Personal Statement - Primary Education

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

I have wanted to pursue a career in primary education for several years now. I also greatly enjoy my studies of English, having achieved A grades at AS level in both English Literature and English Language, which is why I wish to study this as a specialism. I have a love of children, and there are many reasons why a career in this field appeals to me. I enjoy interaction with children on their own level, gaining insight into their perceptions and how they see the world. The idea of playing an active role in helping them develop greatly appeals to me. I gain huge satisfaction from being able to help them learn and discover new things about the world. I also believe that it is a great challenge trying to put across a new concept so that a group of children who previously did not understand, now do. I want to enable children to have fun at school and make the most of their primary school days, and not to find school boring or a waste of time. I also like the idea of having personal responsibility over a group of children, seeing them through a year, and witnessing them improving.

How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?

I have had many varied experiences related to teaching, which have strengthened my desire to follow this career. I currently have a part-time job at "Eureka! The Museum for Children", which I have held since February 2001. My job allows me to interact with many different children and adults, of varying ages, across a range of different backgrounds. A major part of my role involves enabling families and teachers to gain the most educational value from the exhibits. My other day-to-day activities include teaching through role-play, managing and maintaining a classroom environment, and interacting with Foundation Stage children and their parents in the pre-school classroom. My work at "Eureka!" has taught me many things, most notably patience and the ability to keep calm.

In July and August 2002, I assisted at a two-week remedial summer school at a local primary school. I gained a lot from this, witnessing literacy and ICT with Year 5 pupils, and supervising on out-of-school trips. This experience, alongside my work experience in a primary school in October 2000, has given me a good insight into the practical running of a school.

In September 2002, I was in a team that came second nationally in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) website awards. I had to create an educational resource; my responsibility was the section for the primary age phase. I found this useful as it made me look at things from the point of view of a teacher, creating teaching resources and activities I felt would be useful, and creating information pages that were easily accessible and understandable for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 children. I also tried to link it as much as possible to National Curriculum ideas.

What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

I assist at "Badgers", the junior section of St John Ambulance. I have joint responsibility for a Badger set, in which I have to keep the children entertained, help them follow a set course, and maintain discipline. I enjoy this because it involves the same children every week, giving me the opportunity to get to know them, watch them develop, and earn their respect.

At school, I am a prefect to a form of Year 7 children. I have joint responsibility for taking care of them in place of their form teacher on a weekly basis.

I am currently a very active member of the school charity committee and have assisted in the organisation and implementation of many charity events.

My experience and enthusiasm for primary teaching would make this a fulfilling and rewarding career.

How personal statements have changed?

The current personal statement format, with three 'scaffolding' questions, was introduced by Ucas in September 2025. This personal statement was submitted before then, using the old essay-style format. It has been carefully edited into the three-question format, with all of the original wording kept.

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