What should we know about your job??

thebuff1

Hi there Mae
I did a PGCE in 2005 and seem to recall finding the Uni first which was easy as i was too lazy and stayed with the Uni that I took 5 yrs to do my Pt degree with. Fees are paid by your local authority so not an issue unless things have changed in last 2 years, I do not recall Student loans paying the fee but could be wrong. This should not be a problem as u have contacted your local authority.
Now you should be entitled to £6000 bursary as well. The good thing is that you do NOT have to pay this back. Also depending on your circumstances, you can also borrow up to about the same with Student loan, but this has to be paid back, although at a very low rate of interest.
I studied with a girl who did the whole degree route as a mature student and saved every penny of her student loan each year then after PGCe she used funds to buy a house which she rented out.
I needed every penny of mine to live but i guess some people play the system well and I cant begrudge her as I was able to afford a few nice things towards the end when I knew I had a teaching job secured.
Once I started PGCE, i found out many of the students had received an additional £1000 which was some sort of 'return to learning' payment, this was if you were a mature student. I had not been offered this and had to fight with my local authority as it was a 'descretionary' payment, to cut long story, with persistence, I got it. Again, this did not have to be repaid.
The money does not start being paid until end of October, no one warned me of this. The PGCE started 1st of Sept so it was a long time with no funds so I was in debt straight away especially as had to pay fares into central London as student discount card does not arrive for at least 2 wks after term begins, most students start uni, late sept Oct, PGCE start and finish earlier so you miss out.
Couple other points
applications to Uni had to be done for appx Dec 15 the year before you want to start.
Applications for funding and student loans had to be done by April to start that academic year and late applicants received funds after we did, tough if you need the money to live.
To teach you generally have to have maths, english and science(if u were born before 1970 u do not need science) GCSE
You may be interested in doing a GTP (Graduate Teachers Programme) which means providing you have a degree, you can do 'on the job' training in school and 1 day a week/fortnight at college for 3 terms. This way you are paid as an unqualified teacher which is appx £20k. ~You have to find a school willing to take you on but you can do this via the uni and I think it is best if you hve some experience with children so do some voluntary work in school if you haven't got the relevant experience, be warned, GTP is a tough way of getting the qualification but you will not be as poor as on the PGCE.
Finally, when you get a job as a teacher, it really is a great feeling, even though we are paid for five and half hours a day (bizarre i know) I love it and it was the best thing I did even though I was thirty....something when I came into the profession.
I hope the info is useful in some way.
Take care and good luck