Finishing Your Degree - PGCE

It is often hard to decide what to do after you have finished your degree, and although it may not seem like it, there are lots of options - both career wise and in further education.

An obvious and popular choice with English Literature students is to study for your PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education).

The PGCE differs from Undergraduate teaching courses as it mainly focuses on developing your teaching skills, rather than the subject you intend to teach, and for this reason, applicants are expected to have a good understanding of their chosen subject(s) before training.

PGCE courses are available at Universities and Colleges throughout the UK. This link will take you to an A-Z Index of UK Institutions offering PGCE courses:

A-Z Index of UK Institutions Offering PGCE Courses.

The courses usually last for one year full-time, or up to two years part-time and you may be eligible to receive funding while you train for your PGCE. Find out about funding for postgraduate teacher training in England by following this link:

PGCE Funding Information

You must have a UK undergraduate degree or a recognised equivalent qualification to study for your PGCE, and you also need a standard equivalent to a grade C in GCSE English and mathematics, and if you want to teach primary or Key Stage 2/3 (ages 7-14), you must also have a standard equivalent to a grade C in Science GCSE.

PGCE applications are made through a system administered by UCAS, and the UCAS Teacher Training website is the portal through which you can search for a provider and make your application.

Find out more about making your application

Search for a PGCE course on the UCAS Teacher Training site.

Generally speaking, UCAS Teacher Training accepts applications from November to June for courses starting the following September or October. 

To guarantee that your first choice of course provider will consider you, you need to apply as early as possible.

You can find more information on your PGCE on the Department for Education website,

Department for Education - PGCE

William Wordsworth: "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"

On walking up to university this afternoon I could not help but admire the beautiful daffodils on the green and around the university grounds, which made me immediately think of this wonderful poem by William Wordsworth as spring is finally upon us!

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

 

Review of The Taming of The Shrew

Review of the recent performance of The Taming of The Shrew at Lancaster Castle in the LEP.

Recommended Reading: When God Was A Rabbit by Sarah Winman

Despite the set reading lists you have to study for each module of your degree, it is always advisable that when you can engage in some personal reading to give yourself a break away from the reading lists! Keeping up with personal reading, reading books you have chosen will make your set reading lists a lot less of a chore and will encourage you to keep reading even through the summer months! For the next few weeks we will be doing a series of recommended reads that we love and think that you will enjoy too.

Blurb:

Spanning four decades, from 1968 onwards, this is the story of a fabulous but flawed family and the slew of ordinary and extraordinary incidents that shape their everyday lives. It is a story about childhood and growing up, loss of innocence, eccentricity, familial ties and friendships, love and life. Stripped down to its bare bones, it’s about the unbreakable bond between a brother and sister.

When God Was A Rabbit is a fantastic ‘feel-good’ book that explores the ins and outs, the ups and downs of life over many years.  It is a story through the life of the protagonist Elly, when it begins when she is a young child, experiencing things through innocence and befriending the strange girl Jenny Penny who comes from an abusive background, her mother a drunk. The story in two parts shows how the girls grow and how life changes them as adolescence looms, and seeing and confronting the confusing on goings of her brother, as he struggles to find his sexuality.

The second part of the novel begins in Elly’s adult life contrasting how things drastically change from childhood. Small cracks in life begin to show, and adulthood begins to take its toll. The reader is introduced to a number of characters, each and every one of them having an individual role and story in the novel.

This is a fantastic read for all audiences as you relive real-life history through the eyes of Elly, allowing the reader to relate and engage in similar memories. Well worth the read and a very pleasant read it is.

It can be purchased from the local Waterstones currently, or online here: www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/sarah+winman/when+god+was+a+rabbit/8140572

Finishing Your English Degree – Postgraduate Options

It is nearing the time when our third year students are close to completing and graduating their English degrees. The next few weeks are a precious time to receive the accreditation that you are looking for, but once you complete your degree, the question of what to do next is constantly looming. There are many postgraduate options available from further study, to entering the world of work. We shall be exploring some of the options that are available over the next few weeks, for when you are at the end of your degree.

Further Study – Academic

If you feel like you want to continue your chosen subject, in our case English, then looking at postgraduate study options is a great opportunity for you to do so. As English is a foundation degree, the opportunity for studying an MA or PhD can become very open as you may wish to choose a different subject to specialise in, for example journalism.

Studying a MA

Before one chooses to do a PhD they will usually go down the route of studying a Master’s degree first in their chosen field of study. This can be completed in on year of study, but may vary in different universities so it is important to check the course information for each individual university you are considering studying with.

Studying a PhD

This is usually the next step in becoming an academic if this is the route you choose to take.  PhD’s are studied over a number of years usually between 5 and 7, and will require you to undertake a vast element of research and produce a lengthy account of your findings. PhD’s are much more difficult to gain, and you must present a new idea to the university of your choice that you wish to research in order to be expected.

Further study is a great route for someone who wishes to make their way through the academic ladder especially if you wish to work as a lecturer or within academia.

Further studying funding becomes more complex at this level in comparison with an undergraduate degree. Check out www.gov.uk/funding-for-postgraduate-study for more information, or as always check with the specific university you wish to study with and they will be able to provide more information.

For full course information and applications see www.ucas.com/how-it-all-works/postgraduate

St. Patrick's Day - Remembering Seamus Heaney

St. Patrick’s Day celebrates the patron saint of Ireland with a multitude of traditions, parades and most commonly known for the famous Irish drinking culture. Celebrated all over the world it brought to mind the late Seamus Heaney, one of Ireland’s most famous poets in modern day history, who has had a massive impact on literary history. To celebrate we bring to you one of his most famous poems, ‘Digging’.

Digging

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.

Under my window, a clean rasping sound
When the spade sinks into gravelly ground:
My father, digging. I look down

Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds
Bends low, comes up twenty years away
Stooping in the rhythm through potato drills
Where he was digging.

The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft
Against the inside knee was levered firmly.
He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep
To scatter new potatoes that we picked,
Loving their cool hardness in our hands.

By God, the old man could handle a spade.
Just like his old man.

My grandfather cut more turf in a day
Than any other man on Toner's bog.
Once I carried him milk in a bottle
Corked sloppily with paper. He straightened up
To drink it, then fell to right away
Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods
Over his shoulder, going down and down
For the good turf. Digging.

The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap
Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge
Through living roots awaken in my head.
But I've no spade to follow men like them.

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rest.
I'll dig with it.

April Poets

Presenting the best of regional poetry, audiences are treated to a great atmosphere and stunningly good poets to listen to. The evening offers a few floor spots – first come first served on the night.


www.aprilpoets.org.uk

Location:The Storey, Meeting House Lane, Lancaster, LA1 1TH

Date: 10/04/2014

Time: 7.30PM Onwards

Cost: Tickets on the Door: £4/£2

Event Contact: 01524 62166