Applying for a PGCE : Completing the form

• Follow the step-by-step instructions carefully and use the help facility and FAQs.
• When you first register on the system, make sure the details are correct, as these are transferred to the online application when you start to apply.
• Don't rush the application. This is your chance to persuade the initial teacher training (ITT) providers to invite you for interview. Use it to provide evidence of your motivation, experiences, qualifications and understanding of teacher training and the role of a teacher.
• You can log in and out of your application, so you don't need to fill in everything at once.

Selecting courses

You can apply for up to four courses, of which a maximum of two can be primary teaching courses. The Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR)  will send your application to one ITT provider at a time, following your stated order of preference. For secondary, middle years (key stages 2 and 3) and some primary courses, you must also choose a subject specialism.

Content of first degree

• Include all the individual subjects that make up your degree course. They should add up to 100%. If there is not enough room for all the subjects, group related subjects together under a main heading and provide a percentage for each group.
• If you are applying for a secondary course, this section helps admissions tutors assess whether your degree course covers enough of the subject you will be training to teach.
• If you are applying for a primary course, this section helps admissions tutors identify any specialist knowledge relevant to teaching the range of subjects in the national curriculum. For primary, it is especially important to include skills courses, such as IT or statistics, and modules that illustrate your knowledge of cross-curricular themes being developed in primary schools, e.g. environmental education, community or citizenship, health education, equality and diversity. 

Personal statement

This is a crucial part of the application. You have 47 lines, and 80 characters per line including spaces, in which to persuade the ITT providers to offer you an interview. It must be concise and sell your potential to be a successful teacher.

Your personal statement should reflect the courses you have applied for. Each ITT provider will want you to show commitment to the age range and subject for which you have applied. If you decide to apply for both primary and secondary courses, use the personal statement to explain why.

Write your draft personal statement in Word so you can check it for spelling and grammatical errors and then copy and paste it into the application.

Note that all personal statements are put through the GTTR Similarity Detection Service  to ensure that each personal statement received is entirely the candidate’s own work.

You will be asked to describe your reasons for wanting to teach, giving the relevance of your previous education and experience, including teaching, visits to schools and other work with young people. To answer effectively:

• ensure you give evidence of your experiences and education to support your arguments;
• think about what skills make an effective teacher. Which of these skills do you have?
• reflect on what you have observed in any work experience in state schools. What did you do? What did you learn from it?
• what else have you done to show you enjoy working with young people or children? In a team? With parents?
• comment on work experience in other settings, such as voluntary work and extracurricular activities, and show how the skills you gained will help you become an effective teacher;
• how will the skills, as well as the knowledge, gained from your undergraduate degree help you in the classroom?

In addition, you should use this space to explain anything not made clear elsewhere on the application, such as reasons for restricted geographical mobility. If you don’t live in the UK currently then also explain why you want to study in the UK and, if relevant, provide evidence that your language skills are sufficient to complete the PGCE course.

Show your personal statement to a careers adviser or tutor to get feedback about the content. The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA)  produces a useful Teacher Training: Application Form Assistant  that can help you write your personal statement.

Work experience

You have 20 lines in this section to list where you have worked (paid and unpaid), dates, job titles, employers and responsibilities. Use the personal statement to elaborate on how this work experience is relevant to teaching.

Referees

• You are asked for two referees. The second referee is often not taken up by ITT providers.
• You will not be able to pay for your application or submit it until your principal referee has provided an online reference. 
• Delays with applications are often the result of references not being provided. You may need to check and follow up progress with your referee.
• Your principal referee can view all the information on your application online when providing your reference.

Sending your application

Print out a copy of your application before sending it to the GTTR so that you can remind yourself of the content for interviews.

After your form has been submitted

Once your application is received, the GTTR will send it to the training institution that you have listed as your first choice.