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Writing a pgce personal statement.

If you’re applying to train as a teacher you’ll be required to write a personal statement as part of your application.

Take your time writing your personal statement. It’s your first chance to make a good impression so it's well worth investing time to develop a clear structure and style of writing.

It’s a good idea to proofread your statement thoroughly and get others to read through and check for typos, grammatical errors, style, and tone.

What's the personal statement for? 

The personal statement is crucial to your PGCE application; it is used primarily to decide whether to invite you for an interview. A poorly written personal statement could end your teaching career before it has started!

This is your chance to demonstrate what you have to offer as a teacher. You should also explain why you want to teach a particular subject or age range, and how your skills and experience will help you become a great teacher. It’s your chance to show your motivation, commitment and teaching potential and an opportunity to show your enthusiasm for teaching a particular subject or age group.

Remember, you only get one opportunity to write a personal statement for both cycles of applications, so it’s important to keep in mind that you should avoid creating tailored personal statements for each university.

How to write and structure your personal statement

The personal statement is split into two sections totalling a maximum of 1,000 words. It’s important to make sure you do not repeat yourself and to take time to ensure that each section is organised coherently. Divide your writing into paragraphs, each dealing with a particular aspect of the question.

Section 1: Why do you want to teach?

(Up to 600 words).

This is the place to talk about why you think you would make a great teacher. You can include:  

• what has led you to choose teacher training
• your understanding of the demands and rewards of the PGCE course and of the teaching profession
• the personal qualities that will make you a valuable asset to a school
• details of any paid or unpaid experience you have of working with young people and what you learnt
• details of any other experiences which you can bring to the teaching profession. Think about any ‘transferable skills’ or qualities which you have developed which may be relevant to teaching.
• If you are a career-changer, what have you been doing and what are your reasons for the switch to teaching?
• your thoughts on children’s wellbeing and the education system

Your personal statement should tell us why you want to teach, your skills and about any experience you might have of working with young people or in the education sector. If you are taking any exams or additional study before starting the course, particularly if this relates to your eligibility to join the course, we want to hear about it.

It should also show that you understand the education system, what challenges teachers face and that you’re engaged with issues around education.

If you’ve not taught before, think about any other things you’ve done that might demonstrate the skills you’ll need to be a teacher (your transferable skills).

Although it’s a good place to expand on your skills and experience, this shouldn’t be the main focus of your personal statement as the rest of the application will showcase this.

Section 2: Why are you suited to teach your subjects or age group?

Up to 400 words.

Remember to not repeat anything you have already said in section 1!

If you’re writing a personal statement for secondary teacher training, use this section to describe your knowledge and experience of the subjects you’ve chosen. Any work experience in the field will be of interest.

What universities are looking for

Universities want to see your passion for teaching and understand why you think teaching this subject or age group is the right career for you.

Your personal statement should be original and honest. Try and avoid clichés or writing what you think we want to hear. All we really want to hear are the real reasons you’re applying to study a PGCE and become a teacher.

If you’re writing a personal statement for primary teacher training, say why you’d like to teach this age group. If you are particularly interested in certain primary subjects or have relevant experience in them, you can talk about that here too.  

You could talk about:

• any relevant work or unpaid experience
• your degree and degree modules
• your other relevant qualifications, such as A levels
• any relevant skills, interests or achievements
• your understanding of the national curriculum

Questions your personal statement should answer

• Why do you want to be a teacher? 
• Why do you want to teach a particular subject, Key Stage or age group? 
• What are your strengths? 
• What experience do you have and how has this influenced your desire to teach? 
• What skills do you have that would be useful for teaching

The finer details

Your personal statement should be:

• no more than 1000 words
• written in the first-person 
• grammatically correct - we suggest writing in a document before adding to your application
• your own work, don’t copy from anywhere online 
• structured correctly with a clear introduction, evidenced paragraphs and a conclusion 
• proof-read before being submitted

And finally, be prepared to answer questions about what you’ve written in your personal statement at the interview stage!

Find out more about how to get into teaching .  

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What to Include in Your PGCE Personal Statement

How your pgce personal statement should be structured, example personal statement, final thoughts, pgce personal statement.

Updated November 24, 2021

A PGCE personal statement is written as part of the application process for teacher training and gives candidates an opportunity to showcase their skills and attributes.

PGCE candidates will only write one personal statement, which is used to apply for all of their preferred choices. Students upload their personal statement to the UCAS Teacher Training system, and it is submitted for all choices in both phases of the application process (‘Apply 1’ and ‘Apply 2’). No changes can be made once it is submitted.

The personal statement is often used as the deciding factor for choosing whom to invite to interview . This piece of writing should explain the experience you have and how this translates into your abilities in the classroom.

It should also present what you might be like as a teacher – how will your personality and interests help engage students and get them enthused about the subject?

A lot is riding on your personal statement and writing it can be a daunting task. This guide will outline what your PGCE personal statement should contain and how to structure it for the best chance of success.

The admissions team will want to know about the skills, experience and personal qualities you have that would make you perfect for a teaching career. They need to see you have the dedication and passion to complete your PGCE and have a successful future.

Simply saying, “I would be good at this role and am well suited to it” isn’t enough. The PGCE provider needs to read real examples that demonstrate your skills and abilities and meet their requirements.

Here are some details you may want to include in your personal statement:

1. About You

A teacher’s personality and personal experience will be highly influential, therefore your own experiences are relevant to your application.

Before you start writing, it’s a good idea to spend a few minutes jotting down some key facts that are relevant to teaching. These might include:

• Your interests
• Qualifications/achievements
• What motivates you
• Your upbringing
• Relevant skills

Remember to include examples in your list. Coaching a sports team in your spare time suggests you are experienced in motivating young people and getting the best out of them. Maybe you play an instrument and use music in class. Including qualities like these will make your application stand out.

2. Why You Want to Teach

A key element of your application is explaining why you have chosen teaching as your future career. Show an awareness of how teachers can inspire individuals and also the benefits you might see in yourself.

Try to broaden your answer further than simply saying you are passionate about teaching or children. Every applicant will say they are passionate.

Give details of experiences that moved you towards this career or, perhaps, even the moment you realised this was what you were born to do. By using genuine examples, your passion and excitement will shine through.

3. Why You Are the Best Candidate

Try not to pull out a cliché like “I am passionate, dedicated and reliable” – make your application stand out by using a paragraph that the provider won’t see in any other application that day.

Think about what makes you different from any other candidate. Other applicants may say they can take charge of a class and have experience dealing with challenging children, but will they sing an entire lesson just to get the pupils to engage with them, like you did in your work experience? Or will they bring in a structure made out of Lego to demonstrate osmosis, like you did on your degree placement? Think of what makes you, you.

4. Why a PGCE?

Include details of why you have chosen to go down the route of a PGCE rather than doing a full teaching degree. Perhaps you dipped your toe into teaching while travelling after your degree and realised how much you love it, or maybe you are passionate about biology and wanted to decide at a later date whether to go into teaching or industry.

Show that you have done your research and understand the structure of the PGCE and what will be required.

5. Teaching-Related Experience

Include details of any experience you have gained working in schools or with children in another environment. This might include:

• Work experience
• Visits to schools
• Teaching assistant roles
• Voluntary teaching/supervision roles (like helping out at a scout hut, etc.)
• Experience via the Get School Experience service
• Classroom observations

With every experience you discuss, note the skills you gained and how they will benefit you as a teacher and how they have improved your understanding of the education system.

6. Other Professional Experience

Teaching demands a range of different skills – it’s not simply a case of delivering information.

Talk about past positions you have held:

• Did you manage people?
• Did you work within a team?
• Did you negotiate?
• Have you trained or coached others?
• When have you communicated information to different audiences?

The skills you have gained throughout your education, work and personal life can be highly relevant to your application. Be sure to include details of why these skills will make you excel as a teacher.

7. What You Learnt During Your Degree

Whether your degree was in the subject you intend to teach or not, it’s important to talk about the skills you developed throughout your learning and how they will benefit you as a teacher.

If you’re struggling to find transferable skills , here are some ideas:

• Think about how you communicated (presentations, critiquing the work of your peers, etc.)
• Give examples of how you organised yourself
• Describe times you helped others with their learning

Remember to talk about the benefits your initial degree will bring when studying for your PGCE and how your interest in it has inspired your desire to teach.

8. Your Knowledge of What Training to Be/Being a Teacher Entails

It’s important to stress your commitment to your training. To do this, you should demonstrate that you have done your research and are fully aware of what is to come.

Although teaching is a highly rewarding career, no one applying for teacher training will do so without being aware of the challenging nature of the profession.

There is no need to ignore these challenges in your application; actually, it will work in your favour if you show that you have thought about these challenges and are sufficiently prepared.

Talk about the positives and negatives that you expect to experience in your training and within your career, and how your core strengths will help you deal with them.

9. Your Future Plans

Discuss your plans beyond the PGCE:

• Do you have the ambition to be a headteacher?
• Do you plan to take on pastoral responsibilities?

Show a keenness to immerse yourself in the school system and be open to opportunities that come your way.

10. Extenuating Circumstances 

Your personal statement is the place to openly discuss any extenuating circumstances, such as low grades or large gaps in employment/education. Make sure you show how you have overcome these challenges and what you learnt from them.

Write your personal statement in Word (or equivalent) and make sure you are happy with it before copying and pasting it into your application on the UCAS system.

You need to keep your personal statement to no more than 4,000 characters across a maximum of 47 lines of text . The UCAS Teacher Training system may differ slightly to your word processor, so be prepared to amend slightly once you have copied it into the UCAS page.

To keep to the character limit and cover all the suggested material above, you will need to be succinct. Make sure you only talk about topics that are relevant and delete any waffle.

Your opening statement should be strong and memorable – a good idea is to state why you have decided to get into teaching. Back up all details with examples and be sure to say what you learned from the experience or how you can bring the skills you developed into the classroom.

Split your statement into three sections:

• Introduction – Introduce yourself and talk about why you want to do a PGCE
• Middle – Use the notes above to cover the key details
• Conclusion – Tell the reader why you are the best person for the place they are offering

Avoid using bold, underlining or italics, and write in English (or Welsh if applying for Welsh PGCEs). The UCAS system will strip all special formatting out of the personal statement (except paragraph breaks) so ensure you keep it simple.

When you are happy with the content, make sure you ask someone to check your work . Spelling and grammar in personal statements should be accurate. Make sure you have not copied anyone else’s work at all – UCAS screens all applications for plagiarism.

Below is an example personal statement which covers all of the key points you should include in this piece of writing:

A teacher at my secondary school single-handedly transformed my passion and ability for maths; I was predicted an ‘F’ at GCSE and in a matter of months, she helped me achieve a ‘B’ and start to enjoy the subject. I can’t think of a more satisfying job than one in which you can inspire young people in the way my teacher inspired me. After achieving a ‘B’ in maths at A-Level, I went on to study the subject at University College London and graduated in 2018 with a 2.1. It was in the final year of my degree that I had my first taste of teaching the subject, as several of the modules involved presenting topics to large groups of first-year students. I was thrilled when students asked to see me afterwards to share their observations of what I had been discussing – it was clear my enthusiasm had rubbed off on them and they were excited by maths, which is exactly why I want to teach. I currently work as a teaching assistant at St Andrew’s School, where I have been for six months. This position has given me a great insight into the skills needed to be a fantastic teacher; the school has several SEN pupils and I have been exposed to the more challenging side of the profession. Being trusted to run activities with the entire class has helped me build confidence and learn how important it is to adapt lesson plans to engage students who have different abilities. I have gained valuable skills in implementing strategies such as gentle competitiveness between pupils, and tactical seating plans to get the best out of each student. Before working at St Andrew’s, I completed a work experience placement at Bell Lane Academy where I shadowed teachers working across the five different year groups. This experience helped hone my skills in addressing different age groups in different ways. My ability to get the best out of students is further strengthened by the experience I am currently gaining in the position of assistant coach at my local netball team. Having worked with the girls for the last 18 months, I have developed different ways of motivating individuals, helping push them outside of their comfort zones and encouraging them to take on new challenges. In my spare time, I enjoy playing netball and rugby and would be keen to take on extra responsibilities at a school in the form of after school clubs or teams. I also have a keen interest in management styles and personality types. The knowledge I gain from books on these topics helps me understand pupils and their differing learning styles – what works for them and what doesn’t. It also helps me look inwardly, analysing my own leadership style and methods of teaching. I have chosen to do a PGCE because I am passionate about maths, and I wanted to spend three years of a degree course exploring the subject further, rather than embarking on teacher training straight from school. My degree course has helped me with my confidence and my ability to speak in front of large groups of people. Teaching first-year students during my degree course helped me think about how to deliver the subject in an exciting and creative way. The experience I have had so far has clearly shown that teaching is an extremely challenging profession, but one which I believe is undeniably my calling in life. I adore maths and I want to bring the subject alive, helping children learn in an exciting, rewarding environment. A few weeks ago, I took it upon myself to ask the headteacher for permission to get the whole year group involved in a human percentages exercise – the children loved it. I believe I should be offered a place on your PGCE programme because I can commit to dedicating myself to a role in which I will strive to inspire and excite every pupil I teach.

The personal statement is your one opportunity to capture the attention of the PGCE provider and set yourself apart from other candidates. Teaching is about bringing your personality into the classroom and inspiring students, so avoid a formulaic application and speak from the heart, giving a full picture of who you are.

Your answers should convey enthusiasm for inspiring young people, a passion for teaching, creativity, excellent organisational skills and energy.

Demonstrate an awareness of this challenging profession but conclude with excitement and enthusiasm for your chosen career path.

You might also be interested in these other Wikijob articles:

Or explore the Postgraduate / Further Study sections.

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How to write a PGCE personal statement

29 th September 2021

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Advice on how to write a PGCE personal statement that shows you’d make a great addition to a teacher training course.

What is a teacher training personal statement?

What to write, pgce personal statement tips.

When applying for a PGCE or postgraduate teacher training, you’ll probably have to write a personal statement. This is your chance to say why you’d make a great teacher by highlighting your relevant experiences and passion for teaching.

If you’re applying directly to a university or school, you should tailor your statement precisely to the course you’re applying for.

If you’re applying through UCAS Teacher Training, you can send your application to more than one university. Therefore, your statement should be more generic so that it applies to each one you’re applying to.

In both cases, make sure that your personal statement reflects the nature of the course or courses you’re applying for. Think about, for example, is it school- or university-based training? What age of students will you be teaching? Will you be specialising in a particular subject?

Before you start writing, look at any information you can find about the course and what you must do to apply. Has the university provided any guidance or topics of what you need to cover?

If not, can you speak to one of the course tutors to discuss what they might want to see in your statement? Or can you talk to a current PGCE student and ask what they wrote in theirs?

When you have a good idea of what admissions tutors will be looking for, create a mind map or list:

• Your relevant academic and practical experiences
• Areas of the course that you’re most interested in
• Anything else the university wants you to include

When structuring your statement, you can use your mind map or list to plan what information to put where.

Your structure can look something like:

• Introduction – about yourself and why you want to do the PGCE
• Middle paragraphs – relevant information of your academic achievements and experiences of working within education
• Concluding paragraph – tying up the main points of why you’re the best candidate for the course

If you’re applying directly to the university, check what the word limit for your personal statement is.

If you’re submitting to UCAS Teacher Training, your personal statement can be up to 47 lines of text or 4,000 characters.

Expanding on your mind map or list from before, think in more depth about why you want to teach.

• What qualities do you have that would make you good at teaching?
• What do you think are the challenges and benefits of being a teacher?
• Why have you chosen this particular age group and/or subject?
• What have you learned from your previous experiences in education?
• Will you be completing any extra exams or relevant experiences before the course starts?

If you studied education at undergraduate level, your course was probably focused on the theoretical side of the subject. Your PGCE course, however, will be about applying those theories to real-life situations in schools. Your personal statement should reflect your understanding of this.

If you haven’t taught before, what other activities or events in your life suggest that you would make a good teacher? Have you worked with children in different environments?

Admissions tutors don’t just want to see why you think your experiences make you a good teacher. Instead, they want to know that you’re aware of the importance of teaching and the demands that come with it.

• Why is it important to reflect on your abilities as a teaching practitioner?
• How will you work on your own development to become a great teacher?
• What interests you about the education system and its challenges?
• Do you have any thoughts are on child welfare and social justice?

When writing, make sure to use evidence and examples to back up your points. Through your tone of voice, try to show that you are positive and passionate about the work.

To see more information on how to style your personal statement, see our postgraduate statements guide.

• Ask someone you know to check it through. Even better if you can get feedback from a teacher
• See if you can speak to other students applying for a PGCE to share thoughts and ideas of what to write
• Similarly, reach out to PGCE staff at your university – or a teacher you know – they have experience that might be valuable to you!
• Any time you can spend in a school will be a valuable addition to your application. If you haven’t already, see if you can arrange to volunteer with one locally
• If you’re invited to an interview, you’ll be asked about what you’ve written on your statement, so be prepared to talk about it in more detail

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PGCE Personal Statement Example

Are you applying to PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) Primary or Secondary? Start your application by writing a PGCE personal statement with our example as a guide.

Personal Statement Example for PGCE Secondary

My twenty-year teaching career has given me extensive skills in training and management, as well as working directly with children. As a result of these roles, I have been able to observe how my experience within teaching has impacted my ability to assess and report on a variety of issues. Moreover, I have regularly studied and completed professional training to be able to provide feedback, allowing me to provide successful mentoring and assessment.

Studying for a degree in Early Years Education offered me a chance to develop analytical skills by translating teaching experience into academic qualifications. In academic studies, the evidence must be gathered, analyzed, and interpreted, and findings must be documented consistently. My experience gathered evidence through essay writing and project work, whether consulting previous studies or conducting my own. Being consistently recognized for my outstanding performance demonstrates that I am an expert in this field.

As a supervisor, manager, chairperson and governor, I gained experience in gathering, analyzing and interpreting evidence within an academic context. Reporting on findings at committee meetings or in writing has been part of each of these roles.

Through my previous role in preschool management, I demonstrated my dedication to facilitating learning through training and supervision, which required an understanding of the impact of decisions at the management level on the quality of education. Educational planning has to be considered alongside practical concerns, such as budget restrictions when using the Early Years Educational Framework. It took organisational and diplomatic skills to implement this framework by managing an existing team. My commitment to training and development allowed me to acquire the skills necessary for this; while a fair, reasonable approach to feedback allowed me to instil the same in my colleagues. Through this approach to constructive feedback, I was also able to provide structured guidance to students visiting from local colleges.

Additionally, I recruited and trained staff, controlled budgets, and established strong relationships between colleagues and parents. The ultimate responsibility for key decisions lay with me, even though my role as chair of the committee involved considering and meditating disparate viewpoints. By accepting this responsibility, I demonstrated my ability to weigh up the evidence to reach balanced judgements, which have always benefited the children.

My experience has taught me that communication skills are essential in any management position. Besides academic writing, I have been responsible for producing a variety of documents, including staff and pupil records, training materials, and fundraising materials. I have also been instrumental in producing a monthly 35-page parish magazine, requiring an eye for detail and a strong grasp of word processing and publishing IT packages, as well as the ability to respond to the concerns of contributors and advertisers.

I have developed my verbal critical feedback skills via staff management and training, and my work on mainly located has given me a priceless opportunity to mediate and lead the conversation, defending, interpreting, and adjusting my opinion as needed.

I have consistently maintained a high degree of professionalism. I’ve continued to be passionate about learning new things and expanding my experience so that I can properly perform each function. I have expertise with and have adapted to the appropriate frameworks for each educational institution I have worked in, both in the classroom and in simpler elements, including health and safety laws.

Due to my experience working in early childhood education in both the UK and Australia, I have also demonstrated my ability to quickly and efficiently adjust to foreign environments while maintaining the same high quality of care. I have worked to establish solid, professional connections with all stakeholders in addition to my practical understanding of each function, and I have proven to be an asset as a committee member and in supervisory responsibilities.

Although it has been evident in my managerial and administrative duties, my enthusiastic and thoughtful commitment to delivering a top-notch education for every kid has also sparked energy inside the educational setting. My dedication to equality, diversity, and excellence in education—as well as the many challenges that these values present—has been inspired by my work with children of all ages and my extensive experience working with children with special educational needs, such as autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and visual and hearing impairments.

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Writing a personal statement for a PGCE

How To Write a PGCE Personal Statement

Your personal statement is crucial to the success of your application and must be well written, concise, well-structured. It must also clearly demonstrate your reasons for choosing teaching and your commitment and suitability for this career in only 47 lines!

Before applying, do your research. Find out what being a teacher is really like. Get experience in a school, talk to teachers and read careers information.

General Tips:

• Compose your statement in Word and cut and paste it into your online application. This will allow you to ensure it fits, that you have used spell check and have proofread it to ensure its word perfect. Personal statements with a poor level of written English will be rejected.
• Use Verdana 12 as this is the size and font used by UCAS.
• Ensure it has a good structure with an introduction, a middle and a conclusion.
• Get someone to check your final draft who is knowledgeable in this area and whose judgement you trust.
• Research the Training Provider you are applying for. Which skills/experience/qualifications do they expect?

Your Personal Statement should:

• be persuasive
• be fluent, realistic, relevant and specific
• mention young people- it is about enabling them to learn rather than why you want to teach
• overuse of short sentences all beginning with ‘I’
• general statements and narrative
• I feel/think/believe – instead, use positive action words e.g. planned/managed/implemented/organised
• making a statement without having evidence to back it up

Sections in your Personal Statement:

• Introduction- why teaching and why you?
• The relevance of your work experience
• What subject you want to teach and why?
• Additional factors
• Concluding paragraph

1.Introduction

Why teaching?

• What is your motivation? What has influenced your decision to teach? Avoid ‘I have always wanted to teach’ or ‘I believe teaching is worthwhile’ or ‘I like children’.
• Concentrate on what influenced your decision to teach, how the idea has developed and what can you offer in terms of personal skills and attributes.
• Have certain people influenced you? Why? How?
• Show your desire to work with young people and refer to evidence.

Make a list of skills and qualities that you have that can be linked to all the key skills that make an effective teacher and how you can demonstrate this with examples:

• Organisation
• Communication
• Energy & enthusiasm
• Responsibility
• Love of subject
• Team player

2.Relevant Experience

School-based experience:

• Where? Try to avoid visiting the school you attended as a pupil
• How long for? One day is probably not enough time to see what it means to be a teacher, you need enough time to gain a good understanding of teaching and schools.
• What did you do? Did you observe lessons, work as a TA, attend meetings/training/ research curriculum/teaching and learning/had a focus on EAL or SEND pupils?
• What Key Stages did you experience? Make sure it is relevant to the specific PGCE course you are applying for.
• What techniques did you observe? Effective and not effective and why?
• Lesson-planning
• Classroom organisation
• Classroom management
• Inclusion/ diversity issues e.g. English as an additional language (EAL); special educational needs (SEND); disadvantaged pupils and gifted and talented pupils.

Always say what you have done and how it demonstrates the skills required as a teacher. For example, ‘reading with a group of pupils showed me that…’ or ‘working with a low ability group allowed me to…’

Other work with young people (paid/unpaid): 

• Youth groups
• After school groups
• Summer camps

What if you don’t have any relevant experience?

Highlight the other experiences you have engaged in and use these to demonstrate your understanding of teaching and schools.

3. What subject you want to teach and why?

• For Secondary, you need to show that you are passionate about your subject area and passing on that enthusiasm to young people.
• Link to relevant work experience, what have you observed and match your skills to this.
• Refer to any research you have done regarding your subject and also the curriculum/ examinations you would be required to teach at that Key Stage
• Link your qualifications and wider reading to your subject knowledge, if your qualifications are not relevant you need to show how you are going to develop your subject knowledge in order to teach the subject.
• State why you have applied to this particular type of PGCE course e.g. school-based/ flexibility/ reputation.

4. Additional Factors

• Hobbies linked to the profession/ skill set e.g. value-added skills such as sport, music, language etc.
• Additional courses you have completed/ completing e.g. ICT, subject knowledge enhancement course etc.
• Further experiences planned for the future prior to commencing a PGCE course.

5. Concluding Paragraph

• State your commitment to the course, acknowledge that teaching requires dedication, stamina, time management, being pro-active
• Reinforce your reasons for being committed to teaching
• Demonstrate awareness of the physical and mental demands of the course and the profession
• Career plan – what is your goal for your teaching career?

A teacher’s must-have qualities:

• Interpersonal skills
• Ability to think of their feet
• Good time-management

Background Reading

www.ucas.com/ucas/teacher-training 

Times Educational Supplement ( www.tes.com )

www.theguardian.com/education

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Teacher Training Personal Statement Examples

What is a teacher training personal statement?

The teacher training personal statement is your opportunity to let training providers know about your qualities, skills and expertise, and why you want to teach.

While your application form briefly outlines your qualifications, skills and work experience, your teaching personal statement is where your personality shines through.

Take your time with it, be prepared to receive constructive feedback and write a few drafts before you send it off.

How do I write a good teacher training personal statement?

To help you write a successful teacher training personal statement, we recommend you include:

• use examples to back everything up, based on your teaching experience so far
• tailor your personal statement according to the age group you wish to teach
• write using concise English, using first person terms such as 'my' and 'I'
• be original and honest - don't embellish the truth or lie outright
• avoid clichés and general statements, such as 'since a young age' or 'I've always wanted to be a teacher'
• demonstrate your passion and enthusiasm for teaching.

You have up to 4,000 characters to write a memorable opening, middle and conclusion.

Don't waste your valuable space on writing about things that are already on your UCAS form elsewhere, such as your qualifications.

What should I include in my teacher training personal statement?

When planning out your personal statement, ask yourself what it is your training providers are looking for. Make sure your statement answers the following questions:

• Why do I want to teach? - show that you know about the challenges and rewards of teaching, and remember that everything has its ups and downs. Maybe talk about any lessons you have observed/taught, what went well and how you would have improved on them. Discuss teaching styles used and the use of technology in the classroom.
• Why do I want to teach this age group/at this level? - what appeals to you, and what experience do you have teaching these students/children?
• What are my strengths? - include the relevance of your degree and subject knowledge.
• What experience do I have? - include any experience you have of volunteering with children, such as teaching a sports team, youth work or working at a summer camp? Give examples of how this helpd develop your teaching skills.
• What personal skills/abilities do I have? - these might include research, creativity, time management, IT skills, problem solving, managing people, organisational skills, listening skills, leading or working in a team. To strengthen your application, make sure you back everything up with examples.
• Are there are any location restrictions? - if you don't currently live in the UK, why do you want to study here? Are you willing to move away from your current home town/city for your degree?

You only have up to 47 lines (4,000 characters including spaces) in which to persuade your chosen initial teacher training (ITT) providers to offer you an interview. The statement must be concise, enthusiastic and sell your potential to be a successful teacher.

For more help and advice on what to write in your teacher training personal statement, please see:

• Personal Statement Editing Services
• Personal Statement Tips From A Teacher
• Analysis Of A Personal Statement
• The 15th January UCAS Deadline: 4 Ways To Avoid Missing It
• Personal Statement FAQs
• Personal Statement Timeline
• 10 Top Personal Statement Writing Tips
• What To Do If You Miss The 15th January UCAS Deadline.

What is a teacher training degree?

Teacher training degrees combine the study of curriculum subjects with learning teaching techniques and putting these into practice during hands-on school placements. The course leads to QTS (qualified teacher status) to enable you to teach in a school or college.

How long is a teacher training course?

To teach in England and Wales you need to gain QTS. You will obtain this on an ITT programme, which could be school or university-based and takes approximately one year to complete.

How do I become a teacher with a degree?

To teach as a qualified teacher in England, you'll need qualified teacher status (QTS). If you already have a degree, you can complete a postgraduate teacher training course to achieve this. Additionally, you'll need to have a GCSE at grade C/4 in maths and English, as well as science if you want to teach primary.

Can I train to be a teacher without a degree?

Unfortunately no - you cannot become a teacher without a degree.

But if you are an undergraduate or have a degree in a different subject than what you want to teach, there are options to help you get into a teaching career.

Will I get paid for teacher training?

There are three types of funding available for teacher training - depending on your circumstances, you could receive all three:

• Tax-free bursary or scholarship.
• Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan.
• Extra financial support if you're a parent, have an adult dependant or a disability.

Further information

For more tips and advice on teacher training personal statements, please see:

• GetIntoTeaching
• The Complete University Guide

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Teacher training interview questions.

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Personal statement for application to pgce in teaching.

PGCE stands for Postgraduate Certificate in Education, and it is among the most popular teaching courses. The objective of this course is to train and enhance the teaching capabilities of the students. Currently, this course is offered in England, Wales, and Northern Island.

Why Enrol in a PGCE Course? Although a Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) training course suffices to score a teaching job in England, a PGCE will enable you to expand your knowledge on a larger spectrum. Furthermore, the PGCE teaching course will enable you to adopt the flexibility to teach globally.

What are the Different Types of PGCE? There are three different types of PGCE that are discussed below:

1. Primary: This prepares an individual to teach the children up to the age group of eleven. This is the most popular class since the demand for such teachers is high. This course focuses on the curriculum syllabus; however, you may specialize in certain courses.

2. Secondary: This branch of PGCE focuses on particular subjects’ specialization and allows an individual to teach the students aged eleven to sixteen.

3. Advanced/Adult Education: If you want to teach at a college level, then this type of PGCE is for you. Simply, enroll yourself in this course and get a chance to conduct classes at a higher level.

It is to be noted that all the mentioned types require the enroled aspirants to serve for a minimum period of four weeks in schools or allocated key stages.

What Type of PGCE is Suitable for You? Only you can answer this question; however, other people can only assist you in reaching a conclusion. The following sources can help you find your calling:

Attend Open Days And Fairs: You can visit numerous universities on their open days and meet the representatives. Inquire them about the prospects of the PGCE course at the particular institute. To make the most of this option, educate yourself about the open days and events of different universities.

Talk To Current Students: In order to learn about the course content and workload, the current students can present a clear picture for you to ponder over the available options.

Consult a Career’s Service: The advisers can help you with your options and assist you in narrowing down the course choice for you. Furthermore, they can assist you with your application formulation.

Take Feedback from the Alumni: You can ask the alumni about the journey they had at a particular institution. Inquire them about their experience and ask them to educate you about the advantages or disadvantages associated with the PGCE course offered by the said institution.

What Should You Ask From Concerned Personnel? When meeting the relevant personnel, you should ask the following questions so as to shortlist your option:

• What is the cost of the course?
• Do you get any school experience? How much is it?
• Are there grants or student loans available?
• Is the employment record after completing a PGCE course positive?
• What are the institution’s credibility and does the department possess a good reputation?
• How many lectures and tutorials are required to be taken weekly?

How to Apply for the PGCE? In order to apply for the PGCE course, you are required to fill in an application form. To adequately perform the said task you should:

• Read about the details that should be included in the application.
• Go through authentic personal statement examples to devise a plan to fabricate your statement.
• Think about the references that should be included in your application.

What is a Personal Statement? Apart from the personal statement, the elements mentioned above are well-known. A personal statement is a document bearing explanation why you want to become a teacher and what makes you the best fit for the job. As the application briefly provides a snapshot of your qualifications, work exposure, and skills, the personal teaching statement is what brings your personality into the limelight.

It is vital that you invest ample time to formulate your personal statement and craft multiple drafts before shipping the final document. Ensure that your document touches the below-mentioned dimensions:

• Infuse glimpses from your past teaching experiences.
• Fabricate the personal statement as per the school or age group you are applying for.
• Make use of crisp English, and your sentences should be formulated in a coherent tone to deliver the message across the board.
• Be yourself and don’t try to present yourself as something you are not.
• Don’t be cliché to include statements like “I always wanted to be a teacher.”
• Reflect your passion via your personal statement writing.

How to Write Personal Statement for the Different Types of PGCE? Although all the elements mentioned above are to be included in the personal statement, there are certain specifications to be infused in different types of PGCEs:

Requirements of Personal statement for Primary PGCE: In this type of PGCE personal statement document, you should describe your adaptability trait and demonstrate the set of skills which can be useful for the primary schools’ extracurricular activities. For instance, you can include your expertise in conducting stage dramas which can help the particular school with their plays.

Requirements of Personal statement for Secondary PGCE: A good PGCE secondary personal statement is considered to be the one which discusses the set of challenges involved in teaching the teenager age group and further presents glimpses of the past experience, where the candidate coped with such problems. Since the secondary role of teaching is more inclined towards a particular subject, the trainers are interested in gauging your prerequisite knowledge regarding the said subject. Therefore, make sure that you showcase a good chunk of academic knowledge in your personal statement.

Requirements of Personal statement for Adult Education PGCE: In this type of PGCE personal statement, you should incorporate all of the said details that make you an ideal candidate for the course. However, make sure to convey this information in a modest way without including statements such as. “I am the best.”

What is the Illustrative Sketch to Compose a PGCE Personal Statement? A personal statement is all about presenting yourself in a robust tone on a piece of paper. Therefore, you should depict yourself as the ideal candidate by including the following information:

Demonstrate Your Passion for Teaching: You should craft your personal statement in a way that presents a vibe of you being accustomed to the challenges of teaching ahead. Furthermore, you should talk about the endured past experiences and discuss your set of achievements plus shortcomings. Also, talk about the latest use of technology and your proficiency in this sector.

Provide a Logical Reason of Your Interest in a Particular PGCE Level: It is liable that the trainers will be interested to know the ignition fuel to your passion of getting an enrolment in a PGCE course. Thus, you should convey them an example from your work exposure and elaborate the impact it had on you at a personal level.

Highlight Your Strengths: In this competitive era, it is vital to present all of your strengths so that you gain an edge over other candidates. In this connection, you can include the relevance of your degree for the position or convey your set of knowledge required for the particular post. Also, you can include a volunteering experience involving children such as your services at a summer camp or coaching a sports team, etc. However, ensure that you jot connections of the outcome of these extracurricular activities to your refined teaching skills.

Include Your Positive Attributes: The positive attributes add a star to the personal statement document, and one should include examples of events that highlight the creativity, managerial ability, practical experience, team playing attribute, resilience, and time management skills. To add a foundation to these claims, you should back the mentioned skills with the authentic example that helped you develop such traits.

Be Original, Don’t Copy: Since the trainers are experienced personnel, they can tell an original personal statement apart from the fabricated one. Therefore, you should not copy the prevalent personal statements on the web and rather fabricate your own statement or hire a reliable custom writing service to perform the said task.

When Do the Applications for the PGCE Open? The applications are currently open, and you can apply until 20th September 2019. However, the trainers stop receiving applications if they amass enough quality candidates. The application submission mechanism may be restored amidst year, but it is recommended not to take any chances and apply as soon as possible.

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Primary PGCE Personal Statement

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Postgraduate study

Postgraduate study can help you advance or change your career, but it isn't an easy option and the qualification in itself is no guarantee of a (better) job.

Employers look for evidence of skills and ask for relevant work experience as well as qualifications, so it's vital to find out what former students have gone on to do and talk to potential employers about how they view the benefits of the postgraduate qualification you are considering.

Why do a postgraduate course?

There are various reasons to embark on postgraduate study, such as:

• you love your subject and want to explore it in more depth
• you need to specialise further in order to pursue your career goals
• certain careers (such as teaching, law and social work) require a postgraduate qualification
• you want to convert to another subject or career area, such as computing, property or law
• you'd like to develop your research skills

You should think carefully about enrolling on a postgraduate course if:

• you simply can't decide what to do next
• you assume your job prospects will be better. (This is not always the case – check with employers)
• you think it will override your first degree result (not necessarily true)
• you think your current degree is not relevant for the job you want and think a postgraduate qualification is necessary (not always the case)
• you're not totally committed to studying further, but most of your friends seem to be staying on at University

If you're interested in teaching, you may want to apply to our  Explore teaching programme to gain work experience in a classroom.

If you're unsure whether postgraduate study is the right option, get in touch with one of our careers consultants for a  one-to-one session .

Visit the University's student funding pages for information on postgraduate funding options currently available to you.

The following sites provide more information on postgraduate funding options.

• Graduate Prospects
• UCAS Go to UCAS postgraduate fees and funding page
• Jobs.ac.uk (masters and PhD studentships)

Choosing a course or qualification

Postgraduate study can lead to a variety of qualifications, including a postgraduate certificate or diploma, a master's (taught or by research), an MPhil or PhD.

Advice on qualifications and courses (both in the UK and abroad) can be found at:

• Prospects website
• TARGET PostGrad

You'll also find information on Postgrad.com , Findamasters.com , Findaphd.com and jobs.ac.uk .

When and how to apply

There is no single application process for postgraduate study – you need to apply individually to each university.

Some vocational subjects have specific application procedures:

• PGCE Primary and Secondary Teaching: You can apply from early October and early applications are encouraged as most providers work on a first-come, first-served basis. Visit the Department of Education 'get into teaching' website (England and Wales).
• Legal Practice Course (LPC) and the conversion Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL): Open in October, but apply as early as possible via the Law central applications board for full-time courses. Applications for part-time courses are made directly to the course provider.
• Bar Professional Training Course: Applications open in mid-December and you should apply as soon as possible, visit the  Bar Student Application Service .
• Social work, medicine and nursing: Apply via UCAS .

Have a look at the  Prospects advice on applying for a PhD

Preparing your postgraduate study application

Personal statements are often required in your application for postgraduate study, in which you will be asked to provide evidence to support your application or address specific areas.

When writing your personal statement, make sure that you:

• Target your personal statement to the course and university you are applying for - don't use the same statement for different courses or institutions
• Make sure you clearly communicate your motivation, including why you have chosen this course, subject area and institution. Be specific about what appeals to you about this particular course and institution as opposed to other available options. Relate these reasons to your own experience, including reference to relevant modules and assignments in your first degree, work experience etc.
• Tell them why you think you should be selected for this course/degree. What relevant skills and knowledge have you gained during your studies, work experience and leisure activities? Why do you have the potential to do well on this course?
• How does this course fit into your overall career aims? At this stage, this may still be a general direction rather than a specific career goal.
• Provide clear information about your academic record, including your grades and any employment history if not already covered.
• Give your statement a clear structure with a beginning, middle and end, and make sure it is clear and concise - you don't want the important information to get lost in lengthy paragraphs.
• Proofread your application for spelling and grammatical errors and ask a colleague to check through it.
• Follow the institution's instructions about supporting documentation, such as references and transcripts. Supply them as soon as you can.

For further advice, book a  one-to-one appointment with one of our careers consultants or email  [email protected] .

Related Pages

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Find out the steps you should be taking if you are looking for part-time, full-time, or vacation jobs as well as paid internships and voluntary opportunities.

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From learning a new language to improving your digital skills, discover opportunities to boost your professional development.

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Teacher training and education

Working in education can be incredibly rewarding and there are a number of teacher training routes you can take, including the PGCE. You can get into early years, primary, and secondary school teaching with any degree, and if you want to teach an in-demand subject you may be eligible for a bursary.

Routes into teaching

Explore the various pathways into primary and secondary teaching to discover which option best suits your skills and career ambitions

How to become a teacher

Applying for teacher training

Teaching personal statement examples

Current educational issues

Volunteering in schools

How much do teachers get paid?

Jobs in education

How to get a teaching job

Teaching interview questions

Funding for teacher training

Life as a primary school teacher

Subject knowledge enhancement courses

Managing classroom behaviour

What it's like to be a secondary school teacher

Teaching in Scotland

Teaching in Northern Ireland

Working with children

10 opportunities to volunteer with children

Teach English abroad