I chose Brighton because of the placement opportunities!    

Education BA focuses on so much more than just teaching. It introduces many career opportunities for students to consider like careers advisor, counsellor, play therapist, special educational needs coordinator (SENCO), community education officer and criminal rehabilitation. I have also been fascinated by the different age ranges that the course focuses on. Instead of having to choose either primary or secondary education, I have been able to study the theories of education from 0–25 years. We consider the nature/nurture debate and discuss social mobility and social opportunities beyond higher education. 

My course is fantastic because we have placements in the first and second year. If you are unsure about which age range you would like to focus on once you graduate, having two placements is a great opportunity to explore your options. I had my first placement in a secondary school and my second placement in a primary school. I absolutely loved both, however, primary education was more familiar because of my employment history so it felt like the right choice for me. 

I have two children, so being able to study and still live at home was essential. The placements are manageable around childcare because the hours required can be completed over a set period of time.  

Contacting placement hosts is the perfect way to gain experience for those future job applications! Your placement tutors will support you throughout this process, helping you build a good rapport with your placement host. I am so grateful for the connections I made through my placements, the professional relationships I built during my time at each placement have continued. I believe choosing a research project I was passionate about and building a good rapport is part of the reason for this. 

I felt as though I knew exactly what I wanted to do before I started the course, but now I know how many postgraduate options there are I’m not too sure which option I’ll take to get there. However, I feel excited about the future and feel extremely lucky that Education BA has opened up so many avenues for me.