11 Plus Exams Forum

Firstly, this question is not for me! But as you, my dear cyber friends, have managed to sort out my dental problems, my household budget and my social life, this one should be a breeze.

Does anybody have any experience of retraining as a teacher later in life (i.e. at 52?). The friend concerned has read all the online blurb but practical experience is worth ten websites, she has a French degree and has used her French throughout her working career so it's not rusty and was wondering whether this would be an option for a career switch.

Thanks

Don't know anything much about teaching training, but at my DDs former primary, a woman came in to teach all the classes French. Don't know whether she was qualified as a teacher.

She also ran Le Club Francais one lunchtime too.

Another possible?

I think more people do PGCEs later in life if the students I've had over the years are anything to go by. I have a friend who is almost 50, who is half way through her PGCE having worked as a teaching assistant while her children were young. Now I think she's mad, but she is loving planning and delivering her own lessons.

I would advise getting into as many schools of all types as she can and make it known she would like to train as a teacher - there are loads of different routes now. Make sure she volunteers at all key stages whatever age she hopes to teach. I would say go for the qualified route - otherwise a school will pay a pittance for having her plan, deliver and mark lessons, keep records etc, without the back up of professional knowledge and training.
I have heard that getting on a PGCE is very competitive as are GTP placements, so that is a hurdle in itself.

It's a great career switch. She would need to apply for 3 choices through UCAS such as a university PGCE,a SDT place or a salaried SDT (formerly GTP)
She will need experience in school, so I would suggest that first. Get he'd to write to some local secondary schools.
She may well need a second language for some places, so she should be careful before selecting which course to apply for through UCAS.

She has to get into a secondary or primary school whichever she wants and she needs to choose and starting working in the classroom, otherwise she will get three rejections when she applies. I also suggest she signs up now to take current GCSE and A Level French privately so she knows the current syllabus and can offer practical current and relevant expertise. DG

She could just do past papers and read the syllabus or volunteer as a helper - much cheaper than doing the exams.

Guest55 wrote:She could just do past papers and read the syllabus or volunteer as a helper - much cheaper than doing the exams.

She needs a salary so I think she will need to go down the qualification route but some volunteering seems a good idea on the way there.

Either 'on the job' tye QTS or a flexible PGCE where you can qualify alongside a job.

I see no point in getting further GCSE or A levels - she has already got a degree! She could work as a TA or LSA ....

It is not for the qualification, she does not need the qualification clearly. It is because the syllabus will have changed since she did it, just like when I did O level English many years ago, no adverts, no diary entries, no letters, no posters, when I did O Level Maths, no calculator paper. I expect there have lots of changes in GCSE and A Level French since she took it and she needs to immerse herself in the syllabus and best way of doing that is to do it herself. DG

Sorry I disagree - it will be sufficient to work through past papers and look at the syllabus.