this is to look at the school’s values and give an example of how you match these.
• Mention any special circumstances (for example, your religious faith) which you think are relevant.

Details about your course:

• Give an overview of your training course - including the age range and subjects covered - and any special features.
• If you are a PGCE student, mention your first degree, your dissertation (if appropriate), any classroom-based research projects and relevant modules studied. Also mention if you have studied any masters modules.

Your teaching experience:

• What year groups you have taught.
• What subjects you have covered.
• Your use and understanding of formative and summative assessment practices.

Your classroom management strategies:

• Give examples of how you planned and delivered lessons and evaluated learning outcomes, including differentiation, scaffolding etc.
• Explain how you have managed classrooms and behaviour.
• Detail your experience of working with assistants or parents in your class.

Your visions and beliefs about primary/secondary education:

• What are your beliefs about learning and your visions for the future? You could touch on areas such as learning and teaching styles and strategies.
• Reflect on key policies relevant to the age range you want to teach.

Other related experience:

• This can include information about any previous work experience.
• Include training activities you have carried out and ways in which your subject knowledge has been developed.

Other related skills and interests:

• Give details of any particular competencies, experiences or leisure interests. This will help the school to know more about you as a person and could ‘add value’ in a school environment.
• Any involvement in working with children (running clubs, youth work and summer camps) is particularly useful to include.

Aim to end on a positive note. A conclusion which displays your enthusiasm in relation to the specific application and teaching in general will enhance your application - but avoid general statements and clichés.

Written by Vinny Potter, St Marys University, Twickenham, July 2023

In partnership with

Occasionally targetjobs will work with another organisation to provide impartial careers content. This is to provide you with the most relevant information to make the best decisions about your future. As such, ‘in partnership’ content has been written or sourced by the partner organisation and edited by targetjobs as part of a content partnership.

People reading this also searched for roles in these areas:

• Graduate Jobs
• Graduate Schemes
• Internships

Related careers advice

We've got you

• Log in
• Site search

Personal statement for PGCE primary

This is your chance to explain why you want to teach primary age children and convey your enthusiasm for teaching

This example should be used for guidance only. Copying any of this text could significantly harm your chances of securing a place on a course.

Example personal statement for PGCE primary

In my early education, reading and writing were a challenge. At age nine I received a diagnosis of dyslexia bringing with it extra support from the school. This gave me a real determination to overcome my disability. It drove me to study hard, achieve high GCSE and A-level grades and go on to achieve a 2:1 in criminology at the University of England. Although this is not a national curriculum subject, working through and coping with my dyslexia at university helped me nurture my own love of learning. I aim to emulate the support provided to me to ensure that no child is left behind in their learning due to barriers they may experience. I believe that being dyslexic will give me a unique insight into the support requirements of dyslexic children but I am aware that children face many other personal, social and emotional challenges alongside learning disabilities. Recognising these barriers and helping each child to have the confidence to succeed is one goal I hope to achieve as a teacher.

I began spending one day a week, then two days a week in a primary school, which has strengthened my love of learning. I spent time in both Key Stage 1 and 2 classrooms and have so far completed 40 days in a school. I observed lessons such as English, maths, Spanish, science and art, listened to pupils read, and went on to work with small groups. I started to grasp lesson planning and discuss with teachers' current educational issues, such as the changing curriculum. I was able to observe how different teachers handle classroom and behaviour management, particularly picking up on the importance of maintaining an assertive yet sympathetic style. This all shapes my classroom practice to become more effective, for example seeing someone moving up a reading band as a result of the extra time I gave to them. Recently I saw a child making good decisions with their behaviour as a result of the plans we made together. I am gaining experience currently with a year three class of 30 children, working with them one-to-one, in groups and leading the whole class. Learning to think on my feet numerous times a day is challenging but rewarding, especially when I receive positive feedback on my lessons.

For the past two years I have been a volunteer leader with my local Cub Scout group, consisting of 30 boys and girls aged between eight and ten years. This encompasses weekly meetings, trips and overnight camps. During camps, along with the other leaders, I am responsible for the children's physical and emotional wellbeing. I need many of the skills I have seen in the classroom to be an excellent leader. A highlight was being able to use my craft and sewing skills to instigate and lead a mural making project with the completed mural now proudly displayed in the scout hut. Resilience, good judgement, enthusiasm, energy, patience, creativity, responsibility, leadership, reliability and stamina are all essential. Being a volunteer leader has helped me grow my confidence, leadership and communication skills, which I look forward to bringing into the classroom.

Through my studies, work experience and volunteering, I have received and given feedback. I know how essential it is to provide constructive feedback that will help the recipient learn and develop rather than become demoralised. I have witnessed teachers providing meaningful and specific feedback to pupils and how this raises their self-esteem. I have learned from this and practised it in my own interactions with children, with positive results.

I wish to specialise in working with Key Stages 1 and 2 as I feel it is demanding but hugely rewarding to work with children at this vital formative period in their educational development. I am aware that the children within each class could be at vastly different levels in relation to their abilities.. Being able to confidently ascertain their levels and differentiate the work accordingly is something that I know I will need to master.

I achieved high grades in law, biology and statistics at A-level. I believe these subjects have provided me with a broad knowledge base to enable me to teach the full primary national curriculum. Even though I didn’t study any design-related subjects at college, I do consider myself a creative person so would relish the chance to teach subjects such as art, music and drama alongside the core subjects of English, maths and science.

My criminology degree provided me with many relevant skills including data analysis, essay writing, critical analysis and research. I also developed the ability to work to a deadline under pressure, both independently and in groups, something I feel is directly relevant to teaching. Learning about the social inequalities in society alongside modules on safeguarding have provided me with a deeper insight into the affect these things can have, not only on a child but also the family and wider community. 

During my degree I undertook a one-month work placement with a homeless charity. I was tasked with trying to find valuable work experience to boost the self-esteem and self-worth of the individuals. This was a humbling and eye-opening experience. I met some truly amazing people both within the charity and among the service users. The many knock backs I received from companies helped to build my resilience and determination culminating in successfully finding an organisation that was willing to offer experience and training in the catering industry.

I believe that schools should be a safe and welcoming environment where children feel comfortable to express themselves, which in turn will aid their ability and willingness to learn. I hope that I will one day be able to provide this to all the children I teach.

Tailor your statement to primary teaching and include:

• Why you'd like to teach this age group.
• Elements from your degree that have helped to prepare you to become a primary school teacher.
• Skills you have developed and where you gained them, such as communication, patience, resilience and planning.
• Any examples you have working with the age group you wish to teach. This could be classroom based as well as through play schemes, youth groups and summer camps.
• Any specialist training such as safeguarding, first aid or mentoring.
• How your own educational background has influenced your desire to teach.
• Your understanding of the primary national curriculum.
• Your thoughts on children's wellbeing within the education system.

Find out more

• Read all about applying for teacher training .
• Get prepared with our teaching interview questions .
• See more examples of teaching personal statements .

How would you rate this page?

On a scale where 1 is dislike and 5 is like

• Dislike 1 unhappy-very
• Like 5 happy-very

Thank you for rating the page

Student Good Guide

The best UK online resource for students

Primary Teacher PGCE Personal Statement

If you are applying to PGCE Primary, you will need to prepare a good personal statement. Learn how to prepare your application for PGCE from our Primary PGCE Personal Statement example .

Primary Teacher Personal Statement Example

One day, I hope to become a primary teacher. Primary and secondary education have both been highly positive experiences for me. It is my desire to inspire and encourage children of all abilities to achieve their full potential that drives me to apply for primary education.

I gained valuable experience working in a primary school setting from the perspective of a teacher. The uniqueness of each child and the way each day is different is what I enjoyed most about my job. I am also applying for a History degree since this would allow me to study a P.G.C.E. after I complete my undergraduate studies. I have always enjoyed Art, particularly the early modern era up until the 20th century, a period I find fascinating. Researching the history of my family and the local area is my favourite aspect of Art history. I have arranged a work experience placement at a local primary school on Monday morning during my free periods. I have gained a great deal of insight into the challenges and situations primary school teachers face. As a teacher, I have been able to provide extra support to students who are underachieving in literacy and numeracy. I have improved my interpersonal skills immensely as I have had to communicate with children of different abilities, cultures and religions from Primary 1 to Primary 7. In addition to being challenging, it is also extremely enjoyable. I am most enjoying helping with small group work and projects with Primary 3 to 7 classes, assisting the pupils in History and English lessons, and using ICT as an educational and motivational tool. When I see pupils who struggled in these areas improve, it is very rewarding for me.

I have also participated in the school’s Community Care program, where I visited a residential care home once a week and spoke with the residents. Their personal perspectives on childhood experiences and the past were enjoyable to hear. By performing songs on guitar, accordion, and voice for residents, and reading novels and poems to them, I have become more approachable, confident, and trustworthy. I have served as Chairperson of the Eco-School’s Committee for four years in school.

Further, I have enjoyed attending debates and lectures from renowned historians such as Senia Paseta, Richard Grayson, and Philip Orr as a member of the Omagh Academy History Society. In my free time, I’m a member of the Bridge Club of Leeds.

My Queen’s Badge is something I’m aiming toward having recently earned my President’s Award. I assist in the Boy area, which serves boys between the ages of 4 and 7, in order to obtain more experience working with kids. It is my obligation to organize and present drills, games, and Bible tales. I also like to play a variety of musical instruments, such as the lambing drum, accordion, guitar, and flute. I am actively involved in the Omagh Community Youth Choir and am pursuing my Grade 5 on the guitar. I have performed with the choir as a support act for the Red Hot Chilli Pipers at the SSE Arena in Belfast.

I learned how crucial it is for primary school teachers to be able to play an instrument at school concerts and events through my work placement. I have joined the Fintona Taekwondo Club with enthusiasm. It has helped me become more tenacious, determined, polite, and disciplined. Taekwondo has helped me stay physically active, and I intend to continue practising it when I’m in college since I find it to be a wonderful stress reliever. I think I’m a good fit for this profession because I want to be a teacher in the long run. My decision to apply for primary courses has been solidified by my great experiences with work placement and volunteer work with the Boys’ Brigade’s Anchor Boys section.

Recommended reading:

• Personal Statement Examples
• How to Write a Personal Statement for a PhD
• UCAS Personal Statement: A Writing Guide And Tips For Success
• How to Write a Personal Statement That Stands Out
• Tips for Writing a Personal Statement for the University
• How to Write UCAS Reference Letter

Other personal statement examples:

• Statistics Personal Statements
• PPE Oxford Personal Statement Example
• Classics Personal Statement Examples
• Theology Personal Statement Examples
• Physics Personal Statement Examples
• Chemical Engineering personal statement examples
• Oncology Personal Statement Examples
• Psychiatry Personal Statement Examples
• Earth Sciences Personal Statement Example
• History Personal Statement Examples

Clearing Universities & Courses

Clearing advice.

Recommended Clearing Universities

Popular Course Categories

Course Search & Discover

Start the search for your uni. Filter from hundreds of universities based on your preferences.

Search by Type

Search by region.

Recommended Universities

Ravensbourne University London

London (Greater) · 88% Recommended

SOAS, University of London

London (Greater) · 90% Recommended

Middlesex University

London (Greater) · 87% Recommended

Search Open Days

What's new at Uni Compare

Study at Middlesex Uni, a global university renowned for innovation in education.

Leeds Beckett University

AdvanceHE awarded LBU a national award for ambitions to advance race equality.

Ranking Categories

Regional rankings.

More Rankings

Top 100 Universities

Taken from 65,000+ data points from students attending university to help future generations

About our Rankings

Discover university rankings devised from data collected from current students.

Guide Categories

Advice categories, recommended articles, popular statement examples, statement advice.

What to include in a Personal Statement

Personal Statement Tips

Personal statement example ba for primary education (qts) personal statement.

Submitted by Lauren

Do you want to inspire young people and help change lives?

Choose to study Education at Roehampton, one of the UK's leading providers of teacher education.

Explore a top 10 uni for Sports Science courses (GUG, 2024)

Choose a Sports degree at University of Brighton to learn from elite coaches and world leading researchers. Gain experience from specialist labs and placements.

BA for Primary Education (QTS) Personal Statement

The role of a teacher demands a hardworking, assiduous and empathetic character. Teachers must be able to handle long work days, vast workloads and a diverse range of social issues that may arise during their career. However, having the ability to enable a child to further make sense of the world around them gives me such a profound sense of pride that I would be more than willing to withstand the challenges that come with being a teacher.

I had the pleasure of completing two weeks of work experience at my old primary school, St Christopher's, whereby I shadowed a past teacher of mine. He gave me the opportunity to present one of the English lessons independently, where I was required to manage classroom behaviour and lead focus group work to ensure the material was understood. Through this experience I learnt how to correctly support students of all abilities, as well as the necessity of patience and a constructive approach to the criticism of work. This I find will be integral to assisting me on my chosen course as I will already have prior knowledge and experience of the role. I loved that no two days were ever the same, as this constantly kept me on my toes. On a personal level, despite the many obstacles that undoubtedly materialise, overseeing the educational, social and emotional development of a child is an incomparable feeling. The importance of assisting a child to become a morally upstanding member of society is paramount to me.

During my time at sixth form, I dedicated my spare hours to the maths and English departments and had the opportunity to assist lower school lessons. This was an invaluable experience as it opened my eyes to the reality of challenging classroom behaviour. I observed how the teachers responded to such behaviour and maintained classroom control. I also offered a free tutoring service during free periods in order to get some hands on experience in delivering material to a student and helping them to understand it. I discovered over time that teaching extends further than merely delivering a session, it focuses on the broader subject of developing young minds.

Outside of the classroom, I played an active role in my school community. I had the pleasure of being executive head girl for two years, an achievement of which I am immensely proud. I helped to cast and direct school plays, organise charity events and promote the values of the school. In addition, I volunteered at acorns charity shop for a year as I had a few spare evenings a week and I am always eager to give back to my local community.

Combined with my direct experience of the role itself, I also had the pleasure of working part time as an Activities assistant at Sunrise Senior Living. This role was not only immensely personally gratifying, but allowed me to utilise my interpersonal, communicative and leadership skills. I was entrusted to take on management roles, whereby I would lead classes such as art, poetry and exercise. Much like teaching, however, the role did not come without its challenges. There was a considerable amount of paperwork and meetings that went unseen. I also worked with people with challenging behaviour as a result of dementia. It should therefore follow that a great deal of safeguarding was in place to maintain the dignity and protection of these vulnerable individuals.

I believe that a teacher must be flexible above all. We do not learn in exactly the same way and in order to enable each child to reach their full potential a teacher must be able to look at the same scenario in a variety of ways. Throughout my various experiences of teaching, I have learned that a keen desire to be reflective is essential. If I fail to learn from past mistakes as well as successes I cannot create or amend my material to comply with the child's needs. Teaching to me is the foundation that which produces an open-minded, intellectual and moral society. We should never stop questioning and challenging the world around us.

Recommended Course

Recommended Statements

Submitted by anonymous

Education (Primary) Personal Statement

I believe teachers are given the opportunity to set the foundations of a prosperous future, not only for i...

Child Integrated Professional Care Personal Statement

My passion for midwifery has grown with time. At 15 I made ...

Submitted by Lubay

Childhood Studies Personal Statement

Children should have somebody that believes in them and supports them to become the person that they aspir...

Submitted by Jordon

Teaching Personal Statement

My ambition is to one day become a teacher . Personal...

undergraduate Universities

Undergraduate uni's.

Ravensbourne

238 courses

Middlesex Uni

470 courses

Cardiff Met Uni

305 courses

Uni of Chester

398 courses

Uni of Leicester

267 courses

Northeastern Uni

Uni of Winchester

154 courses

Staffordshire Uni

272 courses

Coventry Uni

444 courses

Goldsmiths, UOL

273 courses

Leeds Beckett Uni

324 courses

Uni of Sunderland

201 courses

Swansea Uni

771 courses

Uni of East London

317 courses

Uni of Westminster

338 courses

Heriot-Watt Uni

208 courses

Anglia Ruskin Uni

464 courses

Escape Studios

West London IoT

Uni of Roehampton

268 courses

Uni of Kent

413 courses

Uni of Surrey

434 courses

Uni of Suffolk

110 courses

Uni of Hertfordshire

415 courses

Uni for Creative Arts

457 courses

Uni of Bradford

265 courses

528 courses

Queen's Uni

411 courses

Uni of Bedfordshire

327 courses

Uni of Portsmouth

547 courses

UWE, Bristol

252 courses

Kingston Uni

373 courses

Uni of Essex

801 courses

Leeds Arts University

ARU Writtle

104 courses

353 courses

Uni of Huddersfield

458 courses

Uni of Brighton

257 courses

Uni of C.Lancashire

531 courses

Wrexham Uni

171 courses

Bath Spa Uni

292 courses

Edge Hill Uni

243 courses

Uni of Hull

274 courses

Nottingham Trent

537 courses

Edinburgh Napier

184 courses

Uni of Reading

391 courses

246 courses

Find the latest from Uni Compare

Ravensbourne University

Want to experience an innovative, industry-focused education? Click here!

University of Surrey

Surrey has been ranked 4th for overall student satisfaction [NSS 2023].

• Comments policy

Personal Statements

by Harry on November 20, 2017

When I’m writing a letter of recommendation for an undergraduate applying for graduate school (one of the many parts of my job for which I have received no training and my skill in which has never been assessed by anyone), I pretty much always want to look at the personal statement (or, their answers to the program-specific questions which many professionally-oriented programs ask). If I don’t know the student really well, the personal statement helps me write the letter, just because it keeps them fully in my head; and if I do know the student really well it seems wrong not to offer to comment on/offer editorial advice, especially if I know (as I often do) that the student doesn’t have a parent who will be able confidently to do this. For all I know my own confidence is misplaced, but I don’t think it is – I have read thousands of personal statements over the years {mainly for nursing school, clinical psych, teacher ed, school counseling, medical school and law school and, of course, philosophy), and although I only know directly what other people (my immediate philosophy colleagues) think about the statements of students who apply to Philosophy PhD programs, I have observed the fate of those students whose statements I’ve looked at.

The main thing I want to say about personal statements is that in my experience many candidates agonize over them and spend far too much time trying to get them exactly right. In philosophy the main purpose of the personal statement is to convey that you know what you are doing, that you are genuinely interested in the program you’re applying to, and that you are not a complete flake. Some people, it is true, have genuinely interesting stories behind their desire to X, whatever it is, but most really don’t.[1] But they usually seem compelled to tell a story as compellingly as possible. Here’s a quote from a recent email (used with permission):

Hi Brighouse, I hope you had a nice weekend and that you have a good week ahead of you! I wanted to email you to ask for your help with my personal statements. I have spent a lot of time attempting to write some of them and I am really struggling. They feel very cliched to me and I am not sure how to make myself stand out as an applicant in so few words!

Actually, what she sent me was better than she thought, but I’d guess it would have been still better, and less stressful, if she’d had a good sense of what to do. Here’s the advice I’ve been giving recently, roughly, and obviously tailored to the specific student to whom I’m writing (in addition to specific advice about what they have written). To be honest, I usually give this advice only after they’ve already agonized a bit – I hereby resolve to start telling them ahead of time.

1. The personal statement will rarely affect whether or not you get in. Mostly that will be your letters of rec, resume, grades (and GRE and writing sample, if those are applicable). Helping your recommenders write letters that really represent you is a much more valuable use of your time than turning an ok statement into a good one. Stop stressing out about it.

2. If you have an amazing story, tell it. But don’t try to invent one, or to make a rather boring story (like mine) sound amazing. Tell the committee i) why you want to become (say) a nurse; ii) what qualifies you for their program iii) what will make you a good (say) nurse; iv) why you are interested in their program in particular; v) what you specifically think you have to learn.

3. Someone else might be able to tell you qualities you have that suit you to the profession in question if you can’t figure it out yourself – e.g., in the case of the student whose email I quote above, she had said something about herself in the draft statement that seemed both negative and false; and I was able (easily) to tell her a positive truth about herself that, when she wrote it in the revised statement, nevertheless did not seem self-aggrandizing.

4. If there is something in your transcript or resume that looks weak, and you have a good explanation for it, the ideal thing to do is i) ask your lead letter writer to mention and explain it and ii) mention in your statement that they will explain it. If someone else explains a weakness, it is much less likely to come over as special pleading or excuse-making.

5. Don’t use lots of adverbs and adjectives. Don’t use colloquialisms. Don’t actually try to use clichés, but do relax a bit about them – mostly your statement is not going to stand out from the crowd, and that’s ok! Stand out from the crowd once you are there, if you want to.

6. Be direct and straightforward, without being self-denigrating.

7. Make sure you stay within the word limit. Get someone skilled (who might be me) to look it over, and suggest edits which save you words.

8. Give yourself a time limit. Remind yourself that the chances this will make a difference to your prospects are small. If it is truly awful that might sink you (so get someone like me to read it to ensure that it is not truly awful); if it is good enough, then making it better is unlikely to yield much benefit.

Any amendments, revisions, contrary advice, would be welcome.

[1] I don’t. I encountered Philosophy in secondary school, and decided that, unlike History, I’d never learn how to read Philosophy unless someone taught me. I went to graduate school because I liked doing Philosophy and couldn’t think what else to do. Then I became a professor because I was not imaginative or bold enough to go work for dissidents in Russia during the waning months of perestroika (really, a left wing dissident member of the Moscow City Soviet asked me to come and work for him).

Share this:

{ 14 comments }

Adam Roberts 11.20.17 at 9:14 am

In addition to doing all the things Harry mentions at my own institution (and for which, like him, I have received no training and in which my skill in which has never been assessed) I also go to local schools and do mock interviews with sixth-formers by way of readying them for actual personal interviews at Universities that still insist upon such things (Oxford and Cambridge mostly). With vanishingly rare, usually suspiciously cocky, exceptions these are all desperately nervous teenagers trying not to appear so, made more anxious by their desire to remember a more-or-less prepared script that has been prepared to show them off in the best possible intellectual light. Just getting them to relax is half the battle. The main thing I tell them is: from the other side of the desk, from the admissions perspective, one of the main unspoken attitudes of interviewers is: if I let this student in, and s/he ends up in my seminar group, will I regret it? Almost always the answer to this question is no. But really the point of the process is not to identify geniuses-to-be and admit only them, it’s to weed out hopeless cases and the unhinged.

Adam Roberts 11.20.17 at 9:17 am

Gah, now would you look at that? What price a CT edit button for comments, I wonder?

Matt 11.20.17 at 10:13 am

A few thoughts:

1) While you have not been trained at writing letters of recommendation, at least you have, I’d assume, seen may of them, for grad school applicants and job applicants. I’ve written quite a few law school letters of recommendation without having any experience comparing mine to what other people do. This makes it even harder. (I have seen lots of recommendations for people applying for clerkships and internships with judges because law clerks often do a “first cut” on those, so at least have some idea of how law job recommendations go, even if clerkship recommendations are different from many other areas.) It’s a hard subject to know if you’re doing right, at least in my situation.

2) Possibly the best advice I’d heard about personal statements is that the applicant is not his or her own reference, and shouldn’t act or write like it. In truth, I’m not sure if this is good advice _in practice_ (I’d be interested to hear what people think) though it’s obviously good advice in theory.

3) Who was the Russian MP and in what way was he a “left wing dissident in the waning months of perestroika”? I’d be interested to hear the story and what he wanted to do, and wanted you to do.

sanbikinoraion 11.20.17 at 11:18 am

If this is a thing you have never received training on, why is that?

My experience of UK universities is that they are singularly uninterested in training their staff for the benefit of their undergraduates. It seems from various posts here on CT, the staff themselves seem remarkably uninterested in acquiring such training either.

If this is a genuinely useful skill that you and your peers should have, then why are you not lobbying the university for budget to be allocated to learn how to do this stuff?

Harry 11.20.17 at 2:22 pm

Matt — I’ve only seen letters of rec for Philosophy (grad school jobs) in sizeable numbers. I write a lot for Elementary Ed, Secondary Ed, Counseling Psych, Nursing, etc. I have talked to people who admit in all those programs, so do know what they say about how they use letters and what they like to see in them. But it is different.

Actually, I misspoke, it was a member of the Moscow city soviet — I’ll correct that. More details another time, I don’t want to derail.

sanbikinoraion — good point. I’ve got higher priorities — lobbying for support to improve instruction which is the core skill-set in which we are not trained. With some success, thanks to my Dean and the Chancellor — we’re currently planning pilots for several projects starting next fall, one of which is related to this post: https://crookedtimber.org/2013/05/28/employing-a-student-to-criticize-my-teaching/ but see more generally: https://crookedtimber.org/2016/07/21/how-could-a-research-university-systematically-improve-undergraduate-instruction/

DCA 11.20.17 at 2:48 pm

I’d add to (2), include anything you’ve done in the area that is above and beyond the requirements. In the sciences this is, ideally, spent time working on some part of some prof’s research project. Also, do not begin the statement with “Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated by [relevant topic]”. This is way too common, and rarely credible.

EB 11.20.17 at 4:18 pm

In the US, applicants to selective and sometimes less-selective colleges and universities must submit a personal essay, and the goal is to make themselves look unique and desirable along several different dimensions to admissions officers who are not academics. A lot of dissembling and story-telling is involved. These students, in particular, would have a hard time coming up with a personal statement (4 years later) for grad or professional programs that is suitably fact-based and temperate in their self-presentations.

Harry 11.20.17 at 6:13 pm

Yes, that seems exactly right to me. Though, talking to admissions officers, the irony is that many of them (at least think they) see through the dissembling, and would like to read more prosaic and unself-promoting essays.

RJB 11.21.17 at 12:03 am

Here’s advice I’ve written before. It’s for accounting, but it shouldn’t be too hard to generalize. Pasted in full, since I don’t know how long the fasri site will stay up:

As someone who reads a lot of SoP’s, here are the questions I want an applicant to answer, more or less in order:

What is your purpose? What are your career aspirations? What type of research do you want to conduct? What topics and methods are you intending to pursue? What led you to your purpose? Why are you applying to this field? This is a big issue in accounting, as many applicants could well have applied to programs in less lucrative and/or more competitive fields, like economics, psychology, finance or statistics. You need to convince the faculty that you are pursuing your purpose because you are truly interested in the subject material in your chosen field. Research and teaching are simply too much work for anyone to succeed if they aren’t inherently interested. Why will you succeed? The faculty already have your transcript and a CV that lists your accomplishments. This is your chance to pull those facts together into a story that answers the questions that faculty are going to be most concerned about: Do you know enough about accounting (or whatever field you have chosen) to ask interesting questions? Are you smart enough? Can you write? Are you sufficiently well-trained in the fundamentals (math, statistics, psychology, depending on your purpose)? Will you work hard enough? Do you have the emotional makeup to learn and improve from constructive criticism (which you will receive in abundance throughout your career)? But you can’t just write “I am smart and hard working.” Follow the classic writer’s advice: show me, don’t tell me. You’ll be much more persuasive writing “As an undergraduate I regularly took 18-credit terms, still averaging a 3.6 GPA in statistics and calculus” or “During my 3 years at East Coast Investment Bank I learned how misleading accounting reports can be.” Do you know what you are getting into? Many highly-qualified applicants are admitted but fail to thrive because they don’t actually want to do the job they applied for! Being a PhD student or faculty member involves spending a lot of time alone with your computer, reading, writing, trying to find something new to tell people who already know a great deal. You’ll have to put up with constant criticism–and learn from it. Even though you are in accounting, you will spend most of your PhD years studying foundational material that is far removed from the applications that interest you. When you finally conduct research on a topic of your choosing, it will be far narrower and more distant from real-world issues than you are probably expecting. You might address this point in a specific paragraph, but an alternative is to weave in evidence throughout the entire SoP that demonstrates that you know what you are getting into, and you like it. Have you ever conducted research? If you have, you can use that fact to address many of the above questions. Perhaps a research project with a professor led to your interest in accounting. Perhaps the paper provides evidence of hard work and math skills. Perhaps it shows that you know what you are getting into. There is no better way to show that you can succeed at conducting research than to have succeeded at conducting research! You probably need a separate paragraph to describe your research topic, method and conclusions. But place that discussion in the context of one of the above bullet points. What are your weaknesses and how will you address them? Almost no one has a strong answer to every question in the previous bullet points. If you lack a strong math background or work experience, faculty will think more of you if you acknowledge that fact (after all, they already know from your transcript) and propose a plan for dealing with it. This shows both self-awareness and an understanding of what the job requires. Why us? You could pursue your purpose at any number of institutions. Why are you applying to my school? I strongly recommend reading articles posted on SSRN written by faculty at every school you apply to. Here is your opportunity to explain which faculty you are hoping to work with, and why those people and the program are attractive to you. Why you? Doctoral program admission rates are extremely low in accounting and other management fields (under 5%, usually just one or two people per field per year). There are probably other applicants who are similarly qualified. Why should the school admit you? This is your opportunity to explain why you are special. Everyone has some experience or training that will make them more memorable and suggest qualifications above and beyond the usual qualifications. Use yours to stand out from the crowd, and as a means of drawing your SoP to the only possible conclusion–that the school should admit YOU.

A final remark on writing style. Your SoP is also a way to convey that you understand how academics write. Here are some rules successful doctoral students learn quickly:

Don’t tell us a mystery story. If you are writing fiction, keep me in suspense. But if you are writing an academic paper–or a Statement of Purpose. I have to read about 100 SoPs in a typical admissions cycle. Don’t make me wade through any more words than necessary before telling me what I need to know. Don’t tell us “what I did for summer vacation.” This is particularly important for academic research. We want to know the conclusion, how you support it, what you found and why it matters. We don’t want to know the fifteen different ways you tried to solve the problem before you found one that works. Your SoP might deviate from this rule a little bit, because we want to know why you ended up applying to our program. But even for that insight, what we really want to know is why right now, after all you have done and learned, you want to apply to our program. Don’t overclaim. This cardinal rule of academic writing has three components. First, never overstate the facts. Don’t say that you were the best student in your class if you weren’t. Any hint of overclaiming facts is going to raise questions about your academic integrity, and might be grounds for immediate disqualification. Second, don’t overstate the implications of the facts. Being first in your class doesn’t mean you are sure to succeed, so don’t say it does. Third, don’t overstate the value of the facts. I wouldn’t recommend writing that being in first in your class is “extremely impressive”. Many academic writers will advise you never to say that a certain fact is interesting, important, impressive, astounding, crucial, or the like. Instead, just say that the fact implies a certain outcome or conclusion, and let the reader judge whether that is interesting, important and impressive. After all, you wouldn’t have even mentioned it if you didn’t think it was interesting, important and impressive. Saying so explicitly just makes the academic reader want to take issue with you. (This is how we roll.) Just lay out the facts and their direct implications in a way that allows no conclusion other than “wow, that is interesting, important and impressive!”

Eszter 11.21.17 at 3:28 pm

Lots of helpful advice here. I don’t have much to add, but the total cliche from my field on the social aspects of digital media: applicants starting their statements by explaining how thanks to having grown up with technology, x. Of course, 99.8% of our applicants also grew up with technology so this is not particularly unique to them. Plus if they knew related research they would know that that does not automatically make them y so it’s not a particularly helpful angle.

Sam Tobin-Hochstadt 11.21.17 at 7:33 pm

I find the common-among-academics complaint that “we were never trained to do X” always rather surprising. Sure, I wasn’t trained to do some of my job (although I received apprenticeship-style training in many things, including letter-writing and teaching). But this is totally normal in the vast majority of the jobs people have.

I think academics have too strong a sense of “other jobs” as meaning professional jobs that require specific academic curricula, such as law, nursing, etc, rather than the jobs that most people in fact have. How much of a mover’s job is covered in formal training, or a WalMart greeter, or a furnace repairman?

Trout 11.22.17 at 7:34 am

My UK-based impression is that most of the academics I know would do almost anything to avoid any more ‘training’. Too often it’s part and parcel of ever more heavy-handed regulation, of limited practical use, and in some cases, just a sticking plaster for poorly designed procedures and management tools (‘we couldn’t be bothered to figure how to do this efficiently, but the ‘training’ will cover all of this…’). By contrast, a thread like this is genuinely helpful – I’ve never received enough recommendations to form a very clear view of what works well and as I’d like to help my students as best I can, this is indeed a problem.

harry b 11.22.17 at 1:32 pm

Thanks Trout — for what its worth, we have quite a lot of evidence from compulsory education that people welcome and use training when it is embedded in their practice, ongoing, and directly related to their daily activities. My own department has started having a monthly lunchtime meeting, in which we designate someone to learn (or invite someone from outside who knows) about some practical problem that we all, or most of us, face in our instruction, or in our other professional interactions with students. These posts (maybe I’ve done 10-12 over the years) have set the stage for some of those discussions. So maybe ‘training’ isn’t quite the concept I’m looking for. Just informed discussion among professionals who trust each other, in a formal setting. And, ideally, peer observations that are not for evaluative purposes, but for purposes of mutual improvement.

I suppose that’s also a response to Sam. I watched some good teachers (my advisor is a brilliant undergrad teacher, but I can’t really emulate her, I’m too different). But ‘apprenticeship’ suggests something more systematic than I’ve had; and I did quite a bit more teaching as a grad student than many grad students coming out of elite programs do these days.

Compare the systematic attention we give to improving our research capabilities to the systematic attention we give to improving our undergraduate instruction.

But, I agree with Trout, that there is a hell of a lot of bad ‘training’, some of it worse than a waste of time.

Thomas Lumley 11.23.17 at 7:14 am

the main purpose of the personal statement is to convey that you know what you are doing, that you are genuinely interested in the program you’re applying to, and that you are not a complete flake.

That fits my experience in biostatistics. We mostly cared about (a) does this person really have some idea of what biostatistics is, and (b) will they cope with the required math-stat coursework.

On the ‘complete flake’ issue: when I’ve looked at statements by undergraduates with a bad semester or two of grades they often want to explain how it wasn’t really that bad or wasn’t their fault or was because of a good cause. What the admissions committee really cares about is whether (given reasonable accommodations if necessary) it’s likely to keep happening.

Comments on this entry are closed.

Recent Comments

• Eric Schliesser on Going Meta on Culture Wars
• Alex SL on Going Meta on Culture Wars
• Neville Morley on Going Meta on Culture Wars
• nastywoman on Going Meta on Culture Wars
• engels on Going Meta on Culture Wars
• RSS - Posts
• RSS - Comments

Book Events

• Charles Stross / Various
• China Miéville / Iron Council
• Chris Mooney / The Republican War on Science
• Dani Rodrik / One Economics, Many Recipes
• Doug Henwood / After the New Economy
• George Scialabba/What Are Intellectuals Good For?
• Joseph Carens / The Ethics of Immigration
• Levitt & Dubner / Freakonomics
• Sheri Berman / The Primacy of Politics
• Susanna Clarke / Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
• Yochai Benkler / The Wealth of Networks

Contributors

• Belle Waring
• Chris Armstrong
• Chris Bertram
• Eric Schliesser
• Eszter Hargittai
• Gina Schouten
• Harry Brighouse
• Henry Farrell
• Ingrid Robeyns
• John Quiggin
• Kevin Munger
• Macarena Marey
• Maria Farrell
• Miriam Ronzoni
• Serene Khader
• Speranta Dumitru
• Banner courtesy of David Krewinghaus
• Comments Policy

Lumber Room

• 3 Quarks Daily
• Balkinization
• Best of Both Worlds
• Blood and Treasure
• Brad DeLong
• Cosma Shalizi
• Daniel Drezner
• Digressions and Impressions
• Edge of the American West
• Joshua Marshall
• Lawrence Solum
• Lawyers, Guns and Money
• Making Light
• Marginal Revolution
• Mark Kleiman
• Maud Newton
• Michael Froomkin
• Miriam Burstein
• Naked Capitalism
• Political Theory Daily Review
• Russell Arben Fox
• Slugger O’Toole
• Sociological Images
• Steven Johnson
• Suburban Guerilla
• The New Inquiry
• Timothy Burke
• Washington Monthly
• Astra Taylor
• Brian Weatherson
• Corey Robin
• Daniel Davies
• Eric Rauchway
• Kieran Healy
• Micah Schwartzman
• Michael Bérubé
• Montagu Norman
• Niamh Hardiman
• Rich Yeselson
• Scott McLemee
• Tedra Osell
• Tom Runnacles
• Entries feed
• Comments feed
• WordPress.org

Recent Posts

• Going Meta on Culture Wars
• Sunday photoblogging: crossroads
• Online talks
• Expertise and naval power
• Wenar on why you shouldn’t try to help poor people

International Schools in Moscow - List with Reviews

Quick Links:  British Schools in Moscow ( 12 )   |   American Schools in Moscow ( 1 )   |   IB Schools in Moscow ( 2 )   |   All Schools in Moscow ( 23 )

Read about the different types of international school if you aren't sure what the difference is.

Don't miss our report on the Best Schools in Moscow

Cambridge International School, Skolkovo Campus 

Cambridge International School (CIS) Moscow was established in 2009 and soon became one of the leading international schools in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Its principal aim continues to be the provision of an excellent education based on the Cambridge International Curric... Read More

• Read More..

The International School of Moscow, Rosinka 

The International School of Moscow (ISM) Rosinka offers a contemporary English international education to students aged from 2 to 11. Established in 2007, the School has a student body of over 1000 and boasts more than 60 nationalities. ISM Rosinka welcomes students aged 2-11. ... Read More

Hinkson Christian Academy 

Hinkson Christian Academy (HCA) is an English language elementary and secondary school located in Moscow, Russia. For over 20 years, Hinkson has served the needs of expat and local families who desire their children to receive a quality English-language education that is informed b... Read More

Britannia School 

Britannia School Moscow is a traditional British Nursery and Primary school that teaches students from the age of 1,5 years old to 7 years old. We follow the British Early Years Foundation stage (EYFS) and the English national curriculum. All lessons at Britannia School are taught... Read More

Embassy of India School 

Embassy of India School (KV) Moscow is a vibrant educational institution in Moscow catering to the educational needs of the wards of the Embassy of India personnel and community of Indian origin. The main objective of the School is to impart quality education of an international st... Read More

English International School Moscow 

English International School Moscow offers a warm and welcoming setting, in which students can develop a love of learning and parents are an integral part of our school community. We encourage regular communication with parents as we believe that working in partnership is the key t... Read More

The Finnish School in Moscow 

The Finnish School in Moscow is an official Finnish foreign school that provides education for Finnish-speaking children living in Moscow. The school is a private school governed by the Finnish Basic Education Act, maintained by the Finnish Educational Association. The school offe... Read More

English Nursery and Primary School 

English Nursery and Primary School (ENS) is a family of 5 schools in Moscow and the Moscow region, aimed specifically at the needs of children from 2 to 12 years of age. ENS has 17 years of experience in childhood development and education, basing their specialised provision on th... Read More

The International School of Moscow, Krylatskoe Campus 

The International School of Moscow (ISM) is a leading international school in the region, with a strong academic track record. ISM welcomes students aged 2-18 and offers unique Secondary and Sixth Form opportunities due to the large international student body and a wide variety ... Read More

International School of Tomorrow 

International School of Tomorrow Moscow was started in 1992 to cater to the academic needs of the diplomatic community. Today the School offers its services to both Russian and International students providing the best university-bound education. From the very beginning the School ... Read More

British International School Moscow 

At the British International School Moscow (BIS), we welcome and educate students from around the world. We help facilitate new families settling into Moscow and are aware that parents who relocate need to be reassured that their children are educated and develop in a safe and secu... Read More

Deutsche Schule Moskau 

Deutsche Schule Moskau (DSM) , is the school of the German Embassy in Moscow and one of 140 German schools abroad. DSM is aware of its guest role in Russia. The teaching of the common history of the two countries is a subject of learning at school. We promote contact and exchange ... Read More

Moscow Economic School 

Moscow Economic School (MES) , is a private, non-governmental, IB World School. Founded as a result of democratic changes in our country, MES was the first and has grown into one of the largest private, non-governmental schools in Russia. Today, we have 600 students, boys and girls ... Read More

Heritage International School 

Heritage International School offers a supportive international environment and world-class education and care for children from 2 years old in Moscow. The education is based on the British curriculum with lessons conducted in English by highly qualified international teachers. ... Read More

Scuola Italiana Italo Calvino 

Scuola Italiana Italo Calvino was Founded in 1973 for Italians living in Moscow and today the school is also open for children of other nationalities who want to join one of the richest European cultures. One of the priority tasks of the school is to disseminate the Italian langu... Read More

Brookes Moscow International IB School 

Brookes Moscow International School is a member of the Brookes Education Group (BEG), a global family of IB schools with seven campuses around the world, including major ones in Cambridge (founded in 1982), Vancouver and Seoul. The 800-pupil capacity Brookes Moscow site welcom... Read More

The English School of Science and Technology 

International English School of Science & Technology (ESS)  is a co-educational independent school that offers students from diverse backgrounds the best of English national education. The school is firmly based on the academic standards found in a typical, high-quality British ind... Read More

Russian International School 

Russian International School (RIS) is an international school which is dedicated to educating children from 2 to 18 years old. RIS implements the highest standards of International and Russian education, which provides exceptional academic success to students at all levels.  T... Read More

Cambridge International School, Moscow Campus 

Cambridge International School (CIS) was established in 2009 and soon became one of the leading international schools in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Its principal aim continues to be the provision of an excellent education based on the Cambridge International Curriculum wh... Read More

Lycée Français de Moscou – Alexandre Dumas 

Lycée Français Alexandre Dumas de Moscou (LFM) was established in direct management of the AEFE (agency for French education abroad). The LFM guarantees the implementation of school programs and learning methods of the French education system. LFM is a place of training, culture... Read More

Anglo-American School of Moscow 

The Anglo-American School of Moscow (AAS) is currently closed. Read More

The Swedish School in Moscow 

The Swedish School in Moscow is a Swedish school open to children aged from 2 to 16 years of age who have links to Scandinavia. We are located amidst gardens, not far from Leninskij Prospekt in southwest Moscow. The school follows the Swedish curriculum and instruction is give... Read More

Cambridge International School, Gorki Campus 

• Applying to Uni
• Apprenticeships
• Health & Relationships
• Money & Finance

Personal Statements

• Postgraduate
• U.S Universities

University Interviews

• Vocational Qualifications
• Accommodation
• ​​​​​​​Budgeting, Money & Finance
• ​​​​​​​Health & Relationships
• ​​​​​​​Jobs & Careers
• ​​​​​​​Socialising

Studying Abroad

• ​​​​​​​Studying & Revision
• ​​​​​​​Technology
• ​​​​​​​University & College Admissions

Guide to GCSE Results Day

Finding a job after school or college

Retaking GCSEs

In this section

Choosing GCSE Subjects

Post-GCSE Options

GCSE Work Experience

GCSE Revision Tips

Why take an Apprenticeship?

Applying for an Apprenticeship

Apprenticeships Interviews

Apprenticeship Wage

Engineering Apprenticeships

What is an Apprenticeship?

Choosing an Apprenticeship

Real Life Apprentices

Degree Apprenticeships

Higher Apprenticeships

A Level Results Day 2024

AS Levels 2024

Clearing Guide 2024

Applying to University

SQA Results Day Guide 2024

BTEC Results Day Guide

Vocational Qualifications Guide

Sixth Form or College

International Baccalaureate

Post 18 options

Finding a Job

Should I take a Gap Year?

Travel Planning

Volunteering

Gap Year Guide

Gap Year Blogs

Applying to Oxbridge

Applying to US Universities

Choosing a Degree

Choosing a University or College

Personal Statement Editing and Review Service

Guide to Freshers' Week

Student Guides

Student Cooking

Student Blogs

Top Rated Personal Statements

Personal Statement Examples

Writing Your Personal Statement

Postgraduate Personal Statements

International Student Personal Statements

Gap Year Personal Statements

Personal Statement Length Checker

Personal Statement Examples By University

Personal Statement Changes 2025

Personal Statement Template

Job Interviews

Types of Postgraduate Course

Writing a Postgraduate Personal Statement

Postgraduate Funding

Postgraduate Study

Internships

Choosing A College

Ivy League Universities

Common App Essay Examples

Universal College Application Guide

How To Write A College Admissions Essay

College Rankings

Admissions Tests

Fees & Funding

Scholarships

Budgeting For College

Online Degree

Platinum Express Editing and Review Service

Gold Editing and Review Service

Silver Express Editing and Review Service

UCAS Personal Statement Editing and Review Service

Oxbridge Personal Statement Editing and Review Service

Postgraduate Personal Statement Editing and Review Service

You are here

Teacher training personal statement example (primary pgce) 1.

I have chosen to apply for a primary teaching degree because I enjoy working with children. I have a strong interest in teaching and the learning process of children. This is been confirmed by my work experience report. Which states that, I get on well with the children and am shown respect from them. My aim is to provide a sound foundation where children can learn and build upon throughout their lives.

I have participated in a few work experience placements. I have been doing this for as long as I can remember.

It started when I was still at school and used to help out in my local playschool in the holidays. I would sit and read to the children who were aged 2-4. I would help them paint; learn their A, b, c's and their 1, 2, 3's. When I was older I helped in a summer school activity week at a local church. I was involved in the performances they put on every morning.

This would get the children involved and excited for what was going to happen throughout the day. They would sing and dance. I would teach them actions to the words so they could understand what they meant. This activity week ranged from ages 5-11. I worked with a variety of these ages.

I also helped out at my old primary school, for my work experience week. Here I took the register, told the children what the agenda was through out the day and made sure everyone was happy. I was placed in a separate room with a handful of children to listen to them read. Gave the children confidence in what they were doing, by telling them 'that's good', 'very well read' etc - this grew their confidence as well as mine.

At the end of the week the children put on a play about the Indian life style. To do this they had to create creatures out of paper Mache. Some of the children took to this very well whereas others got distracted with the glue and paper. They would mess about and throw them at each other.

It was my place to tell them what they were doing was wrong. This gave me confidence because I knew that they had to listen to me. Some of them did listen to me however some of them did not. I knew that this was a skill that I needed to work on.

One of the children during my week tried to escape from the school. I had to calm her down. I sat with her and she told me why she was not happy. This showed me a different side of what being a teacher is really like. It was a lot more in-depth than I had imagined but I enjoyed it. It was nice to have that bond with the students.

This particular experience, allowed me to gain a number of skills and also encourage my weaker skills to improve. It has always been known to me that I am very good listener, which is a skill needed, as is being able to speak in public. I found that my communication ability improved as I got to know students which encouraged my confidence to improve.

I left school with 8 GCSE's. These included: English language and English Literature. Maths, Drama, French, Religious studies, and Health and Social care.

I was a senior prefect at school, which gave me quite a lot of responsibility. We would regularly have meetings about the school and discuss different matters that were going on in the school. It was my personal responsibility to keep the dinner queue in order. Each year had its own time to line up and students would regularly try to push in, it was my responsibility to not let this happen.

I was also a form friend where I worked closely with a year seven tutor group. I would make sure they had done all their homework and were enjoying being a secondary school student.

I am currently at Bridgwater College, where I am studying: A2 Sociology, A2 English Language and A2 Drama. I am also studying GCSE Science as it is one of my weaker stills and I know I need this to get into a teaching degree course.

I am student ambassador at Bridgwater. I represent the college in a number of ways. I help out on a lot of open and interview days. I show new students around the college and give them an incite of what college life is really like.

I represent the college in and out of college time. I have attended a number of schools, and spoken to up coming college students about the college. Being an ambassador takes up a lot of time, and dedication.

I believe for these reasons I would be a good primary school teacher because I am used to the responsibility, and have gained some very important skills along the way.

Profile info

This personal statement was written by kayleigh-may for application in 2000.

This personal statement is unrated

Related Personal Statements

Add new comment.