I kept the beard. I'm more comfortable with it so it stayed on. Early start though, was out of the house for ten past seven, just time before this for a quick shower, the suit up, grab of the lunch and a cereal bar with some fruit for breakfast. Breakfast of champions. Brisk walk to the bus stop, a wait of a few minutes there for bus number 50, got the bus, bought a day ticket and took a seat. Another pgce student in the same school was on the bus too, some small talk on the way to school, nothing too heavy, or memorable.

Wasn't really feeling any nerves, not sure why, just hadn't allowed them to come into my thinking. The night before was pretty sleepless though, so maybe the nerves did manifest themselves subconsciously. The couple of hours sleep though didn't slow me down too much though, not as much as I was expecting. The day was so hectic though that maybe I never had the chance.

After a brief wait in the reception area, the other pgcer who was on the bus, was led off by his mentor, to another department. Another pgcer, with a car, who is in the same department for the placement then joined me. A few minutes later, which were spent perusing the school magazine, which emphasised the heavy art focus of the school, our placement mentor collected us, and took us across the courtyard area to our department area, which is handily close to the school staffroom. 

The staffroom is a very unique place, not as daunting as it probably appears to pupils, its usually very polite and borderline awkward, especially for student teachers. The offer of a tea or coffee was politely declined, it seemed like good manners. A quick run through of our day was given by the mentor, then a bit of chat about the day.

First period was given over to an induction. Another teacher, responsible for the professional mentoring of student teachers, as opposed to our departmental mentor from earlier, gave us a welcome pack, with some general materials and a staff planner. The induction was concluded with a tour of the school, which is almost new, a lovely building.

Second period was a year 9 class, doing a test for the first half or the lesson, then some revision for the rest of the lesson. Unlike previous lessons I'd observed before I started the pgce, now I was paying attention properly, watching the class, listening to every word the teacher said, his body language, etc. It was almost fun analysing everything, though also quite intense trying to take it all in too. The teacher kept a fairly tight rein on the class, and they all seemed fairly well behaved.

Break time, a quick refuelling session, and this time I did take advantage of the coffee on offer, feeling a little more confident now and a little less self conscious.

Third period was a year 7 class and a different teacher. In fact, each lesson of the day had a different teacher, so a variety of styles were observed over the day. This teacher was less strict, using the merit system more to encourage the class, though as she told me after the lesson, this technique works better with the younger pupils. A bit of humour was also used, and she was more generous with praise. She did have to threaten a discipline at one stage with one pupil, though on a whole the class were very well behaved again. It was looking like a good first impression anyway.

That impression changed quickly after the next lesson, which the teacher described as her worst ever lesson. It was one of the year 11 classes. Again, there was a test for the first half of the lesson, so me and the other departmental pgcer went to get our photos taken during this time. On coming back to the class, the teacher was dealing with a pupil in the break out area of the room. As we went back into the classroom there was a commotion, some shouting even though there was meant to be a test ongoing, with some of the pupil standing up. The teacher's initial reaction was to shout at the pupils, which she later admitted she rarely does. It turned out that the bane of teaching had occurred, the unexpected. A wasp had flown into the classroom and was in the pupils hair. The teacher bravely intervened, using her hand to trap the wasp and taking a sting in the process, without any exclamation or complaint about pain. The wasp was pushed out the window, but promptly flew in another open one, likely seeking shelter from the heavy rain that was coming down at this stage. The class was unsettled now at this stage, and the wasp buzzing about did not help the situation. Quiet was restored, when one pupil decided to speak up and ask about wasps dying after stinging. The teacher was not impressed, and reprimanded the pupil.

The pupil outside still had to be dealt with and the teacher went outside again to speak to her. At this stage I'd taken a seat towards the front of the class. I should have stood up to help out and assert some authority over the room, and I regret that I didn't. The class, which were now buzzing a bit from the wasp incident and the shouting, promptly started talking again. The teacher, who was just outside the room, had to intervene again, while still trying to deal with the first pupil. An altogether awkward scenario, which I didn't help much with. The first pupil then decided to leave the class, and the unfortunate teacher was flustered at this stage. Eventually, after another exchange with some of the pupils, the class settled down and completed the test. There was then a ten minute monologue from the teacher, where she expressed her disappointment with the class and their behaviour. Certainly an awkward lesson. A few of the pupils were kept behind after the class and given a further talking to, with respect for the teacher once one of the key themes. I spoke briefly to the teacher after class, when she called it her worst lesson ever.

Lunch passed quickly and finally it was the final lesson. Again there was some disruption, with some of the pupils making funny noises throughout the lesson. So the first two lessons were well behaved, and the next two, not quite as much.