Katie Fisher - Teach First Graduate Scheme
Biology graduate Katie Fisher secured a place on the Teach First graduate scheme as a Trainee Secondary Science Teacher.
Why did you decide to go pursue a career in teaching?
I am truly passionate about my subject and want to pass on the knowledge I have gained and the enthusiasm I have to secondary school aged pupils. From my own experience in education, I know the huge difference a teacher who loves their subject can make to how students view a subject and the life choices they later go on to make.
What attracted you to the Teach First graduate scheme?
I was attracted to Teach First as you gain experience in the classroom from day one which is different from other teacher training courses. Typically, participants on the Leadership Development Programme (LDP) spend 39 weeks in the classroom teaching compared to the 13 weeks that student teachers on other courses spend. During this process, you get continued support from your placement school, your university and also alumni of the programme. Over the two years on the programme you work towards a PGDE which is also worth more credits than the standard PGCE.
What did the application or selection process involve, and how did you prepare?
The first stage involved completing an online application form describing specific examples when I had shown Teach First competencies. I was successful and then invited to a day-long ‘development centre’. During this, I had a one-to-one interview again based on the Teach First competencies. I then had to take part in a group task during which we had to discuss an education-related topic. The final task was to carry out a seven-minute lesson from a list of topics that were provided to you. This was delivered to two Teach First employees who were in character as pupils of the age you were teaching. Self-evaluation forms a large part of the day and after the group task and the seven-minute lesson, I had to evaluate how I thought I performed and what I would do differently next time. To prepare I went over the Teach First competencies, thinking of specific examples where I had previously demonstrated each one in either a professional, academic or personal capacity. There is a very strong emphasis on your ability to show that you have the ability to develop the competencies that Teach First believes in. I took advantage of all the advice that Teach First gave on their website and emails and made contact with my personal application manager to get more advice on how to succeed on the day.
What work experience/skills did you refer to?
I tried to keep any examples within the last two to three years so that they were recent. I referred to work experience I had in helping out at university during open/applicant days and the tasks I performed within the laboratories on such days. The volunteering experience I gained in a palliative care hospice was also something that I talked about as I was able to refer to the skills I gained from this experience like communication and understanding others.
What advice would you give to other students to improve their employability?
Ensure that you have some kind of work experience, whether paid, voluntary or both! Once you get to the interview stage of any job it ensures that you have experiences and examples to talk about. In addition, undertaking work experience may help you decide if you actually want to work in that sector. For example, I completed work experience in a fertility laboratory and realised that this wasn’t really something that I wanted to pursue after all.
Support from the Student Futures team
If you want to talk about potential careers options with your degree, need help finding opportunities or want support with your CV, application forms or preparing for an interview, you can get advice and guidance by booking a 30-minute 1-2-1 careers meeting with a Careers and Employability Adviser from the LJMU Student Futures Team. You can also come along to a Careers drop-in or CV Café which take place weekly at the Careers Zones for quick careers queries.
If you are thinking about starting a business, freelancing, pursuing a side-hustle or have an idea that you want to explore further, email the Start-up Hub and a member of the team will be back in touch. For more information about the Bathgate Boost Award, visit the Start-up Hub website.
For help finding part-time, temporary or casual you can fit around your studies, email the Unitemps team or visit their website.