Interviews and Interview Criteria

All successful applicants will be interviewed in person before acceptance and will have to comply with all government requirements, i.e. medical fitness and declaration of criminal convictions.  Interviews are normally held by a relevant curriculum tutor and a school teacher. 

The University of Oxford and its colleges aim to provide education of excellent quality at undergraduate and postgraduate level for able students, whatever their background. In pursuit of this aim, the University is committed to using its best endeavours to ensure that all of its activities are governed by principles of equality of opportunity, and that all students are helped to achieve their full academic potential.

Criteria informing the interview selection process for the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)

Academic

1. Good intellectual and academic credentials
2. Imagination and creative thinking

Personal attributes

1. Sense of responsibility
2. Facility for communicating
3. Ability to work and interact with others
4. Responsive and lively at interview Resilience
5. Can make decisions

Willingness and potential to learn

1. Willingness and potential to learn
2. Knowledge of the PGCE course at Oxford

Professional values and practice

1. Has specific reasons for being a teacher
2. Shows commitment to all children’s learning
3. Has respect for teachers’ skills
4. Enjoys the environment of schools
5. Recognition of the value of collaborative working
6. Has respect for young people

School focussed issues

1. Realistic view of teaching and knowledge and understanding of the role of teachers
2. Recognition of the learners’ perspectives

Other criteria

1. Interest in and experience of working with young people Potential contribution to whole school life
2. Subject specific criteria :

• believes the subject is worth learning and can offer specific reasons for this
• communicates own interest in the subject
• awareness of the nature of the subject discipline
• other