Last updated 15:43, Wednesday, 19 November 2008

IT’S Friday afternoon and the sound of children laughing and playing can be heard down the hallways of Arlecdon Primary School.

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Rebecca Eccleston and her class at Arlecdon: ‘I always wanted to work with primary aged children; they are so much fun when they’re young and you can really see the positive effect you’re having on their education and development’

And for Rebecca Eccleston’s class, Friday afternoon is spent enjoying science. But this isn’t any old science lesson; this is an extraordinary experiment.

The children are making models which demonstrate movement. The models are taking the shape of monsters on the whole and the pupils are proudly presenting them to the teacher.

Rebecca, 21, is guiding the children in their task and they look and respond to her with eagerness and respect.

But for Rebecca, a University of Cumbria student, the classroom has been her space to develop as a trainee teacher.

She is in the third and final year of her BA in primary education and has only five weeks left at Arlecdon Primary School.

Rebecca, who lives at Ambleside but is originally from Lancashire, had to complete a total of 11 weeks’ teaching as part of her final practical placement.

“This is the fifth placement I’ve completed as part of my three years course; I love being in the classroom, it’s where my passion is,” Rebecca said.

“My love of teaching started in Year 10 when I had to do two weeks’ work experience; and mine was spent in a primary school. I loved working with the kids, I found it really exciting and no two days were the same.

“So from then I knew I wanted to focus on teaching, which made choosing A-levels pretty easy for me.”

Choosing the primary education course at the University proved to be a wise move for Rebecca, who said she thoroughly enjoyed the course.

“It’s flown in, these last three years, but that’s probably because I’ve found it really good fun,” she added.

“Obviously my favourite part of the course is time spent in the classroom and this placement, especially, has seen me teach 100 per cent, from taking the register to breaktime duty and even trips out of school.

“I always wanted to work with primary aged children; they are so much fun when they’re young and you can really see the positive effect you’re having on their education and development.

“When my placement here is over I want to stay in Cumbria and hopefully get a job in a school in the Barrow or Ulverston area.

“Most of my knowledge and grasp of teaching was developed from being in the classroom. So I wish I had had more classroom experience.

“You can be told how to produce a lesson plan but it’s only from being in the classroom that you can see if your lesson planning skills are up to scratch. They could go horribly wrong but you’d only know that from experiencing it first-hand.

“Anyone interesting in teaching should go for it; the courses are there for you, especially for anyone living locally. And the support is fantastic from the University to the staff at the schools. You just have to have a passion for teaching.”