BA (Hons) Primary Education (5-11) with Recommendation for QTS student, Mandip Panesar shares with us his experience studying at Leeds Beckett and what inspired him to study his course.

Course: BA (Hons) Primary Education with Recommendation for QTS

Tell us a bit about yourself and what drew you to your course.

I’m a fun, energetic person with lots of enthusiasm and eagerness to learn. I enjoy working and keeping busy by having part time jobs - tutoring maths, English and science – and playing football and field hockey regularly.

From an early age, I enjoyed helping people, and throughout school I would volunteer to help peers in my own year and lower years, spanning from reading with nursery children to explaining A level topics to my friends in sixth form.

When applying for university, this course stood out to me as it aligned with what I wanted to do and the teaching profession was a path that excited me to set out upon.

What made you choose Leeds Beckett?

Firstly, my mother used to work at Leeds Beckett University (LBU) as a Lecturer in computer science so I used to visit the campus occasionally during that period.

In addition to this, I spoke to older friends who had studied the same course I had applied for at LBU; of which they gave a glowing review and recommended the university and the course highly.

This research gave me an understanding that LBU was the place for me to continue my further study to become the best teacher I can be.

How have you found your placements and what did you enjoy the most?

My placements have been very enjoyable and there was necessary support from class teachers to aid my development.

There were different challenges in different classrooms which gave me opportunities to try different strategies and techniques I had learned throughout the course across behaviour management, assessments or pedagogy.

I enjoyed creating and delivering fun lessons and witnessing how children progress in their learning due to your input being engaging and active for children.

I also enjoyed finding solutions to problems to help children to focus more or become more immersed in their learning.

What has been your favourite thing about your time studying at Leeds Beckett? 

My favourite thing about studying at LBU is how friendly and supportive staff and colleagues are which helps you feel safe and comfortable when studying on campus.

I have enjoyed meeting peers on my course and other courses who are equally driven and passionate for their future profession which creates a positive working environment to be encompassed within.

What support and opportunities have you been given for life after university?

The Lecturers on my course have given detailed step-by-step seminars on the process of applying for jobs as well as working through example interview questions to give some insight into how structure your answers.

They also explained what a personal statement is and how to set it out and map out your skills to a brief from an example school job specification.

University staff have been very helpful throughout my course by being available and open for any questions or queries you may have in terms of applying for jobs.

What advice would you give someone thinking about studying this course? 

The course is a good mix between theory and practice so will allow you to learn the theory behind strategies and techniques of teaching to then implement in your placements.

For this to occur, I would say you need good organisation and lots of enthusiasm and passion which will shine through when you teach in the classroom.

The course also encourages and offers students to try every opportunity and build their experience by teaching in different settings and year groups.

More specifically to my course; I would advise students to read around the topic areas to build their subject and curriculum knowledge and continually research around teaching strategies and techniques.

What are your plans after you graduate?

My plan is to find a teaching job and start my first years in teaching as a Primary School Teacher.

After completing these two years, I aspire to learn new things about teaching and hone into more focused areas and build my skills and knowledge throughout.