What questions do they ask at PGCE interview? Here are some example questions to help you prepare for your PGCE university interview.
- Tell us about yourself.
- Talk us through your personal statement.
- Why do you want to become a teacher?
- Why did you apply to this university?
- What have you done to prepare yourself for a career in teaching?
- What strengths do you have that will help you deal with all the work involved?
- Why have you chosen a Postgraduate route into teaching?
- What do you think are the most challenging aspects of a teacher’s job?
- What does a teacher do?
- What interests you most about teaching and why?
- Why would you make a good teacher?
- What are you looking forward to most about becoming a teacher?
- Why do you want to work with children?
- How do you think teaching differs from other professions?
- What sort of school would you like to work in and why?
- What has influenced your decision to become a teacher?
- If you were to become a teacher, how would you like your pupils to describe you and why?
- How do you know whether you really do want to become a teacher?
- Do you have any life experiences that you think may help your career in teaching?
- What do you feel are the 3 most important skills to become a teacher?
- Do you possess all of these? If so, what examples can you give to demonstrate this?
- What qualities do you think make a good teacher?
- Discuss a time when you had to convey an important message to someone – describe how you did this and what the end result was.
- How do you cope with stress?
- How do you manage your time?
- Give us an example of the time when you had to overcome a difficult situation?
- What made you choose your undergraduate degree subject?
- What weaknesses will you have to work on to become a successful teacher?
- What is the hardest thing about working with children?
- Why have you chosen this particular age range to teach?
Knowledge & work experience
- What is the role of a teacher?
- What is the most demanding aspect of the study programme, and how would you overcome this?
- How does your degree relate to National Curriculum requirements?
- If you had £1 billion to spend on teaching, what would you spend it on and why?
- Where does teaching take place?
- What do you know about current educational topics in the media?
- What challenges affect teaching in schools in the UK?
- What might a typical day involve for a teacher?
- What work experience do you have that is relevant to teaching?
- What did you like about it and what skills did you learn?
- Were there any aspects of your work experience you didn’t enjoy?
- Tell us about an example of a school lesson you observed and how it was run?
- What are the negatives of working in a primary/secondary school?
- How do you deal with very gifted children?
- How could you make a subject or topic interesting to children?
- How would you cope with less bright children who have learning difficulties?
- How would you deal with a racial incident at school?
- What do you know about the National Curriculum?
Teamwork & communication
- Why is communication vital in teaching?
- Give us an example of when you worked as part of a team?
- Can you think of a team situation where your communication skills have been essential? Tell us more about the situation and how you contributed.
- Tell us about a group activity you have organised. What went well and what went badly? What did you learn from it?
- What have you learned about yourself and successful team-working?
- Who do you think will be the most important people you will work with as a teacher?
- Describe a time when you had to lead a team of people?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of being in a team? Do you believe teams need leaders?
- Do you think humour can help a team? Give an example.
Career plans & your future
- Do you have any career aspirations?
- How will university benefit your future?
- Where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time?
- If you had to take a gap year, what would you do?