And there we have it! I’ve found out which school I’ll be at for the next couple of years!
‘Due to confidentiality and privacy laws I will keep a lot of the details about my school, the students and my colleagues private as I’m sure you will understand.’
My Initial Reaction
The news came somewhat surprisingly to me in an email late on Thursday afternoon. It looked like a classic news bulletin from Teach First and so I didn’t take too much notice at first until I read the first couple of lines!
We’re pleased to inform you that you have been placed at…
My initial reaction was pure excitement. I had visited the school briefly during my time as a TA, it was within a multi academy trust that I liked and believed in and it was about 20 minutes from home!
I had been perfectly placed!
Journey time was a massive factor in where I was placed, I very much didn’t want to have to move out; who wants to pay the rent y’know! And being part of a school whose values and mission you can get behind was another big factor. I had won out on both.
What happened next
Immediately, I went into research mode. What did their last Ofsted inspection say? It was classed as requires improvement. That’s okay, I did a little more research and found out that it had only recently been opened within the last few years so I’m sure they were finding their feet and establishing themselves and their culture.
I then looked on Youtube to see if they had any videos and found a wonderful video that detailed the ground and the building. Suffice to say, I was pleased with what I saw. They had a new building project, they had an athletics track and ample parking. It all looked good.
I then looked for their recent results, but of course, they were a new school so didn’t have any actual results in yet as this will be their first year 11 cohort.
What were my next steps
The email sent by Teach First told me that getting in contact and introducing myself was a good idea.
This is what I wrote:
Good Afternoon,
I hope this email finds you well.
I found out yesterday I was being placed at (Insert School Here) as part of my Teach First training program and I thought it best to introduce myself.
My name is Thomas Sutherland and I’m really excited to have been placed at (Insert School Here) I’ve been a TA at (Insert School Here) for the past year and have gotten to know and love the ethos and values that they pride themselves on.
I was lucky enough to visit (Insert School Here) for the annual conference. I hope that I’m able to get stuck in straight away and make a difference.
Please let me know if there’s anything I can do between now and when we’re back – I’m looking forward to meeting you eventually (post-lockdown) and becoming part of the team.
Warm Regards,
Thomas Sutherland
I promptly received a response back saying they were looking forward to having me in September and that they would pass my contact details on to the head of English so that I could get in touch with them. Great!
Final Thoughts
I had been waiting so eagerly for this news that it kind of didn’t hit me all at once and it took a little while to process.
I looked at my journey time on google maps. I browsed the school website. I looked up reviews and re-read the email from Teach First quite a few times.
You might be like me and constantly be looking forward to the next goal. This was another step towards my goal of being a teacher and I was buzzing for the journey.
It’s not long now to Summer Institute and I’m trying to prepare myself as much as possible.
You should check out some of the books I’m reading in preparation here if you’re stuck.
Otherwise I hope you’re enjoying my journey. Please leave me a comment if you have any questions or want to share your experience.
I’ll be checking in again with my thoughts and expectations for Training Year 1 – so keep a look out
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