Thinking of Teaching, but need some School Experience?
Gaining classroom experience before starting your initial teacher training (ITT) can help you be sure that a career in teaching is right for you. It can also support your application for ITT by spending some time in a classroom and speaking to experienced teachers, school staff and students.
Our programme will give you the experience of a typical day in a secondary school and provide you with the opportunity to talk about teaching to teachers and trainees.
The day will include:
A tour of the school, observation of a variety of lessons of the subject(s) of your choice, a chance to meet with senior leaders and teaching staff and an opportunity to ask questions regarding the School Direct programme.
When and where:
Oriel High School, School Experience Days are held in a range of subjects every Wednesday between 8am-3pm of the school academic year.
Graduate Internships are work based training placements designed to give you an experience of working in a school prior to going onto teacher training or other professional qualifications. This route is suitable for new graduates who are still considering their career options and want to get some paid, hands on experience before committing themselves. Internships at Oriel can be for one, two or three terms and can include foci such as:
Literacy and Numeracy intervention to support student progress
Student mentoring
Supporting Pupil Premium Students
Intervention tutoring
Supporting students with Special Educational Needs
Working with and supporting specific subject areas
School Direct Experience Day – Visitor testimonials
“I have worked in and visited a good number of schools. This one stands out in all areas with its strong culture and structure, friendliness of staff and well behaved students”
“My experience with you has really set a high level of expectation and motivation. For once the rhetoric of a school website has been overshadowed by the reality. The intelligence, the professionalism, courtesy etc, really does set you apart”
“It was a pleasure to visit Oriel and have the opportunity to sit in on classes. Staff were very friendly and helpful and students were respectful. Many thanks for the school experience”.
“Very informative day visiting your school. Impressed with student behaviour”
“I’d like to take this opportunity to say a big thanks to you and to all your colleagues for their valuable advice on my school experience visit. I have been offered a place to do PGCE Mathematics from the University of Sussex and I strongly believe that the one-day school experience at Oriel played a big role in this. I went out from your school with loads of experience, information, and confidence as an aspiring teacher.Please continue this, and convey my wishes and thanks to all the teachers.“
“I always knew that I wanted to teach Geography but I also had a MSc. in Structural Geology and Geophysics so I was open to teaching science as well. I have always considered teaching but after I finished university I fell into a job as an Events Coordinator in London. During my time there I had two children (1 and 3). My job had nothing to do with Geography and I missed it greatly, plus I was driven by a desire to have a job which my own children could be proud of and I wanted to inspire some of the future generation of Geographers.
When I applied there was no funding at all to teach Geography and I was faced with the prospect of not earning for a year and paying for university fees, I also have never learnt to drive. When looking for potential courses I thereby only looked at ones which paid a wage (to help cover the nursery fees) and which I could travel to by public transport. There were no paid Geography positions in my local area, however I found that Oriel were advertising for a Postgraduate Teaching Apprenticeship (PGTA) and that it was salaried. I had never heard of this kind of training before but I did a little research and found out that I would start teaching straight away, work 4 days a week learning all the practical aspects of teaching and then have 1 day a week at the University of Brighton in order to learn all the theory.
Prior to starting Oriel, I kept on being told by all the teachers and lecturers that Oriel was an exemplary training school and Oriel did not disappoint. They have been amazing every step of the way and have been so supportive, it is truly a lovely community where everyone is kind, welcoming, friendly and altruistic. I am a Geography trainee but Oriel have also given me the opportunity to teach some KS4 Physics and I am really relishing the challenge.
Although teacher training is tough and most of the time you feel like there are not enough minutes in the day and there are those occasional days of self-doubt where you feel like you could do better. The moments do not last for long, there is always someone nearby whether it be a member of staff or a student who will say something unexpected to give you that confidence boost. The students at Oriel are amazing and surprise me daily (in a good way), there is nothing like the buzz of teaching a lesson and seeing the lightbulb moment of a student suddenly understanding something they struggled with before. Teaching is by far the most engaging and rewarding job I have ever done.”
