Further Education and Training PGCE

David Mather

David Mather, completed his PGCE in Post Compulsory Education and is now studying for a Master’s.

David is teaching Sociology at St Vincent Sixth Form College in Gosport after completing his PGCE in Post Compulsory Education. He is also currently studying for a Master’s in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education.

I’d been working in IT for a number of years and was ready for a new challenge. While studying for my undergraduate degree in Politics and Sociology, I got heavily involved in the University’s UP for It club, which works with young people from local schools and colleges. I worked as a mentor on a number of programmes, from summer schools to taster days, and was also involved in regular outreach work at a local school in Havant. I had always had a desire to go into teaching and my work with Up for It cemented my decision to complete a PGCE.

The sense of achievement after completing my PGCE year was phenomenal. It was the most intense year of my life but I don’t regret it for a second. The year was filled with lesson planning, assignments, classroom delivery and much more and it absolutely flew by.

Portsmouth is a great place to study. I am fairly local so growing up and seeing the university become more prominent has been fantastic. There’s a really diverse mix of people and it has done wonders for the regeneration of the city.

I’m now ready to focus on my new role at St Vincent Sixth Form College and although it sounds a little cheesy I hope to be as good a teacher as I can possibly be.