Personal Statement - Primary Education 3

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

I have wanted to be a primary school teacher since I was in first school myself. The main reason I want to do this course is because I love the prospect of working with children, being such an important part of a child’s life is a real honour. I thoroughly enjoyed school and was amazed at my teacher and loved what she taught me and my peers. Thinking back, I am incredibly impressed how we learnt the National Curriculum whilst relating it to the topics we were focused on, such as our local town. This fascination stayed with me throughout my childhood- I was forever asking my younger sister to play “schools”, where I taught her basic literacy and numeracy skills.

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

I take A2 Biology and Psychology, and as an extra, AS English Language, which I am thoroughly enjoying, especially English as we are being taught exactly what the language is, which I believe is essential to communication and also education.

I completed two weeks work experience in 2006 when I worked in a local nursery. There were two separate parts, one for babies and toddlers and one for slightly older children- starting from about four years old. I enjoyed working with the children and seeing them improve through educational games and learning activities was amazing, one of the proudest moments of my life was teaching a three year old girl how to write her name, it gave me an amazing sense of accomplishment and a real insight as to what it feels like to teach. I also took part in a sports leadership programme within physical education at my school. It involved learning how to plan a simple sports session for children, including emphasis on how to deliver and direct the session and how to include fair play. During the last session, children from year 6 at a local middle school came to my school and were split amongst us leaders. I enjoyed talking to the children and listening to what their views were and tailored my session to what they suggested. This helped as I got feedback as to what the children thought of my session and it was interesting to hear their views on school. I have also applied to two local schools for work experience over the next school year.

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

Outside of college, I work part time in a pub-restaurant. Working in a busy environment helped me to come out of my shell and gain a lot of confidence, which is obviously essential when being a teacher. This also inspired me to leave high school and join college, which again has helped me gain confidence and meet and befriend new people. College has helped me gain more independence, at high school the teachers are there to make sure you do well, whereas at college there is a stronger focus on independence which I believe has been much better in preparing me for university. College has also helped me to become more organised and I am now more aware of time management, which are essential in a classroom situation.

Working and beating targets inspires me to try my hardest, I am used to this from college and know how important it is in university and when teaching. Also having the satisfaction of watching a group of children progress over the school year would be an amazing experience, to know I have helped them during their most important years is truly inspirational.

I hope my statement shows that I am completely dedicated to doing this course and then becoming a primary school teacher.

Universities applied to:

• Leeds Trinity
• Northumbria

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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