School of Education and Continuing Studies (SECS)

Selection

On receiving your GTTR form we will check the quality and suitability of content of your degree and other qualifications, and where we are in your order of selection of training institutions. Applicants putting Portsmouth as first choice are given priority, but we consider all applicants.

We read your personal statement carefully, looking for your considered reasons for wishing to teach, whether you have any recent relevant school observation experience, consider any other appropriate work experiences, and note the quality of your written work. We then check whether you have an appropriate referee and look for a supportive set of comments about your academic ability and suitability for teaching.

A decision is then taken whether to invite you for interview, and a date is allocated of which you will be informed. We take notice of inconvenient dates mentioned on GTTR forms, but candidates should beware of making unreasonable limitations on their availability.

If we invite you for interview then we will ask you to bring with you a completed Trainee Entry Profile. This is a web-based resource that enables all potential trainee teachers to record their experiences and achievements that relate to teaching. It will also ask you to consider these experiences in relation to the QTS Standards. We will also ask you to prepare a 10-minute teaching session on any topic you like. You will teach this to a small group of other applicants.

Our interviews will take up much of the day. Normally, this involves, in the morning, a check of your qualifications, micro-teaching, and an audit you carry out of your subject knowledge (a review of your teaching strengths at the time of the interview). A number of other forms are completed, such as health and criminal record declarations.

After a lunch there is a sequence of individual interviews each lasting 30-40 minutes. You will be assessed on your communication and subject knowledge skills, your competence to manage the learning of students in your subject area, your awareness of school roles other than as a subject teacher, and your suitability and preparation for the profession and for training. You will be invited to share any concerns you may have over qualifications, health, or criminal record issues, and to ask any questions you wish to ensure that you too can make an informed decision, should you be offered a place. You will also be asked to complete a subject specific task.

If we offer you a place, this will be followed by written feedback on your interview with specific advice on how to prepare for the beginning of the course. Very occasionally we will ask applicants, after an interview, to spend a little more time in a partner school, and will ask the school to help us make a final decision; occasionally from such a visit an applicant might be asked to write a short report to convey what they have observed and gained from the experience.