Joel Irvine

The inspiration to do my PGCE came when I was on placement in a school during my undergraduate degree. The overall feeling of being able to educate and provide young people with an opportunity to develop really inspired me to become a teacher. This, as well as having the opportunity to work with students who have Special Educational Needs.

I chose to study at Edge Hill due to the reputation of the University. There is genuinely a real effort made by Edge Hill for people to feel welcome at the University. Furthermore after networking with previous alumni it was evident that the University was producing a high calibre of teachers.

The top three skills I have developed during my degree are:

1. Organisation. Being the course representative, being on placement, having lesson plans and assignments has required an incredible amount of organisation and structure in order to work to my optimum level and this is something that has been enhanced.
2. Resilience. Sometimes you can have a bad day, and it can throw you back. Teaching has instilled great resilience in me.
3. People skills. During my PGCE I am always speaking to people, whether in lectures, to students on my course, other students at university, teachers and my mentor. There are lots of conversations and being on this PGCE has further enhanced my people skills.

To date the most memorable moment has been on placement when year 7/8/9 students were participating in cross country, there was one student who was working hard and was close to the finish line when he felt like giving up. The other students that had already finished started cheering him on. As he crossed the finish line everyone celebrated with him. That for me is what has sold the job of a teacher to me.

One of my favourite things about my degree was attending an outdoor activity centre. This allowed me to experience outdoor activity adventure activities that I may want to teach when I go out on placement. This was an amazing overnight residential and I also made friends with others on my course.

My favourite place on campus is 53.3 Degrees coffee shop in the Catalyst building. Friendly staff, incredible coffee and a raspberry croissant to die for!

My advice to someone considering studying my course at Edge Hill would be to network with students who are at the University and ask them personal questions that you may have about the course.

Edge Hill University is brilliant! The support, the lectures, the content taught, it is all modern day and very much top class!

When I graduate I hope to secure a permanent role teaching in a secondary school. Whether that is in the UK or abroad. Furthermore, when I graduate I would like to do a Masters in sports psychology and upscale in SEND.