From the army to teacher training
I’ve served 23 years in the British Army. My most recent role has been the lead exercise rehabilitation instructor within the lower limbs team at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre.
I saw a Get Into Teaching advertisement on TV and decided to investigate. I signed up for a free teacher training adviser and worked with my adviser Elaine for over 3 months.
Contact with Elaine was frequent, and she was able to fit calls in at short notice when I had an interview — a lot sooner than expected. The initial discussion with Elaine was to see what qualifications I had, what area of education I would like to pursue and information about what local university and initial teacher training providers were looking for from candidates.
She offered advice on getting classroom experience and gave me recommendations for contacting schools and training providers. The area of support which I felt I benefitted most from was with writing the personal statement and preparation for the interviews with practice questions.
I was invited to all 3 interviews and subsequently gained a place. I’m lucky as my wife is a teacher and she also offered advice relating to the interview process.
I can’t speak highly enough of Elaine and the assistance given by the Get Into Teaching service. I’m looking forward to starting my primary PGCE with PE specialisation at Sheffield Hallam University.
If you’re interested in changing your career like David, find out more about a career change into teaching. Or get free, one-to-one support by phone, text or email from a teacher training adviser with years of teaching experience.