Information for Secondary Teacher Training Applicants
Information for Secondary Teacher Training Applicants
Secondary initial teacher training
PGCE Secondary applicants
UEL is one of London’s largest and leading centres for teacher training, offering highly successful courses for the primary, secondary and further education and training sectors. Capitalising on our East London location, we’ve earned an excellent reputation for working in partnership with schools to prepare teachers to work in multi-ethnic and multilingual urban schools. Our schools' partnership network covers a wide range of areas: inner-city, suburban, mixed and single-sex, inclusive, non-selective, selective and high achieving, as well as those in more challenging circumstances.
The School of Childhood and Social Care trains approximately 600 teachers every year. You will be joining a large department with a long and impressive track record and benefit from subject-specific coaching and mentoring from experienced and expert practitioners. You’ll become part of a richly diverse group of trainee teachers, with “an unwavering commitment to raising standards and aspirations in the communities in which they work” (Ofsted, 2012).
The teaching year begins in September and ends in July. You’ll attend five days a week and spend the equivalent of 24 weeks in school.
We are one of only a few institutions that provide a range of Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) programmes to prepare you for teaching your subject. Find out more about SKE courses.
Where is the interview located?
Your interview invitation will be sent to you by email and will tell you if you should attend on campus or via Microsoft Teams.
If you are invited to attend an on-campus interview, the interview will take place at:
University of East London
Education Building
Stratford Campus
Water Lane
London E15 4LZ
Please report to reception on arrival.
If you have been invited to attend an interview via Microsoft Teams, please download the Microsoft Teams App and we will send you a link for your online interview. You will receive this approximately two working days before your interview date. The email will contain a link which states 'Click here to join', which you will need to do ten minutes before the start time of your interview.
If you are unable to attend your allotted interview session, you can decline the invitation and re-book in the Applicant Portal.
Due to high demand for the PGCE courses you should try to attend the original date you booked as we cannot guarantee future dates will be available.
What do I need to bring?
For both on-campus and online interviews, please ensure you have a valid form of photo identification, such as a passport or driving licence. For online interviews, you will need to have a camera and microphone for the interview. If your laptop or computer does not have this, you can use your smartphone or tablet.
You will also need to have completed and submitted the Student Suitability Declaration Form before the interview which you will have received a separate email for.
You will also need to upload copies of the following to your Applicant Portal using the link sent to you:
- Degree Certificate
- GCSE English Language certificate (or equivalent qualification)
- GCSE Mathematics certificate (or equivalent qualification)
What should I expect on the day?
Please see the information for the Secondary subject you have applied for:
History, Geography, Social Sciences, Design Technology, Mathematics and Modern Languages
9:00 am Registration- 9:30 am ‘Who we are’ and tour of campus
- 10:00 am Comprehension test: you will be asked to read an article and answer questions about it
- 11:00 am Subject-based test
- 12-4 pm one-on-one interview where you will share a lesson plan (more details below)
The nature of the interview will be a conversation, rather than a series of questions/answers and we hope to put you at ease. We are especially interested in what you imagine training to be a teacher will be like, your motivations for doing so, and to talk about your sample lesson and associated materials.
What to do immediately?
Please confirm this time for your interview within 48 hours of receipt of your interview invitation email. After this, once you have confirmed, then please see below as preparation for the interview itself.
What do you do next?
After you have confirmed, please send an email directly to pbuckingham@uel.ac.uk (History, Geography and Social Science), sba.shaikh@uel.ac.uk (DT), h.golamgouse-toraub@uel.ac.uk (Maths) and n.earl@uel.ac.uk (Modern Languages) with the following, 24 hours before your interview.
- Your full name (in case this is not possible to see from your email address) and contact number.
- The materials for the following task:
A formal LESSON PLAN for a year 7 class on a topic of your choice in your subject area (these might be PPTs or worksheets etc). You must also include what you think to be a suitable plan. NOTE: For Languages, please prepare a 10-minute activity aimed at a year 7 class that you will teach to your fellow applicants.
If you are PGCE Social Science. A formal LESSON PLAN for a year 10 class in either sociology or psychology (you choose) which must also include any and all associated teaching materials (these might be PowerPoint or worksheets etc). You must also include what you think to be a suitable plan.
This is the task we set all PGCE trainees for an interview, and it helps to give us a focus for our conversations about how you imagine the classroom teacher role. You will not be asked to teach the lesson or to make a presentation. Instead, you will be asked to talk through the lesson and explain why you have planned it in the way you have.
Further Education
The interview is online and will take place on Microsoft Teams. Please confirm your attendance within 2 days of receiving your interview invitation to mthomason@uel.ac.uk.
Your interview will take place in three parts:
- Pre-interview lesson planning task
- An individual interview
- A task to assess your professional literacy (summarising an article, producing a piece of free writing and an editing task
Part 1 Pre-interview lesson planning task* (to be submitted before the interview)
We would like you to create a lesson plan on any topic appropriate for the subject specialism and level you intend to train in. This should be emailed to Michelle Thomason, the course leader of the PGCE Further Education, at mthomason@uel.ac.uk no later than 5 pm on the day before your interview.
To help you with this part of the interview process, you may find it useful to research what qualifications and courses are offered in the subject specialist area(s) you wish to train in, and what topics are covered within these courses.
In the interview, you will be asked to spend a maximum of five minutes talking through how you would teach this lesson. You may use supplementary material such as slides to exemplify the teaching resources you would use if you wish. Supplementary material may be emailed in advance of the interview or shown via the shared screen on Teams on the day.
*Please note that the pre-interview task is not emailed by the specified deadline, Part 2 of the interview will not go ahead.
Part 2 Individual interview (45 minutes)
We will ask you some questions about your background, skills and experience, and motivation for teaching.
We will be looking for evidence of teaching potential (not perfection!) in the following areas:
- an understanding of how to structure a lesson;
- awareness of effective teaching and learning strategies;
- the ability to communicate subject knowledge at the appropriate level;
- awareness of the diverse needs of students in the post-16 and further education and training context
You should also be able to demonstrate an understanding of how the subject specialism you intend to train in is taught at post-16 and further education levels in the UK. For example, the range of qualifications and levels available.
Part 3 Professional Literacy Task (to be completed following the interview and submitted via email)
At the end of your interview, you will be given three literacy assessment tasks to complete independently. Your interview will explain these on the call first and you will then have up to two hours to complete them immediately following Part Two of the interview. The assessments need to be handwritten and then returned via email to mthomason@uel.ac.uk by either scanning them or taking a photo. You will need to complete and return them on the same day. The whole process takes around three hours from your perspective. If you have any challenges completing the professional literacy tasks in the two hours immediately after the interview you should tell your interviewer at the start of your interview.
We aim to find out as much as we can about your attributes, skills, knowledge and understanding to shape training opportunities for you, should you be offered a place on the programme. Please note that an offer of a place on the course is dependent on the outcomes of all the elements of the interview process. Your responses to these tasks and activities will be considered alongside all the other evidence to assess your suitability for the PGCE Further Education programme.
Interview selection criteria
Throughout the interview process you must demonstrate that you have:
- The ability to communicate effectively in spoken English
- The ability to communicate effectively and accurately in written English (the candidate must have completed a written task to assess the standard of written English)
- Subject knowledge/any other particular requirements of the specialist subject
- Enthusiasm and interest in the specialist subject and the ability to convey this to learners
- Intellectual qualities and the ability to reflect creatively and critically
- Positive attitude to, and involvement with, young people: an understanding of the importance of establishing respectful, supportive and constructive relationships with them.
- High expectations of children and young people and a commitment to their achievement
- An understanding of the scope of a teacher’s professional skills and responsibilities
- Ability to cope well in highly pressurised and demanding contexts
- Commitment to collaboration and cooperative working as part of a team
- Commitment to teaching and the programme
- Positive attitude to equal opportunities and towards education in and for an inclusive society
When will I be notified of the outcome of the interview?
We will notify you of the outcome of your interview through the DfE portal and through email. You will be required to accept/decline your place within ten working days. If you receive and accept a place at UEL you will be given additional tasks and reading to do over the summer term in preparation for starting in September.
Questions
Please use the ‘Contact Us’ tile in your Applicant Portal - you have been sent an email with a link to access it. Alternatively, you can contact our Applicant Engagement team using the UEL online chat.
PGCE Bursary
Teacher trainees may be entitled to receive a bursary throughout their ITT study, ranging from £4,000 to £28,000. The level of bursary that trainees are entitled to is dependent on the subject in which a trainee wishes to teach and the grade of their highest, relevant academic qualification.
Further information is available on our Funding webpage.
If you have any questions, please contact our Student Money Advice and Rights Team (SMART) at +44 (0)20 8223 4444.