Meet the inspirational Leeds student stepping up to become a key worker during the Covid pandemic

Christianna Vlamis is one of the PGCE students at Leeds Trinity University who started placements in schools last year.

All trainee teachers were allocated schools in September 2020, where they get hands-on experience of teaching in both school and remotely.

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, all primary and secondary PGCE students have been able to complete placements at one of the university's 600 partner schools.

Christiana, a primary PGCE student, said the challenging experience will come in useful when she comes to teach her own class.

She said: "I’ve been learning remotely throughout my PGCE, which meant that when it came to starting my placement, I was already comfortable with the software that my school used to teach virtually and could pick things up more quickly.

“Teaching in such uncertain circumstances has definitely made me more adaptable and also strengthened my resilience, which will come in very useful when I come to teach my own class.

"I’m really glad that I was still able to receive valuable practical experience despite being in national lockdown.”

Christianna said guidance from her university link tutor, who help to support PGCE students during their placement, helped her to get through the uncertain circumstances.

She added: “It was very reassuring to have a link tutor to help to bridge the gap between the school I was working in and the University.

"My advice for students thinking of doing a PGCE would be to try not to get overwhelmed and to familiarise themselves with the range of support services available.”

Megan Stephenson, Primary PGCE programme co-ordinator at Leeds Trinity University, said: “Despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, we managed to place all our trainee teachers with partner schools in September 2020.

"We recognise and value the importance of our trainees being in a classroom – to gain knowledge, confidence and practical skills that are vital to becoming a teacher.

“Our Placements team have worked exceptionally hard to maintain our strong network of 600 school partners, to ensure that all PGCE students weren’t disadvantaged due to the circumstances.”

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