My journey 

Since I was little, I have loved the thought of teaching and having the opportunity to help and support young children succeed. Leeds Trinity is a great university for teaching with over 50 years of teacher training history, which was a huge selling point to me when choosing where I wanted to study.  

Before starting my Primary Education course, I was worried about learning how to teach subject knowledge as it had been seven years since I last studied primary content. However, this was covered in every lecture and the worry soon fizzled away!  

A highlight of studying at Leeds Trinity so far is my first placement, at Cavendish Primary School in Bradford. I learned so much and those 40 days were some of the best days of my life. Since then, I have taught in a hospital, a Special Educational Needs (SEN) setting, and I am currently completing my second placement at Hoyle Court Primary School, near Shipley, where I am teaching a Year 1 class. 

What I love about my course

The lessons are split into lecture and workshop weeks. Workshops are interactive and by far my favourite as our supportive lecturers work closely with students and help us develop the confidence to teach. Leeds Trinity always makes me feel as though hard work pays off, and I have learned and loved so much while developing into an independent, confident individual which I have been able to take into social events and job opportunities during my time here. 

I also love how small the class sizes are and how homely the University feels. Through the lectures, workshops and activities such as building clay models and watching the TV programme Number Blocks, which helps young people develop arithmetic skills, I have developed close relationships with everyone on my course. Leeds Trinity is full of friendly faces, and we all want each other to succeed, and we’re also there to help one another when we can. I have really enjoyed making new friends and developing my skills at the Main Campus in Horsforth, and I cannot wait to see what the next year and a half will bring.

My advice

As someone who was indecisive about going to university, I know it can be a difficult commitment to make. However, my advice to those interested in a course at Leeds Trinity is to throw yourself in, book that open day, work hard to get your qualifications, and let the best journey of your life begin. 

Abbie Blackburn is a Primary Education (Early Years 3-7) student at Leeds Trinity University.