Interview Process

How to apply for a place on our PGCE

Interviews take place between November and July.

Successful candidates will be sent details of the interview process to ensure they are well-prepared.

The Interview Day

Interviews take place at our training suite at St Mary's Primary School to ensure candidates have an opportunity to see the facilities and meet the team. There is also an opportunity to spend time in the classroom at one of our consortium schools.

In order to get to know you as well as possible on the day, we invite you to take part in a range of interview ‘activities’. We hope these experiences give you the opportunity to share your passion for teaching, as well as giving us an insight into the experiences you have had prior to the course.

Although the interview day is busy, we offer a warm welcome and put you at your ease. We recognise that many candidates are career-changers, or are returning to work from a break not having interviewed for some time. Remember that this opportunity is equally a chance for you to get to know us.

What is the interview panel looking for?

The PGCE route is a suitable training programme for those with experience in schools. However, it is an equally supportive and successful training route for those without experience.

If you have got experience in schools, we want you to provide examples of your own practice and / or note the practice and policies of your employing school in relation to our questions. This will show us that you are inquisitive, able to reflect and are keen to 'understand' the approaches you have observed or undertaken yourself. In other words, you're not just doing things 'uncritically', you're considering the impact of what you do.

If you have not got experience in schools, we want you to draw on other experiences in which you have taught others (adults or children) so that you can talk about your ability to model and support learning in others. We also want you to have talked to people and read about educational issues prior to the interview so that you have an accurate view of the class teacher role and the function of schools beyond simply delivering a curriculum. We want you to have considered your career path carefully and show us that you're well-informed and professionally curious.

Regardless of prior experience, all successful candidates must:

communicate effectively,
demonstrate professionalism,
work effectively both independently and in a team,
be effective, organised, self-directed learners,
be resilient and solution-focused,
seek out opportunities for development and respond positively to feedback,
show an emerging understanding of the wider societal issues which impact on education,
show an emerging understanding of issues relating to inclusion and education for pupils with Special Educational Needs, and
be committed to training in Wandsworth, a diverse inner-London Borough.

What does a typical interview look like?

What will I do?	What happens and how do I prepare?
Visit a local consortium school	There’s no need to plan and prepare. You will be invited to join a small group at an activity planned by the class teacher. This opportunity will give you a ‘feel’ for our local schools, and will give us a sense of your ‘rapport’ with children in the primary age-range. A colleague will observe your engagement with the group and invite you to reflect on your engagement and impact at the end of the session. Be confident to talk about what you feel was successful (WWW: What Went Well) and what you might do differently next time (EBI: Even Better If).
Interview with two members of the consortium team	We will ask seven questions to facilitate conversation about your experience to-date, and your readiness for the course. Two of these questions will be included in your interview invitation to enable you to prepare ahead. In order to feel confident when responding to the remaining questions, we encourage you to prepare by: Rereading your UCAS application form, Identifying key skills gained during your academic studies, i.e. your ability to engage in academic work, transferable skills, and related subject knowledge, Identifying relevant 'teaching' experiences, n.b. these does not need to be in a school context and might include, for example, mentoring adults in the workplace, supporting children at a youth group, or supporting family members with homework, Reviewing your employing schools' key policies or, if not employed in a school, the published policies of a local school, n.b. review of the safeguarding and inclusion policy will help you get a good understanding of two key responsibilities of the class teacher. Reading online sources, e.g. the Times Educational Supplement, to develop your understanding of the common issues affecting schools today.
Join a group task	There’s nothing to prepare for this task. There will be no more than five other candidates with you, but often groups are smaller. We will provide a simple topic for the group to discuss. The topic is accessible to all candidates, even if you have limited or no experience in schools. We expect you to be open to sharing your ideas and effective at listening to and building on the ideas of others in the group.
Complete a short English and maths question paper	This is a short activity designed to give us a sense of your areas of strength and areas requiring revision. We might set revision targets for you to work on prior to the course as a result of this activity.
Share your identity and qualification documents	Read the interview invitation for full details of the documents you need to bring.