GTP as an alternative?

With my applications through PGCEs not going very well I looked into different ways into teaching

Still with PGCE though I wanted to apply to the PGCE at Open University

Cost £3375;

Entry requirements

The requirements may change as a result of government decisions. At present you must:

• Be able to attend school placements in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.
• Be resident in the appropriate nation.
• Have a degree from a UK university or an equivalent qualification that is clearly and substantially relevant to one of the six secondary PGCE subjects. This means that at least half and preferably two-thirds of your degree (at least 180 credits) should comprise studies relevant to the subject you intend to teach.
• Have a GCSE grade A–C, or the equivalent, in English language and in mathematics.
• Show evidence in your application and at interview that you can communicate clearly and grammatically in written and spoken Standard English.
• Demonstrate at interview specific abilities related to the subject.
• If you are applying for a place in modern foreign languages, you will need to be able to offer two languages, one of which must be French.

Pros	Cons
Have a placement near home	Milton Keynes for interview
Cheap course	Maths
Student loan

Started looking at GTP courses though in case PGCE didn’t work out.

What would be good about GTP is I can get paid while I’m training I can get paid which will narrow the time it takes for me to save towards my MA

There were only 2 GTPS offering art PGCEs nearby

·       Nine stiles teaching consortium

·       King Edwards Consortium of Teaching

Both asked me to have my own placement sorted

King Edwards Consortium

Local authority: Birmingham

Information about our recruitment process
Applicants seeking salary and training grant places should apply to the King Edward's Consortium and do not need to find an employing school beforehand.  The strongest applicants are invited to an initial interview and, if selected, matched with one of our nineteen schools for second interview.
Applicants seeking self-funded places, often - but not always - from non-maintained schools, should contact the KEC directly before applying.  We offer a small number of self-funded places each year, usually to trainees in schools within ten miles of our training centre in Edgbaston, Birmingham.
Training:  We currently offer training places in: Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, ICT and Computing, MFL (French, German, Spanish, Urdu), Classics, Art and Design, Drama, English, History, Geography, Music, PE and RE.
Qualifications: 'Establishment 1' means your school (not university).  When asked for your GCSE Science grade, please choose: 'C or above equivalent' and then give us further details (e.g. of physics, chemistry, biology or double award science grades) in the 'other secondary qualifications' section.  In this section, please list all qualifications, including GCSE equivalents, earliest first.
Employment history: Use this section to include your complete employment history.  You do not need to repeat information in the Teaching Experience section, which follows.  (We will ask you to tell us about school experience - apart from employment - in your Statement later in the form).
Statement:  Please tell us (1) why you want to become a teacher, (2) what experience you have had in secondary schools in the past 24 months and what you have learned from this, (3) why you want to teach your chosen subject and (4) why you would like to follow the GTP route with the King Edward's Consortium. 
Once we receive your application we will email an acknowledgement.  In this email we will ask you to complete a KEC form and send it to us, in the post, with photocopies of your GCSE Maths and English certificates and your degree certificate (or overseas equivalents along with NARIC documentation).  Once these are received we will be able to process your application.

Nine stiles Teaching Consortium

Programme start dates

Information about our recruitment process
Should your application be successful you will be invited for interview. During the interview a series of skills tests will be undertaken as well as the personal interview with subject leaders. Should your application not be successful you would be informed.
Applications have now been closed for the follow subjects: 
Information about our relationship with employing schools
In most cases applicants approach an employing school and then apply to us as the training provider, occasionally we can help match applicants with employing schools.
Throughout the recruitment process we work closely with the employing schools to assess the needs of both the school and the applicant to ensure that the best match can be achieved.
Employing schools are part of the interview panel and have are pivotal in any offer made. Employing schools we have worked with are listed on this site and on our web site www.ninestiles.org.uk. We welcome working with new schools provided they have a good Ofsted result and are within easy traveling from Birmingham e.g. approx. 45 minutes travelling radius from Acocks Green, Birmingham.
If you already have an employing school you need to complete the 'Employing School Endorsement' section on the application form.
Should you be successful in gaining an interview you will need to bring two forms of photographic identification e.g. passport, driving licence (both parts). You will also need to bring your certificates from your GCSE's in Maths and English, your degree certificate and transcript, if possible. If you have passed your skills tests you need to bring proof of this.
Subjects we offer are:
Physics, Chemistry, Biology
Maths, English, Languages
Design Technology, Art, ICT, Business Studies, History, Geography, RE, Dance, Drama, PE

Having difficultly finding a placement. I have applied to

·      Wednesfield High School

·      Wolgarston High School –where I did my Student Associate Scheme

·      Codsall High School – where I used to go to school

·      Coppice Preforming Arts School

·      Great Wyrley High School

·      Cannock Chase High School

·      Castle High School

·      Cheslyn High School

·      Orminston High school

·      Cheslyn Hayes High School

Covering letter:

Dear MS King
I'm writing regarding gaining a placement with you as part of a Gtp programme.
I am currently applying to both king Edwards’s consortium and nine stiles graduate teacher consortium at the moment. As part of the application process I need to confirm I have a work placement within a school.
I have had teacher experience before on work experience within bilbrook middle school and as part of the student associate scheme at wolgarston high school in penkridge via my university, Staffordshire. I have also co-taught an adults belly dance class f or about a year and, as part of a re-enactment society, given demonstrations of weaponry and explaining the era.
I am interested in a placement with your art department but have had experience with design and photography.
Thank you for your time
Look forward to hearing from you,
Kind regards
Jenny hall

All of them but Coppice High School had no places/funding/teaching staff who could train me

Coppice replied:

Dear Jenny,

Thank you for your interest in a placement at Coppice Performing Arts School.

Unfortunately, we are not offering placements until the head has received her financial budget for 2012-2013. Then placements will be offered to areas of the curriculum which we feel would benefit from a trainee. We should know a little bit more around Easter time.

Regards,

M.Corcoran

Teacher Training Coordinator.

So I shall have to wait till Easter until I know whether I have a GTP placement

PGCE not going well

While applying for PGCE, I rang the universities to ask what they required of me at interview. They asked for

·      Proof of certificates

·      Short 5 minute lesson to be taught and bring any visuals

·      Portfolio of large range of work

·      English Exam

All these things I was able to provide and wasn’t a problem

However when ringing the universities, Bangor and Edge Hill were very rude on the phone which put me off straight away

Birmingham rejected my application

Gloucester invited me for an interview

·      Had an English exam while the secretary checked and photocopied my folder of certificates

·      5 minute short lesson on Leonardo Da Vinci given to a group of 5 children

·      20 minute individual interview with 2 teachers from the department

My application was rejected but no information as to why was given. Phoned the university but they couldn’t provide me with any

Bangor rejected my application

MA interest change

Change in MA decision

 Due to my works main theme shift in my work into human relationships with animals my MA interest shifted into wanted to do Wildlife documentary. This will incorporate all interests of animals, working in digital media and working in a creative environment

MA Wildlife Documentary Production

• MA (one year full-time)

3 good reasons to study Wildlife Documentary Production at Salford:

• Enhance your career prospects in wildlife video and film production
• Master class series with eminent practitioners
• Develop creative and technical skills in producing wildlife documentary films based on scientific understanding of wildlife behaviour.

91% of Media, Music and Performance postgraduates go on to employment and/or further study within six months of graduating

DLHE 2009 and 2010

You will make a number of wildlife films through research, scriptwriting and production, throughout the duration of the course. The course is delivered through lectures, team-based projects, and case studies. Visiting external professionals with links to the television industry will contribute to the teaching in master classes. There is an extensive programme of field trips, including individual and group projects to a range of different habitats. You will work on a range of specialist techniques including long-lens and time-lapse photography, alongside close-up sound recording. We put emphasis on professional practice with project outcomes meeting scientific scrutiny, and both exhibition and broadcast standards.

MA Wildlife Documentary Production

• International students can apply

Relevant undergraduate honours degree normally at 2:1 or above.

Accreditation for Prior Experiential Learning (APEL)

We welcome applications from students who may not have formal/traditional entry criteria but whom have relevant experience or the ability to pursue the course successfully.
The Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) process could help you to make your work and life experience count. The APL process can be used for entry onto courses or to give you exemptions from parts of your course.
Two forms of APL may be used for entry: the Accreditation of Prior Certificated Learning (APCL) or the Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL).

Suitable For

Graduates who have a passion for using video documentary techniques to communicate scientific knowledge about wildlife and the environment. The programme will provide students with a unique interdisciplinary interaction between sciences and creative arts.

Applicant profile

Our students are accepted from three backgrounds:

• Science and specifically biological science graduates
• Graduates with a degree in media, in particular film and video production
• Applicants with proven interest in wildlife documentary. A body of work can demonstrate this: short video films or stills photography portfolio.

Graduate applicants should have a minimum second-class degree, preferably an upper second or better. Applicants will be interviewed and should be able to supply references if requested.

The majority of past students have found jobs in the television industry. Examples include:

• Ex-students are working for the BBC Natural History Unit as researchers and assistant producers.
• Ex-students are working for ITV, producing short films from their wildlife images catalogue
• A student is working as an assistant cameraman for a leading wildlife independent company
• One student is working as a producer for Portuguese TV
• Other graduates have jobs as field assistants (currently working in the arctic on a major wildlife film), runners and film librarians
• A student is making web-based programmes for Cornwall TV
• All are connected with wildlife and nature film-making

Cost: £4,500

Pros	Cons
Cheap course	Move away
Creative environment	Need to get a good portfolio/ film reel
APL take into account life experiences and interests – my degree was about the animal and I’ve done a lot of research involving zoos etc.
I’ve used documentary techniques in my degree
Extremely interested
Fantastic career opportunities

Ill still need to save about £24,000 but the course costs are cheaper which is a bonus.

A lot of the Cons that my previous MA choice had still apply to this one

One thing stopping me; maths GCSE

The main thing that lets me down is my lack of Math GCSE so I am doing my key skills through the learn direct website up to level 3.

Currently about to sit level 2 exam.

Through Learn direct I can do it at home and fit it around university rather than attend a class

Doing up to level 3 as from phone calls to the universities, level 2 is not accepted but level 3 is which is equivalent to A level Math (more than the required GCSE.

To make sure though I am using the key skills course as revision software to do an equivalency at Liverpool John Moore’s

The course at John Moore’s is £60 a sitting and I don’t have to do a course just sit the exam.

GCSE Equivalence Tests

Exam Dates for 2011/12

The next available dates are;

AMFIT - Thursday 5th April 2012 BOOKED IN FOR THIS (sat last year but failed so doing it again)
Exam Cost: £60
Please note: you must bring with you photographic ID which is checked at the beginning of the exam.

As a provider of Initial Teacher Training (ITT), LJMU understands that not everyone who wants to become a teacher has the qualifications required. This is particularly true when it comes to your GCSEs. For Primary Education, you require English language, mathematics and a science at grade C or above. For Secondary Education, you require English language and mathematics only.

Every academic year, the Faculty of Education, Community and Leisure at IM Marsh offer GCSE Equivalence tests which the University will accept on its ITT courses in place of the relevant GCSEs. These run at various times each year. You are welcome to sit as many times (subject to sufficient numbers) as it takes to pass. These tests are available in English language (AEFIT), mathematics (AMFIT) and science (ASFIT).
It is important to note that these tests are designed to be equivalent to a Foundation grade C in the relevant subject at GCSE. They are not any easier or harder than the national tests offered currently. We do not currently run courses to accompany these tests - we recommend that you buy an Foundation Tier GCSE text book from a good bookstore to help you revise.
The examination syllabus and papers are written by GCSE examiners and assessed by academic staff who specialise in the subject areas of English language, mathematics or science. Assessors mark the papers against a set marking criteria. Guidance on the marking criteria can be found in the syllabus for each subject which are available for all candidates who book on to sit LJMU's GCSE equivalence tests using the online application form below.
Candidates must achieve 50% to pass the GCSE equivalence exam which is either pass (50%+) or fail (49% or lower). LJMU do not award grades - we recognise any mark of 50% as equivalent to a grade C in GCSE English language, maths and science. The paper is aimed to be at the same level as a Foundation GCSE in the subject; the highest grade you can achieve in a foundation GCSE is grade C. Therefore, all candidates with a mark of 50% or more will pass the equivalence exam at grade C. All candidates with a mark of 49% or less will not pass the equivalence exam.

Learndirect course:

Maths

A nationally recognised qualification in maths can boost your job prospects and give you the skills you need to get by in everyday life. Whether you need to know how to spot a good deal when you're shopping, or add up petty cash for work, make sure your number skills are up to scratch.

All of our maths courses lead towards the nationally recognised Certificate in Adult Numeracy at entry level 3, level 1 and level 2.