Courses and Prospectus - Undergraduate

Madeleine Lewis came to the secondary PGCE straight after finishing her first degree. She writes to potential PGCE applicants at the end of her first year in teaching, during which she won the Guardian Award for Outstanding New Teacher in a Secondary School in the SE region. 

Educational discussion and philosophy have always been something I was used to at home, because my father and older brother are teachers; often I would sit and become baffled as I listened to them reminisce and share teaching ideas. Despite living with two teachers, I still held the notion that they were somehow wheeled out of a cupboard in the morning and then put away again at night; hence, I was quite perturbed when, towards the end of my degree, (Drama and Film Studies at University of Kent) the idea of teaching started to become more and more appealing. Suddenly the thought of using my knowledge of things that I loved and was interested in to inspire young people seemed like such an obvious choice for a satisfying and fulfilling career. 

My next step was to apply to Canterbury Christ Church. I surprised myself by being nervous at the interview (I normally exude far too much confidence) and started to worry that if I were nervous facing someone at interview, how would I control 30 rowdy 16-year-olds on a Friday afternoon? 

Luckily, I overcame this fear, assuming that all the nice tutors at the College would teach me classroom management; they did, and a whole host of other important things besides. My PGCE was, without a doubt, the most challenging thing I have ever done (I gave up trying to eat my entire bodyweight in Jaffa Cakes) but it was also the most rewarding. I felt like I learnt more in one year of PGCE than I had in the whole duration of my degree and I think that this is one of the things that makes teaching really exciting: you are constantly learning. An added bonus of the English PGCE is that you also study Drama and Media Studies, which gives you a diverse subject base to draw your ideas and resources from. 

I have spent the last year teaching English Literature and Language and Theatre Studies at Clarendon House School in Ramsgate. I have forged strong relationships with both colleagues and pupils and this was illustrated when the latter nominated me for a BT Teaching Award, or "Plato" as they're known. When my Head told me that I had been short-listed, my jaw nearly hit the floor. The judges came in for a day to observe my teaching skills and to talk to pupils, parents, colleagues and governors about me. At the awards ceremony at the Guildhall in London in July, when it was announced that I had won, I was astounded and kept repeating "This is so amazing" for want of a better thing to say (lots of free Champagne and being a bit star-struck after meeting David Puttnam might have contributed to that though). 

I never even dreamed, when it first occurred to me to teach, that I could be this motivated and content. My final thought is that everyone wonders if they will be able to "do it", cope, survive, whatever; you won't know until you try, and who knows, you might even enjoy it.