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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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Your personal statement – Claire Harnden

Tuesday 6 november 2018, teacher training.

by Claire Harnden

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• School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) – A Guide

Written by Ben Taylor

School-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) programmes are school-led teacher training courses that lead to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Most (but not all) SCITT programmes also award a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) .

SCITT teacher training is one of the most popular ways to gain QTS, offering trainees a chance to get hands-on teaching experience with at least two schools.

This page will explain how SCITT programmes work, as well as explaining the differences between SCITT and other routes into teaching. You can also browse the SCITT courses listed on FindAMasters.

On this page

What is scitt.

SCITT programmes are teacher training courses run by local groups of schools, giving graduates the opportunity to receive practical teacher training and to learn ‘on the job’. Most of these programmes – but not all – also allow trainees to gain a PGCE (or Masters-level credits towards an Education qualification).

As it’s a school-led course, you’ll spend most of your time on SCITT training at two or more schools, learning from experienced teaching professionals. You’ll have an extensive support network of mentors, teachers and peers, designed to help you find your feet and get the most out of each school you work at.

‘SCITT’ can also refer to the networks of schools that collaborate on school-led teacher training courses – for example, the Sheffield SCITT.

What’s the difference between SCITT training and university-led teacher training?

If you decide to take the university-led route into teaching, you’ll be based at a university rather than a group of schools. Rather than being at a school from day one, you’ll learn the theory of teaching at university before having the chance to apply your knowledge in a minimum of two school placements over the course of at least 24 weeks.

By contrast, school-led teacher training places you in a school straight away. Of course, you won’t be dropped in at the deep end, so don’t worry about having to teach a class on your first day! Instead, you’ll benefit from a more hands-on approach to teaching, immersed in the everyday life of a school environment from the start.

Both routes into teaching usually give you the chance to earn a postgraduate qualification like a PGCE. SCITT training also offers the same opportunities for generous Government funding as university-led teacher training courses.

What’s the difference between SCITT courses and School Direct?

While SCITT courses are always delivered by a network of schools – a local SCITT – School Direct programmes are offered by groups of schools either in collaboration with a SCITT or a university.

The actual content and structure of both options is broadly similar, each providing school-based training. If you decide to take the School Direct route, you’ll need to decide whether you want your programme to be delivered in partnership with a SCITT or a university.

There’s also the School Direct (salaried) option, which is open to people with three years of work experience (in any area). You’ll have the same status and wage as an unqualified teacher and won’t have to pay tuition fees, but you won’t be eligible for the same Government bursaries as the other routes into teaching.

Begin your search for a SCITT programme now

Browse the SCITT courses listed on FindAMasters.com

What are the entry requirements for a SCITT course?

Entry requirements for SCITT training are broadly similar to those for PGCEs . You’ll usually need a 2:2 Bachelors degree in the subject you want to teach (if you studied a joint honours degree, at least 50% must be in your teaching subject).

If you studied a subject that undergraduate level that isn’t closely related to your desired teaching specialism, you may be able to complete a subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) course to boost your familiarity of the discipline.

You’ll need to hold the following qualifications (or their international equivalent):

• GCSE grade 4 / grade C in Maths
• GCSE grade 4 / grade C in English

If you want to teach primary age children, you’ll also need a GCSE grade 4 / grade C in Science.

SCITT providers usually ask applicants to complete professional skills tests in literacy and numeracy, either before your interview or as part of the conditions of your offer. You will have to pass a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check – this was formally known as a CRB check.

It’s a good idea to gain some voluntary experience in a local school, observing and helping teachers. As well as highlighting your motivation, it’ll also help to give you an idea of what it’s actually like to work in a school.

What is the application process?

Applications for SCITT programmes are handled through the UCAS Teacher Training portal .

After finding your SCITT course and registering with UCAS, you’ll need to write a personal statement and provide the contact details of two referees . You should also give information about your academic background and any work experience – especially anything that demonstrates your interest in working with children.

If your application is successful, you’ll be invited to attend an interview at one of the schools. You may also have to complete a set of tasks with other candidates and an aptitude test, but the precise selection process differs from SCITT to SCITT.

What's it like to study on a SCITT programme?

No two SCITT programmes are the same – each one is designed and delivered by the group of schools you’ll be working in, so you’ll have access to unique training and opportunities for professional development while on the job. The course will usually reflect the priorities and specialisms of the SCITT itself.

You can expect SCITT programmes to share the following elements:

• Initial training to give you a solid grounding in the fundamentals of teaching
• A full-time placement at one of the partnership schools (your timetable won’t be as intense as a qualified teacher)
• A second full-time placement at a contrasting school

During your time on the SCITT programme, you’ll usually take part in several ‘immersion days’ at schools with a strong background in areas like diversity and behaviour management.

You’ll also have access to an established support network made up of dedicated mentors and tutors, as well as your fellow trainee teachers.

Even though the exact structure and format of the programme may differ from SCITT to SCITT, you’ll still receive that all-important Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) at the end of the course.

Most SCITT programmes give trainees the opportunity to gain a PGCE (and Masters credits) while studying. Although you don’t necessarily need a PGCE to teach in England and Wales – just QTS – you probably will need a PGCE if you want to teach abroad (even in Scotland!).

What funding is available for SCITT training?

The UK Government offers generous bursaries and scholarships for trainee teachers , all of which are available for SCITT programmes. Our guide to PGCE funding covers this support in detail.

Bursaries of £27,000 are on offer to graduates in these subjects who have at least a 2:2 (or a Masters / PhD):

You could also be eligible for a bursary of:

• £25,000 if you're a Geography or Modern/ Ancient Languages graduate
• £20,0000 if you're a Biology or Design and Technology graduate
• £15,000 if you're an English graduate

Scholarships of £29,000 are also available for talented trainee teachers in the following subjects:

£27,000 scholarships are also available for graduates in French, German and Spanish.

Eligibility for these sources of support depends on your nationality and residence. If you’re a UK national and enrolled on a teacher training course in England that charges tuition fees and leads to QTS – like a SCITT programme – you’ll usually be eligible. EU and EEA nationals could also be eligible in certain circumstances.

Are SCITT courses paid?

No, SCITT programmes are non-salaried. However, many trainee teachers on these courses end up being employed by their placement schools after successfully completing the training.

If you’re keen to earn a salary while training to become a teacher, you could apply for the School Direct (salaried) option.

How much does a SCITT training cost?

Tuition fees vary between SCITT providers, but will be in the region of £9,000. Don’t be put off, though – in addition to the bursaries and scholarships mentioned above, you could also be eligible for a tuition fee and maintenance loan through Student Finance England’s undergraduate system.

Postgraduate teacher training

Want to find out more about other ways to become a teacher? Our guide covers the main postgraduate teacher training options.

Our postgrad newsletter shares courses, funding news, stories and advice

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Your teacher training personal statement

Your personal statement is your chance to make yourself memorable with teacher training providers and show them why you’ll make a great teacher.

You do not have to write it all at once – you can start it and come back to it. Successful candidates often take a few weeks to write their personal statements.

How long should my teacher training personal statement be?

Your personal statement can be up to 1000 words. 90% of successful candidates write 500 words or more.

You could include:

• skills you have that are relevant to teaching
• any experience of working with young people
• your understanding of why teaching is important
• your reasons for wanting to train to be a teacher
• any activities you’ve done that could be relevant to teaching (such as first aid courses, sports coaching or volunteering)

Teacher training providers want to see your passion and that you understand the bigger picture of teaching.

How to write your personal statement

When writing your personal statement you should make sure you check your spelling and grammar in your application. You want to make the best possible impression.

You can use ChatGPT or other artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help you write your personal statement. You should not rely on it to write your entire statement because:

AI tools use bland language and will not be able to give details about you as a person. Using them may result in your application being unsuccessful

your account to apply for teacher training may be blocked if you consistently submit personal statements that look like they have been written with AI tools

Do I use the same personal statement for each application?

You can use the same personal statement for every course you apply to.

However, there may be some instances where you’d like to tailor it to different courses.

For example, if you want to apply to train to teach maths and also to train to teach physics. In this case, you might want to change your personal statement to talk more specifically about the subject you’re applying to train to teach.

Should my personal statement be different if I’m training to teach primary or secondary?

You should use your personal statement to explain why you feel passionate about teaching a specific age range or subject.

If you’re applying for a primary course with a subject specialism, or you’re particularly interested in certain primary subjects, you can talk about that, too.

If you’re not sure if you want to teach primary or secondary, you can find out more about teaching different age groups .

Do I need school experience?

You do not need school experience to apply for teacher training, but it can help strengthen your personal statement.

Teacher training providers like to see that you have a good understanding of teaching, how the school system works and what your transferable skills are. You need more than just good subject knowledge and school experience can be a great way to get this.

Getting some school experience can also be a good way to make sure teaching is right for you before you apply for a course.

Find out how you could get school experience .

Get help with your personal statement

You can get help with your personal statement from our teacher training advisers . They have years of teaching experience and can give you free, one-to-one support by phone, text, or email.

Advisers can also help you understand more about what teaching is really like, which can help improve your application.

Having a teacher training adviser was really beneficial when editing my personal statement and preparing for interviews. My top tips for the application process would be to get an adviser, and to think about what transferrable skills you have when writing your personal statement and answering interview questions. Felix, former teacher trainee

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In This Section

• Your Personal Statement
• How to Apply

There’s a single application for all of your choices, and this includes a personal statement.

Your personal statement is your opportunity to let your chosen training providers know about your qualities, skills and expertise, and why you want to be a teacher.

You can only complete one personal statement for all the choices you make in both Round1 and Round 2. You can’t change it or create different ones for your choices.

Explain why you have chosen your particular subject and/or age range (for Primary), and the skills and attributes you have that make them appropriate for you.

What to include

Think carefully about the things we will want to know about you. You’ll probably want to include things like:

• your reason(s) for wanting to teach
• evidence that you understand the rewards and challenges of teaching
• details of your previous education and how you have benefited from it
• any other work with young people, such as helping with a youth club, working at a summer camp or running a sports team
• the range of relevant abilities and skills you can bring to teaching, for example, practical experience, managing people, working with or leading a team, and communication skills
• any reasons why there may be restrictions on your geographical mobility
• why you want to study in the UK, if you don’t currently live here
• whether you’ve taken part in the  School Experience Programme organised by the DfE

In addition to the details you give in the school and work experience section, you can also expand on your experience of teaching, such as visits to schools, classroom observations or working as a teaching assistant.

How to write it

Draft a copy of your personal statement and then copy it into your application form.  You might want someone to proof read it before hand.

•  Check the grammar, punctuation and spelling

Don’t copy!

Don’t copy anyone else’s personal statement or from statements posted on the internet.  Make sure your personal statement is all your own work.

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Home / Top Tips for Writing a Successful Application

Are you interested in becoming a teacher? Expert advice and top tips on writing an effective teacher training application can be found here. This resource covers everything from how to correctly fill out the application to what information to include in your personal statement. By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to landing a spot in a teacher training program.

Top Tips for Writing a Successful Application & Personal Statement

Making your application stand out.

You should ensure that your application grabs our attention positively as we receive hundreds of applications. Demand for our places is high, and the calibre of applicants is also high, so you must ensure that your application doesn’t end up in the automatic ‘No’ pile because of poor presentation. Your application form presents the first opportunity you have to prove to us that you are ideal teacher material. Tell us about your school experiences and show us what you have learned about being a teacher and what characteristics you possess that make you think you’d be a good one. What skills do teachers need? Do you think you have them? What would you need to learn?

What we’ll be looking for:

• Some personal rationale for why you want to become a teacher
• Clear enthusiasm and passion for why you have chosen either early years, primary or secondary.
• Some experience of and commitment to working with young people
• Professional attributes or leadership roles or positions of responsibility that would help you become a teacher
• Good standard of written English – check and double-check your application as typing mistakes and errors in grammar will not get you an interview. After all, if you can’t get this right in your application, chances are, you won’t get it right in front of the class.

Writing an effective teacher training personal statement will not only make you stand out from the crowd, but it will also, more importantly, get you through to the interview stage with your chosen providers. You have a set amount of space in which to convince providers that you should definitely be top of their list for an interview, so every word on your Get into Teaching – Apply personal statement must be selling you, your experience and most importantly, your potential to become an outstanding teacher.

What providers are looking for on your teacher training personal statement

Providers will be looking out for signs that you have a good understanding of teaching as a career. They want you to show your enthusiasm for wanting to be a teacher and explain what the rewards of teaching would be for you, but also, you should let them know that you know the realities of the job and the challenges of teaching too. Make sure that you explain what the driving force is for wanting to teach; you might link this to your own education or to experience that you have gained in schools as an adult or parent. Maybe you have worked in another setting with young people, and this has drawn you into teaching.

Checklist for your teacher training personal statement

1. Why you are applying for teacher training

It is important to get across your reasons for wanting to train to teach. You should explain which age range you are most interested in and why (which could be across the entire primary phase or as narrow as Early Years Foundation Stage etc) or secondary and link what you have said with your own experience in education or relevant work experience you have that helped you to make this choice.

2. What school experience you have had in school

Don’t panic if you haven’t yet had any – but do get organised and ring some local schools and ask if you can go in. Teacher training providers will be obviously keener on those candidates who have already shown a commitment and been into schools. Competition for teacher training spaces is high, so leave them in no doubt at all as to your commitment to teaching.

Include the following in your teacher training personal statement:

• what type of school(s) you have experience in or have observed in
• how much experience you have
• which age groups you have worked with
• national curriculum subject areas you have observed
• reflections on what you saw and any learning you gained from it

3. Explore any work experience you have that you think will help you become a successful teacher

You will have already listed your work experience, but this is your opportunity to say how elements of these experiences relate to a teaching career. Think of transferable skills that you have gained elsewhere which will prove invaluable in your desire to become a successful teacher. Prioritise any experiences you might have with working with young people, but don’t forget you can include other work or voluntary experiences as well. After all, learning to be resourceful, calm and patient are all skills which can be learned anywhere but are hugely beneficial to teachers!

4. What skills do you have that a teacher needs?

List some of the key skills and qualities needed for teaching, and show providers that you possess a good number of those already gained from your own experiences to date. Link your work experiences to these skills and show how reflective you can be.

Here’s a short list to get you started:

A teacher must have…

• Good communication skills – written and verbal
• A passion for working with children and helping them reach their potential
• An ability to build rapport with young people
• High expectations
• Strong organisational skills

For more information about teaching as a career, visit Get into Teaching .

Applying from outside the UK?

Explain why you wish to study in the UK and assure providers that your qualifications are sufficient to be considered. Check this through ENIC who will easily be able to confirm if you have the necessary entry requirements for teacher training.

For more guidance about applying from outside the UK go to this Government site.

Explain any gaps

If you have gaps in either your education or work experience post education, you will need to include reasons as to why in your personal statement. Not much is needed, but make sure you don’t ignore any gaps as providers will spot them immediately and wonder why.

Tips for checking your teacher training personal statement

• Make sure that your teacher training personal statement closely reflects the route that you are applying for. If you are applying for different age ranges with different providers make sure you flag your reasons why.
• Use a simple, flowing writing style in which you use ‘I’ and ‘my’ etc.
• Make each sentence contain useful, relevant information. You are limited to 47 lines, 4000 characters so don’t waffle!
• Use a computer to write it where possible so that you can rewrite several times to make it really slick.
• Expand upon why you want to be a teacher, your motivation for a career in education and relate it to your experiences to date
• Check it for punctuation, spelling and grammar errors. Once ready, you can copy, cut and paste it into your UCAS teacher training application form.
• Get feedback on your teacher training personal statement from a careers advisor, tutor or mentor – does it flow? Can they find any typos or grammar errors?
• Make sure you save it to your computer or print it out so that you can remind yourself of what you said before interviews.
• All personal statements are screened by the Copycatch system which WILL detect if it was originally someone else’s. If so, we will be alerted to this and you may not get asked for interview.

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Sutton SCITT

How to apply, we are now recruiting for our 2024-25 cohort of primary and secondary trainees..

DfE APPLICATION PORTAL

Applications for all of our Initial Teacher Training programmes are through the  government application portal.  In order to apply, prospective trainees need to complete the application form online through the DfE site.

You can search either Sutton SCITT or our provider code which is 1ZW for core SCITT and 17J for School Direct Salaried.

Please make sure you complete the application form in full ensuring you include all your qualifications and work history. When writing your personal statement include why you want to teach, your beliefs about education and any experience you have of working with young people.

Once you have completed your application, notify your referees as the SCITT will not receive your application form until the references are completed.

ASSESSMENT DAY

The Assessment Day will be held at either Glenthorne High School (Secondary) or Aragon Primary School (Primary).  Candidates will be given plenty of notice for the assessment and guidance about how to prepare.

There will be an initial interview where candidates will be expected to answer questions related to teaching and education with a focus on the age phase and/or subject applied for.  Candidates will also be asked to work with a group of pupils and complete a short subject assessment.  You will have an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the interview.

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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

Related resources

Teacher training interview questions.

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Applying For Teacher Training Courses

6 Personal Statement Writing Tips

How To Apply To University

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How to apply

How to apply.

We can help you apply for your place on a Mathematics, Physics or Engineers Teach Physics Teacher Training course. With three fantastic teacher training options to choose from, follow the steps below to secure your place on our programme.

Check Entry Requirements

What qualifications do i need to train to teach mathematics or physics.

A UK Bachelor (Honours) degree or overseas equivalent, and a grade 4/C or above in both Mathematics and English Language GCSE or overseas equivalent.

Ideally your degree will be in the subject you wish to teach, however, we may accept applicants with degrees in other subjects if they have a strong A level in the subject in which they want to train to teach.  These applicants will be required to undertake some subject knowledge enhancement training prior to starting the course.

Can I train to teach Mathematics or Physics if my qualifications are from outside the UK?

If your qualifications are not from the UK, you will need to obtain a Statement of Comparability from UK ENIC .  You can g et help from the DfE’s Get Into Teaching service, you can access one-to-one support from one of their advisors.  They will provide you with a basic comparison of your qualifications that you can use for your application; once you have submitted your application to DfE Apply, they will pay for the formal certificate.  

• Safeguarding

The National Mathematics and Physics SCITT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all partnership staff, trainees, external providers, and other stakeholders to share this commitment.  All applications will be subject to safeguarding checks during the selection process.

Our dedicated and experienced admin team will support you every step of the way.  Please feel free to contact our team on 01494 897330 or email [email protected] for any advice or complete the contact form at the bottom of the page.

Check Your Funding Options

The fees for our full-time Mathemathics Teacher Training , Physics Teacher Training or Engineers Teach Physics Teacher Training courses , which lead to QTS and a PGCE , are £9,250. 

In addition to their fees, candidates who accept our offer of a place on the course must pay a non-refundable £100 Registration Fee which covers the cost of their DBS and Occupational Health Checks.

Tuition Fee and Maintenance Loans are available to eligible candidates, and you may also be able to access tax-free bursaries of £28,000 and Scholarships of £30,000. 

We advise all applicants to apply to Student Finance England (SFE) as soon as possible, as they will determine what funding you may be eligible for.  Our bursaries and scholarships are paid via the Student Loans Company so all trainees must register with SFE even if they do not wish to apply for a loan.  Students registered with Student Finance Scotland will need to transfer/link their accounts to Student Finance England. Please note that you can do this before having a confirmed teacher training place with any provider.  

Scholarships are available and awarded by the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications and the Institute of Physics . You should apply directly to the relevant institution for this funding. They also have their own eligibility criteria, which you can find on their websites.

Bursary and Scholarship payments are made in 10 monthly instalments over your training year(s), so you may also choose to apply for a Tuition Fee Loan and/or a Maintenance Loan.

Submit Your Application

To apply for a place on our Mathematics, Physics, or Engineers Teach Physics Teacher Training courses, you need to apply directly through the Department for Education Apply website.

The easiest way to apply is to

• Create an account on the  DfE Apply website .
• Click on this  link to be taken directly to apply for one of our three teacher training courses.

Your Personal Statement

You have up to 600 words to explain why you want to be a teacher of Mathematics or Physics.

This is your chance to talk about your motivation to become a teacher, your commitment to education and your potential to train with us.

You should let us know about your level of subject expertise, what skills, and experiences you will bring to your training and how you might contribute to your future school.

Your Personal Statement is a crucial part of your application – take time to ensure it gives us a good insight to you as a person and as a professional.

Your References

Provide contact details for two references on your form. They will not be contacted until you accept a place on the course:

• If you are a recent graduate, then you will need an academic reference.
• If you already work in a school, you will need a reference from your headteacher.
• If you are a career changer, you will need a reference from your most recent employer.

You can give a character reference, such as from a mentor or someone you know through volunteering, as a second reference. For safeguarding purposes, we can only accept references from verified professional email addresses.  We cannot accept references from personal email accounts .

Interview Preparation

• Deliver a short lesson activity to establish your ability to engage and communicate with young people.
• Undergo a formal interview to determine your aptitude and motivation for teaching. The interview will include a short subject knowledge conversation.

Get in touch today and let us support you through the process.

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