Felicity Coen

Felicity completed her undergraduate degree in psychology at a university in Sheffield. She chose her PGCE after becoming interested in educational psychology.

On choosing to become a teacher

It’s a cliché, but I’ve always wanted to become a teacher.

After studying Psychology at undergraduate level, I was very interested in child development and wanted to pursue a career in educational psychology. However, I thought it would be best to become a teacher first, to see it from the frontline.

I chose to study at The University of Manchester as this is where I’m from and I wanted to carry on living at home. I also love Manchester as a city and think it is a wonderful place to study.

On my School Direct course

As a School Direct trainee, I have a slightly different experience to other trainees.

I loved how when I started in September, I spent lots of days at the University - having tutorials and lectures – as well as a couple of days in school. This eased me into school placements nicely, helping me to feel ready to start my first placement in October.

So far, there have been two highlights. One is meeting new people and making friends. More generally though, I think the course is amazing and the lecturers have so much passion about what they are teaching. They clearly show that they want their students to become the best teachers.

On applying for and starting my PGCE

If I was to give any advice to future PGCE students, it would be not to panic. I felt quite apprehensive when starting – I thought I wouldn’t feel ready to go into a school and teach from October. However, the University prepares you so well that you will definitely feel ready.

In terms of the application process, just make sure you mention all the experience you have that is relevant to working with children and show your enthusiasm to become a teacher.