Abed Ahmed

Secondary Mathematics - PGCE

Abed has suffered with a stammer for most of his life and was worried that this would affect his chances of becoming a teacher. Thankfully, the staff at BCU never stopped reassuring him and he’s now working towards his dream career…

“I always knew teaching was for me. I therefore knew a PGCE was compulsory. I decided to study at BCU because it had a lot of links with schools I wanted to work in. Also, my subject mentor Don Newtown is known around the country and he was the only person I wanted to work for.

The choice to study at BCU wasn’t difficult at all for me. BCU was always well known to produce great teachers, and I knew I could rely on the support that would be given to me.

Being a postgraduate student at BCU was amazing. The staff were incredibly helpful and they offered sessions for me to improve my academic writing. There were also many societies to help with our learning too. The workload was manageable, and my lecturers helped me to learn to prioritise properly. Whilst on this course I learnt techniques that I definitely couldn’t cope without in my working life, such as lesson planning, managing behaviour and how to truly thrive as a teacher.

I’m so passionate about my teaching career. And wanted to help people like myself. I have a stammer and often worried this would affect my working capabilities. However, BCU never made discouraging comments and were always so supportive, always reassuring me that it wouldn’t stop me from becoming a teacher.

To me, ‘I AM BCU’ means being part of a community in Birmingham that helps break down barriers.”