Showcasing your experience

A good statement should highlight your strengths and how you can bring these to teaching. Think about what distinct qualities you can bring to the table that will make you an amazing teacher. Your personal statement should convey energy, enthusiasm and a passion for teaching. 

As a general guide, it’s a good idea to cover key points such as:

• your reasons for wanting to teach – and, more specifically, why you’ll enjoy teaching your chosen subject and/or age group
• the qualities you have that will work well in the classroom – communication, organisation and creativity are all important skills
• how previous studies and any work experience relate to your chosen subject or age group – make sure you give examples of what you’ve learnt from your experience, and how it will have a positive effect on your teaching
• what you’ve learnt during any school experience placements and how this has influenced your application
• how you’ve benefited from any other experience that you may have of working with children or young people – for example as a classroom assistant, or running a youth group or sports club

The UCAS Teacher Training form also includes a separate section to provide details of your school and work experience. This section allows you to highlight the experience you’ve had in a school or work environment. You can include as many examples on the UCAS form as you like. This can include work placements and observations, as well as any paid and unpaid work.

Remember, your personal statement is the core of the application, so it is important to take the time and effort to research and prepare. The word count is tight: the space on the form is limited to 4,000 characters, split across a maximum of 47 lines, including spaces and line breaks so use it wisely.

Finally, you shouldn’t copy from someone else’s statement or from statements posted on the internet – UCAS screens all submissions and will know if the work you’ve presented is not your own.