What Our Trainees Say About Us

Court Moor were a brilliant training provider from day dot. The ITTCo and head of department made me feel welcome and at ease throughout the interview process, setting the tone for the rest of my placement. Every member of staff I encountered throughout my time was really friendly, from the reception staff each morning, to teachers in other departments offering emotional support if I were to need it, and even ensuring trainees were made aware of out of school socials.

The maths department were essential to my development, with not only my official mentor, but every member of staff ensuring I got detailed feedback after each lesson in order to help improve my practice for the next. If I was unsure of any feedback, the team were happy to find time to have a more in depth discussion or sit down to coplan parts of lessons with me. They all went above and beyond to ensure I finished the year as the best teacher that I could be. My mentor was brilliant, she made sure to increase my timetable at the rate that was comfortable for me, and provided support not only with my teaching, but also with the more personal side of the teacher training year, ensuring I was coping with the workload and had somebody to talk to. As well as our official weekly meetings, my mentor made time for me whenever I needed her, as did the rest of the department. 

The weekly professional studies sessions were another part of the Court Moor programme that I enjoyed. On a Thursday morning, all of the Court Moor partnership trainees would receive a session together, based in one of the partnership schools. This allowed us to learn about a different aspect of teaching each week, as well as have a check in with each other on how our training was going. It was great to be able to chat to others that were in the same boat throughout the year, particularly in the weeks where things got tough such as near to assignment deadlines.

I would recommend training at Court Moor to anybody! 

I have been fortunate enough to spend an incredible year training at the University of Reading, The Wavell, and Court Moor, and I have now finally reached the end of my PGCE course.

After a glowing review from a friend, I got in touch with Court Moor School and right from my first involvement I felt very welcomed and supported by the team. I chose the Court Moor Partnership route as I appreciated having greater knowledge of, and the opportunity to visit, both of my placements before September, which made settling in a much more seamless experience. Another advantage of the Partnership was the great Professional Studies opportunities that support the work of the University of Reading. These sessions allowed me to experience far beyond my placements and see a wealth of other schools and ways of working, whilst feeling like a part of the wider teaching ecosystem. The Partnership is managed very effectively by Terry McEnroe, who I always felt I could go to even when my placement was away from Court Moor, as he has a wealth of experience and knowledge to support any trainee.

Across both of my placements, I had two superb mentors who were always available to offer specific and personal advice to help me grow as a teacher. Their transparency, wealth of knowledge, and repertoire of teaching tricks and tips allowed me to develop at a sustainable pace and helped me to manage my workload as a result. They were both absolutely amazing at helping me to build my confidence and presence in the classroom, and I would not be where I am today without them.

I would absolutely recommend the Court Moor Partnership for anyone looking to get into teaching as a fantastic place to develop personally and professionally.

I left university in the middle of the pandemic and, for a couple of years, wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Following a year as a library manager in what would turn out to be my first placement school, I knew that teaching was something that “called” to me and I took the leap in 2023. I knew I wanted a PGCE as well as a QTS that would give me flexibility and options if I wanted to teach abroad, as well as the opportunity to earn a masters later in my career. In retrospect, I would also add that the PGCE course prepared me to teach thoughtfully and reflectively because, as teachers, we never stop learning from our experiences in the classroom and having up-to-date pedagogical training was invaluable.

From the moment that I decided to pursue a PGCE, Tomlinscote School, Court Moor School and the Court Moor Partnership could not have been more supportive. PGCE is a whirlwind of a year, in equal parts rewarding and exhausting! However, from the first application, to my last day at placement, I knew Terry and his team were always on hand if I had any questions or worries.

One of my favourite parts of the year was getting to visit different schools in the Court Moor Partnership. This was a fantastic opportunity to network with other trainees, seek advice from a variety of experienced teachers from different backgrounds and contexts, as well as receive practical advice we could implement in the classroom. 

I am now in my second year of teaching and absolutely love it. I would love to thank everyone at the Court Moor Partnership for playing such a key role in the beginning of my teaching journey!

I reached that point in life, where, in my career I had achieved everything I had wanted. I could either retire or do something else to get me out of bed. Those who know me, know I can’t sit still and I am certainly not ready for retirement. Fortunately, post Covid, I had really enjoyed helping neighbours’ kids get better marks in their Science and Maths. I reached out to Terry at Court Moor who suggested I come in and observe some lessons. I was hooked and asked to come in as much as I could. Eventually, Terry asked me to come in and have a go: create a Science lesson on a specified topic and deliver it if I wanted to. I did and I loved it.

I had to wait half a year to enrol with the University of Reading who work with Court Moor and its partnership of schools in order to undertake the PGCE/QTS to become a secondary school teacher. It was a long half year to wait. During the PGCE year, the University and Terry and co at the Court Moor and also at the Wavell took the time to nurture me in the career change. They went out of their way to offer the safe space I needed to change how I approached tasks. This space was needed for students to actually learn from my attempts at teaching. It was a roller coaster year of emotions, learning skills I thought I had but were actually very lacking. I can honestly say the PGCE year was the toughest, most introspective year in my professional life.  More because I had become comfortably set in my ways and those ways needed to change in order to become effective as a teacher.

After the intense year that was PGCE, my journey to becoming a good teacher is far from over, but I can honestly say the Court Moor partnership and the University have given me the foundations I need to continue on the path as an ECT. I have no regrets over my decision. 

Becoming a teacher had always been my ambition and after achieving a degree in languages, I felt I was ready. Yet, the task to find a suitable school seemed daunting. There are so many schools out there with differing approaches. I decided to attend a variety of school experience days at nearby schools before applying. As soon as I set foot into Court Moor School, I felt very welcomed and after spending a day within the fantastic MFL department I was convinced I had found my ideal training school. So, despite lockdown and all the uncertainties coming with it, I decided to apply for a training place at Court Moor School – to say I was over the moon when Terry McEnroe and Beverly Lilly offered me the place would be an understatement. 

It has been a significant mid-life pivot from the corporate world of adventure tourism sales/marketing, into my local secondary school geography classroom. My initial teacher training year has been a somewhat daunting, never boring, often challenging, mentally stimulating and thoroughly rewarding experience.

The Court Moor Partnership team have been exceptional - in equal measure they have offered encouragement, imparted their knowledge, instilled confidence and allowed time for personal development. The school direct pathway provides a super balance of professional studies, classroom observations, lesson preparation and classroom practice.

The course has been very well mentored. I have learnt a huge amount about the teaching profession, about myself, about my subject and about enhancing the learning outcomes for our young people. 

Top Tips:

1. Be highly organised about the professional studies academic reading requirement to complete your university PGCE assignments. Keep a reading log, be smart about what you are reading and make time within your weekly timetable from the start.
2. Be sure to request lesson observations and feedback (!) from as many different teachers as you can. They will give you a myriad of different ideas and techniques to trial. Be experimental. Then pick and hone those to make your own. 

I have really enjoyed my teacher training at Tomlinscote school and as part of the Court Moor Partnership. I initially applied directly through the school, after observations at other local schools, and was awarded a placement as a Biology RPT to complete my PGCE and QTS with Reading University.

Reading University and the Court Moor school partnership were incredibly supportive throughout my training course – particularly during the unexpected lockdown during the final term of school! The Court Moor School partnership held weekly meetings with all their training recruits, where we were able to visit local schools and get support from teachers across a range of topics, including applying for jobs, lesson planning and professional studies. Treats were often provided, which was the perfect start to a Wednesday morning!

My mentor and ITTco at my placement school were incredibly supportive throughout the year, and I quickly gained confidence in teaching. During my placement I was offered an interview at Tomlinscote school, resulting in a job offer that I was more than keen to accept.
I really look forward to starting as an NQT this September and am very happy to be still involved with the Court Moor School family.

I would highly recommend applying to the Court Moor partnership when looking to start teacher training, as the support they offered throughout the year was always very positive, and everyone I met during my placement were supportive, friendly, and very happy to help!

I was not sure what to expect when starting my teacher training programme with Court Moor and whether I had made the right decision to start a School Direct programme rather than a University-led programme. All I can say is that I have no doubt that I chose the right path. I felt supported every step of the way and it was a pleasure to be able to work with such as great team.

I applied through Court Moor who were very helpful in putting me in contact with a training school and helping me set up an interview. I had a lot of contact with Court Moor prior to the interview who supported me and made sure that I had everything I needed.

The Professional Study sessions set up by Court Moor were a great opportunity to meet other trainees in the area and to visit different schools within the partnership. With the closure of schools and us not being able to complete our teaching experience, Court Moor could not have done anything more to support us. We continued with Professional Studies via Zoom, having sessions with different members of staff from several schools which helped maintain a sense of ‘normality’ throughout lockdown.

I want to thank Court Moor for providing the very best teacher training and I am looking forward to starting my NQT year in September.