Teaching personal statement examples

Your personal statement is used to explain why you want to become a teacher and your suitability for the role. While your application form briefly outlines your qualifications, skills and work experience, your teaching personal statement is where your personality shines through.

Take your time with it. Many candidates often spend a few weeks on this part of the application as you don't have to write it all at once. You should get someone to read over it and be prepared to receive constructive feedback and write a few drafts before you send it off.

It's important to:

use examples based on your recent teaching experience
tailor your personal statement according to the school/age group
use good, clear, written English, using first person terms such as 'my' and 'I'
be original and honest
avoid clichés and general statements, such as 'I've always wanted to teach'
demonstrate a passion for teaching.

While it's crucial to get it right, your teaching personal statement is only a small part of the application process. Find out how else you'll need to prepare to get a teaching job.

How to write a personal statement for teaching

Your personal statement should be between 500 and 1,000 words. It's crucial that you don't copy and that the statement you provide is your own work.

This is your opportunity to:

write about any relevant skills and experience you have
explain your understanding of why teaching is important
detail why you want to become a teacher
list any extra skills or experience you have, such as volunteering or first aid.

The nature of your personal statement will vary, depending on the type of teaching you'd like to pursue. Take a look at some of our example personal statements to get an idea of how they differ.

Personal statement for PGCE primary

As well as focusing on roles in which you've gained experience with primary-age children, a PGCE primary personal statement should demonstrate your well-rounded personality and any skills that could be useful for the range of extra-curricular activities primary schools provide (such as the ability to read music for recorder lessons, or drama experience to help with school plays).

Personal statement for PGCE secondary

Many good PGCE secondary personal statements acknowledge the challenges involved in teaching older pupils and provide examples of where the candidate has worked to overcome these problems. As secondary teaching roles are geared towards teaching a specific subject, training providers are looking for more evidence of your subject and degree knowledge.

Personal statement for School Direct

If you're applying for the salaried School Direct route, you should discuss the experience you've gained in the classroom prior to your application. One of your references will need to be from an employer, or someone who can comment on your work ethic and suitability for teaching. Don't worry if your degree is unrelated to the subject you'd like to teach - you may still be able to apply by completing a subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) course.

Find out more

Discover how to structure a teaching CV.
Find out what it's really like to be a primary or secondary school teacher.
Search postgraduate courses in teaching.

Written by Rachel Swain, Editorial manager