Yesterday I spent a day in KS3 as part of my PGCE Introductory Placement... and I really enjoyed it! I went to a school about 2 miles from here, which is seen as being pretty 'average' (41% A*-C GCSEs) - but we all know I don't hold stats in very high regard! I came away very impressed with the teachers and pupils I encountered (particularly the Year 10s) and the feeling that if I were a parent of an 11 year old I'd be more than happy for my child to go there. The school is in dire need of a lick of paint or two, but ignoring all that, the teachers are good, the LSA support is excellent, and I just got a very good feeling about the place.

I spent the morning with 7RM, and their teacher, doing all the 'first day of term' type things - introducing school rules, doing timetables, tour of the school etc etc. The teacher was fantastic with his class, and I learnt a lot - more than I've done from most of the primary teachers I've worked with! The children were great - lots of characters there. In the afternoon I observed/got involved with an RE lesson and an English lesson, both with the lowest sets, which were very interesting to be in. The school streams by ability for all their subjects, right from year 7, which is something I definitely agree with. It means that the teachers can rally target the standard of their lessons, rather than having to cope with a class where some children are really struggling, and others and bored stiff with the 'easy' work.

At the end of the day, after the kids had wandered out of the gates to their waiting parents, I had an interesting chat with the class teacher. He gave me a few good bits of advice, which I really must remember. One of the things he said was "be yourself. You can learn things form other teachers you watch, but don't try to 'be' someone else. Do it your way". He also talked about the importance of going in 'strict' and then mellowing if you need to, as it's ten times harder to do it the other way round.

Yesterday really got me fired up, and it was very useful to observe the teacher's 'first day' routines - hopefully that'll be me in a year's time. I can't wait to get started, although I'm not really going to be spending much time in the classroom before Christmas. :( I have 2 more weeks of 'freedom' before the really hard work starts... bring it on!