Student profiles - Tony Stone

“Throughout my long career in the engineering industry, it was my ambition to be a teacher. I got involved in training at Rolls-Royce in my early twenties. I didn’t have the academic background to fulfil my ambition straight away, so I took a part-time Mechanical Engineering degree as a basis for doing a postgraduate teacher-training course.

The PGCE is an intensive full-time course and a typical week involves teaching practice, tutorials, keynote lectures, evaluations and assignments. The practical experience is introduced early on in the course and builds up gradually to full teaching practice. Both the teaching practice and the assignments are continually assessed.

My decision to come to Nottingham Trent was down to a combination of good location and accessibility, and positive recommendations made by teachers at my daughter’s school. The learning resources here are very good, particularly the library and Virtual Learning Portal. I have also been impressed by the administration, careers advice, and support for mature students like me.

Balancing study with family commitments requires skilful planning and it helps you to develop good time-management. The change in career direction was a hard choice to make, but I knew it was the right move. I like teaching at secondary level because I enjoy explaining some of the more difficult concepts in Maths (my specialist subject).

Because Maths is a shortage subject, I have qualified for a government training bursary. The rest of my funding comes from an LEA Dependants’ Grant, topped up with student loans.

I would advise prospective students to consider the financial aspects of studying, to research the course well in advance, and to try to get some experience beforehand. Beyond that, I only have good things to say about my experiences at Nottingham Trent University, and I would recommend this course to anyone considering a PGCE.