Before you begin the PGCE course at Cambridge you may be wondering whether it will be possible to keep playing sport, to an elite or community level, alongside your studies. I am here to assure you that this is possible, and indeed to be encouraged.
When I arrived at Cambridge in September, one of the first things I enquired about was whether I would still be able to play netball, particularly for the university. Netball was, and continues to be, a necessary activity for my mental wellbeing and, when beginning such a full-on course, I knew I would need this sport more than ever.
5 top reasons to play sport while completing your PGCE:
- Mental wellbeing. The PGCE is busy! and it can sometimes feel like all you’re doing is working, your mind full of lesson planning and everything you need to do for your students, but playing sport can stop all these thoughts from whizzing through your head as you focus simply on training well or winning a match or just chatting with teammates.
- Physical wellbeing. We all know the benefits of exercise on our bodies and minds, but I personally find it difficult sometimes to draw myself away from my laptop and motivate myself to go on a run or walk. Being part of a team means you feel accountable for turning up to train; it is clearly scheduled in your week and cannot be skipped, and it is fun!
- Something extra you can bring into schools. At both my placement schools I have coached netball to students. This is a great way to meet both pupils and staff outside of those you see regularly in your department or classroom and gives you greater presence around the school or relationships with those you are lucky enough to coach and teach.
- Friends. Sport is an incredibly easy way to meet and socialise with people outside of the PGCE and outside of your college. A bonus is that this means you get to explore other colleges and their formals!
- Skills. Striking a work-life balance, teamwork, and time management are all key skills you will need throughout the PGCE and into your teaching career and become better developed through sport alongside studies.
A day in the life
To put this into perspective, below is a day in my life during the PGCE when I was in full-time Blues training on a faculty day.
6:00 wake up and breakfast
6:45 drive to training
7:00 fitness training
8:00 drive home, shower and get ready
9:00 walk to faculty
9:30 faculty, focus on teaching Macbeth
15:30 coffee with course friends
16:30 walk home from faculty
17:00 job application and lesson planning for Wednesday in school
19:00 dinner
19:30 drive to training
20:00 court training
22:00 drive home, post-training snack and finish watching a film
23:00 sleep
Things to consider in September – elite sport? Or community/college sport?
If you think you want to be involved in elite sport, particularly, during your PGCE the first thing to check is your course timetable. You will need to compare it to the training schedules of the university teams and look at how many clashes there are. You cannot miss university or school commitments for sport, so you will inevitably have to miss some sporting moments, it is just a case of how many and communicating this clearly with a coach/captain to see whether playing is a realistic possibility, but also whether it is something you think you can manage. As you can tell from a day in my life, competing in elite sport will be busy. So, consider whether this is something you would like, or if are a person who needs a lot of time at home relaxing. To be involved in elite sport you will have to squeeze in work whenever you can, so great organisation and time keeping is also necessary.
If you still think elite sport is something you’re interested in, then make sure to get in contact with the captain of the club at Cambridge in advance. See if there is a pre-season you can be involved in to give you the best chance of being seen by selectors in case you cannot make all the trials days due to PGCE commitments. If it is not for you, or not a realistic possibility this year, then ask the club captain about local clubs for your sport and try and get involved in college competitions. I was fortunate enough that, even though I would miss some training sessions and match play during the year, after attending preseason and communicating with the netball club captain my commitments, I was still placed on the Blues team. However, I also played occasionally for my coaches’ local club and for Queens’ netball team, similarly valuable experiences.
Highlights
All of that being said, being part of the Cambridge Blues team, this year has been one of the main highlights of my time at the university. Some days and weekends have been busy, but I have never regretted my decision, and this is in a large part down to the support of my coaches and the Blues/club captain. One of the best days of my whole year was the day out team won Varsity against Oxford in March. It was the first time the Blues team had won in six years and was the culmination of the previous six months’ hard work. I was awarded Player of the Match and the Varsity dinner afterwards was an excellent celebration, as was the day soon after when I was awarded my Blues blazer. (You can view the match here.)
So, get involved in elite, community, or college sport if you want to make friends, have amazing experiences, and take a well-earned mentally and physically enriching break from your studies!
Cambridge PGCE English 