From PGCE to Early Careers Teacher: The Hardest, Most Beautiful Journey

What’s your name and what did you study?

I’m Emily, and I studied PGCE Design and Technology at the University of Chester. But that sentence doesn’t really tell you what I lived. I didn’t just study teaching, I walked into it, headfirst, heart open, ready to be broken and rebuilt.

What have you enjoyed most about your course?

Enjoyed? That’s a funny word. The PGCE isn’t something you just enjoy—it’s something you survive. It’s relentless, it stretches you until you think you might snap, and then it stretches you further.

But in the madness, in the exhaustion, in the I can’t do this moments, something else happens. You grow. You learn what it means to stand in front of a room full of teenagers and hold the space. You learn how to read the shifting tides of a class—when to push, when to pull back, when to be gentle, when to be firm. And that? That’s magic. That’s alchemy. That’s the part I loved most.

What about placements? Any classroom stories?

My first day on placement arrived fast. Too fast. One moment, I was in university, talking about pedagogy, and the next—I was standing in a DT classroom, feeling like an imposter.

The first teacher I shadowed cried that day. Later, she sat slumped in our shared office and told me, “Don’t do this. Don’t teach.”

I remember feeling the weight of her words settle on my chest.

Then came the comments:

"You’re brave."

"I could never teach secondary."

"Good luck with that one."

It was like everyone was warning me away, like they were trying to tell me something without saying it outright. We are in a pandemic—not just of viruses, but of mental health, of behaviour, of kids who are lost before they even get a chance to be found.

And here I was. A mother of three. Retraining. Walking straight into the fire.

And the fire was real.

Raising my voice when I swore I never would.

A class that looked at me like prey the first time I stood in front of them.

But there was also this:

A boy who had never drawn before, pressing his pencil to the page, and realising he could.

A student who said I was their favourite teacher because I actually listen.

A class that groaned when the bell rang because they didn’t want to leave.

Yes, placement was hard. Yes, it drained me. But it also lit something in me that no exhaustion could dim.

Why did you choose to study at Chester?

I chose Chester because I needed real. I didn’t want sugar-coated dreams about teaching—I wanted the truth, the tools, and the training that would make me ready. Chester gave me that. They didn’t just teach us how to teach; they taught us why it matters.

Can you tell me a highlight of your time training to be a teacher? What have you been most proud of?

The highlight? It’s not one big moment. It’s a thousand small ones.

It’s the student who finally held their scissors properly.

It’s the girl who came to class every day in silence—until the day she didn’t. The day she talked. The day she laughed.

It’s the class that once called me unfair for simply asking them to stop talking—only to push beyond their own expectations weeks later, not because they had to, but because they finally wanted to.

It’s the parents I’ve connected with, sharing positive news and receiving messages in return that brought them to tears, so overwhelmed with happiness at seeing their child thrive.

It’s standing in a room full of kids and knowing—really knowing—that even on the hard days, I am where I’m supposed to be.

How has Chester helped you achieve your goals?

Chester was my foundation. But the real training? That happened in the trenches.

When you’re standing in front of a class, when a student challenges you, when the lesson you planned falls apart—there is no textbook, no lecture, no neat little checklist that will save you.

Chester didn’t hand us answers. They gave us tools. They showed us how to adapt, how to reflect, how to stand back up after failing. They prepared us for this.

What do you love about being a teacher?

As an Early Career Teacher, let me tell you, teaching ages you in dog years. It’s relentless. It’s everything they said it would be and more.

But every morning, I still wake up excited to go in.

Because I get to be part of something real.

Because I get to help students who were like me—hungry, lonely, under the radar.

Because I get to see the moment—that flicker in their eyes when they realise they can.

That’s what I look forward to. That’s what keeps me here.

What would you say to others who are thinking about teaching?

Do it. But not because it’s easy.

Do it because it’s hard. Because it will ask more of you than you think you have. Because it will break you down and build you up in ways you never expected.

Do it because there will be days when you feel like you’re drowning—and then, out of nowhere, a student will throw you a lifeline without even knowing it.

Do it because, beyond being a mother, teaching is the best, most important, most world-changing thing I have ever done.

Make sure to check out our Train to Teach page for more information about how you can get into teaching at Chester!