PGCE students at Cambridge are immersed in research and benefit greatly from the University's national and international reputation and its place at the forefront of many educational initiatives. On top of this, PGCE students benefit from the Faculty's outstanding and well-established partnerships, the strong ethos of care they experience and the extremely high quality of personal, professional and academic support.
Support: Tutors & Mentors
PGCE students are supported within the Faculty by their Subject Lecturer (Secondary PGCE) or Personal Tutor (Primary PGCE) and in school by a mentor, usually the classroom teacher.
Mentors come from a vast range of teaching backgrounds, and are all committed to the development of individual PGCE students, working closely with the Faculty to ensure that the professional placements enhance the teaching students receive from within the Faculty.
Support: The Cambridge Advantage
As well as being part of a large university, PGCE students are also part of a smaller College community. If you need a bit of extra support while at the University, don't worry - we have an extensive welfare and student support system in place here at Cambridge:
Facilities
The Everton Library & Information Service houses a specialist collection of material on education and related fields, as well as a wide range of up-to-date resources for use in the school classroom. The Library team prides itself in going the extra mile to help PGCE students make the most of both print and electronic material by providing a service which is specifically tailored to the needs of each course. Networked computers run a wide range of software, together with printers and scanners. The Faculty has a designated IT Suite located in the Donald McIntyre Building and additional machines in the Library and the Science Education Centre. The University Wifi service is available throughout the site.
Colleges
The college system and its relationship to the Faculty is something that makes the Cambridge experience unique. In addition to being admitted to the Faculty of Education every student is admitted to a College.
For PGCE students, the role of a College is to look after their general welfare, including the provision of social amenities. College facilities vary, but typically include a bar, student common rooms (known as Combination Rooms), library, laundry and computing facilities. Sports facilities, such as rowing, rugby, football, cricket, athletics, tennis and badminton, are usually available at little or no cost. You will be assigned a College tutor, who will help you with any problems outside the responsibility of your academic supervisor, such as personal, welfare or finance issues.
For more information about the University and College system see: http://www.cam.ac.uk/about-the-university/how-the-university-and-colleges-work