Teacher Training (PGCE) University Interview Questions

Here are some example questions to help you prepare for your PGCE university interview.

As well as the example questions below, you can find further help in our University Interviews Guide.

Background & motivation

  1. Tell us about yourself.
  2. Talk us through your personal statement.
  3. Why do you want to become a teacher?
  4. Why did you apply to this university?
  5. What have you done to prepare yourself for a career in teaching?
  6. What strengths do you have that will help you deal with all the work involved?
  7. Why have you chosen a Postgraduate route into teaching?
  8. What do you think are the most challenging aspects of a teacher's job?
  9. What does a teacher do?
  10. What interests you most about teaching and why?
  11. Why would you make a good teacher?
  12. What are you looking forward to most about becoming a teacher?
  13. Why do you want to work with children?
  14. How do you think teaching differs from other professions?
  15. What sort of school would you like to work in and why?
  16. What has influenced your decision to become a teacher?
  17. If you were to become a teacher, how would you like your pupils to describe you and why?
  18. How do you know whether you really do want to become a teacher?
  19. Do you have any life experiences that you think may help your career in teaching?
  20. What do you feel are the 3 most important skills to become a teacher?
  21. Do you possess all of these? If so, what examples can you give to demonstrate this?
  22. What qualities do you think make a good teacher?
  23. Discuss a time when you had to convey an important message to someone - describe how you did this and what the end result was.
  24. How do you cope with stress?
  25. How do you manage your time?
  26. Give us an example of the time when you had to overcome a difficult situation?
  27. What made you choose your undergraduate degree subject?
  28. What weaknesses will you have to work on to become a successful teacher?
  29. What is the hardest thing about working with children?
  30. Why have you chosen this particular age range to teach?

Knowledge & work experience

  1. What is the role of a teacher?
  2. What is the most demanding aspect of the study programme, and how would you overcome this?
  3. How does your degree relate to National Curriculum requirements?
  4. If you had £1 billion to spend on teaching, what would you spend it on and why?
  5. Where does teaching take place?
  6. What do you know about current educational topics in the media?
  7. What challenges affect teaching in schools in the UK?
  8. What might a typical day involve for a teacher?
  9. What work experience do you have that is relevant to teaching?
  10. What did you like about it and what skills did you learn?
  11. Were there any aspects of your work experience you didn't enjoy?
  12. Tell us about an example of a school lesson you observed and how it was run?
  13. What are the negatives of working in a primary/secondary school?
  14. How do you deal with very gifted children?
  15. How could you make a subject or topic interesting to children?
  16. How would you cope with less bright children who have learning difficulties?
  17. How would you deal with a racial incident at school?
  18. What do you know about the National Curriculum?

Teamwork & communication

  1. Why is communication vital in teaching?
  2. Give us an example of when you worked as part of a team?
  3. Can you think of a team situation where your communication skills have been essential? Tell us more about the situation and how you contributed.
  4. Tell us about a group activity you have organised. What went well and what went badly? What did you learn from it?
  5. What have you learned about yourself and successful team-working?
  6. Who do you think will be the most important people you will work with as a teacher?
  7. Describe a time when you had to lead a team of people?
  8. What are the advantages and disadvantages of being in a team? Do you believe teams need leaders?
  9. Do you think humour can help a team? Give an example.

Career plans & your future

  1. Do you have any career aspirations?
  2. How will university benefit your future?
  3. Where do you see yourself in 10 years' time?
  4. If you had to take a gap year, what would you do?

Further information

For more tips and advice on university interviews, please see: