What do I need to do before my interview?
Do I need to provide any documents at my interview?
Yes - please check the full list of documents you will need to bring to the interview.
What will happen on the day of my interview?
The format of the interview day will be as follows:
The interview day will start at 10:00 and is expected to finish by 16:00 at the latest. The interview day may finish before 16:00 but this will depend on how many candidates are being interviewed on the day.
During the interview day, you will also have the opportunity to explore the campus, meet staff, and ask questions.
Arrival
The interview day will take place on the London Road campus at the University of Reading. A member of staff from the Institute of Education will contact you via email, closer to the date of your interview, with further details on the location of the interview.
Book task
The book task is intended to look at and assess your potential for collaborating with others, how well you articulate your ideas, and how you actively listen to your peers. Before attending the interview day, please watch the Puffin Storytime video (up until 5 minutes 55 seconds) where the book ‘Look Up!’ will be read to you by the author.
After watching the clip, we ask that you:
- Consider how you would use the book ‘Look Up!’ to support a learning activity / develop children’s learning in a primary setting.
- If you have applied for the BA Primary Education General Pathway: Please choose a subject which is, or subjects which are, taught in the primary national curriculum and relate your discussions in the book task to your chosen subject(s). Additionally, during your interview, please be prepared to explain how you would teach a lesson based on your chosen subject(s) and to discuss how you might use your chosen subject(s) to develop cross curriculum learning. Please also demonstrate that you have thought about the way that the activity, either planned or observed, will support learning.
- If you have applied for a Subject Specialism Pathway (BA Primary Education with Art, BA Primary Education with English, BA Primary Education with Mathematics, or BA Primary Education with Music): Please relate your discussions in the book task to your subject specialism. Additionally, during your interview, please be prepared to explain how you would teach a lesson based on your subject specialism and to discuss how you might use your subject specialism to develop cross curriculum learning. Please also demonstrate that you have thought about the way that the activity, either planned or observed, will support learning.
- Come to your interview prepared to share and discuss your activity with others, including why you have chosen the activity and the role you would have in the children’s learning.
- You may bring along any notes to share.
- You will also have the opportunity to share anything else you wish to from the book task during your individual interview.
Written task
The title for the written task will be provided on the day of your interview. Please let us know if any adjustments are needed for you to access this task. You will be given time to plan, and the following will be reviewed:
- Legibility of your handwriting.
- Spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
- Your ability to plan and compose ideas in a written format.
Individual interview
Your individual interview will focus on the following key areas:
- Your knowledge and understanding of educational issues, including the Primary National Curriculum in England.
- Your appropriate interest, knowledge, understanding, and skills in your specialist subject.
- Your relevant experience with children and any further plans for developing this.
- The qualities required to make a good teacher.
- Your potential to reach the Standards for Qualified Teacher Status. We would advise you to familiarise yourself with the Teachers' Standards before your interview.
You will be asked the following questions during your individual interview:
- Why do you want to pursue the course?
- How have children benefited from your input?
- As a trainee teacher, how will you work with others, including children, who have different values and beliefs to you?
- What would you do if your authority was challenged in the classroom?
- What do you think are the challenges of being a teacher?
- What do you think successful learning looks like and what do you think a good teacher does to enable this?
- How will you cope with the challenges of the course and profession?
- If you have applied for a Subject Specialism Pathway (BA Primary Education with Art, BA Primary Education with English, BA Primary Education with Mathematics, or BA Primary Education with Music), you will be asked specific questions relating to your subject specialism, including your knowledge of the curriculum and what inclusion means to you.
You will also be asked about safeguarding and child protection and we recommend that you read the summary of Keeping Children Safe in Education to prepare for this. The full guidance is available in an alternative format.
There will also be an opportunity for you to ask questions at the end of your individual interview and share anything else you wish to from the book task.
Who will interview me?
Your individual interview will be conducted by one of the programme tutors from the Institute of Education who will be present in person. There will also be a second interviewer present, either in person or online, during your interview. The second interviewer may be a colleague from one of our partner schools. Please note that we will share relevant background information from your application form with our partner school colleague, but this will not include any sensitive data that you provided as part of your application. If you have any queries or concerns in relation to this, please email the Admissions Support team.
Questions?
We are looking forward to meeting you at your interview. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please email the Admission Support team.
We are fully committed to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in our admissions and interview processes. If you would like to request any specific requirements or adjustments around accessibility for your interview, please email the Admissions Support team. Please rest assured that requesting reasonable adjustments or having specific requirements will not affect the outcome of the interview or our decision on whether you are offered a place on the course.
Subject Spotlight Webinar: Primary Education – How to prepare for your interview
The Academic Programme Director for our BA Primary Education (QTS) courses, Laura Purser, provides an insight into the interview process for our BA Primary Education (QTS) courses at the University of Reading.
Topics covered by this webinar include:
- How to prepare for your interview
- Things to be aware of for your interview
- Top tips for the best interview process
View the webinar recording