"During the clearing process, I was able to contact the programme leader of the Early Primary Education course directly and discussed the opportunities available. I felt supported through making such an important decision – it’s completely changed the career path I have chosen and no doubt the rest of my life."

And this support has continued throughout Charlotte’s degree, with hard-working lecturers always on hand to offer their expertise.

 “It’s no surprise that Northumbria is the only institution that has achieved an ‘outstanding’ rating by Ofsted for teacher training for 12 years in a row,” she added, “Each lecturer works tirelessly to support students when preparing for placements like these and assignments. Their depth of knowledge and passion for the field of education makes me feel inspired to go out into schools and use the skills we have been taught in the lectures, workshops and seminars.”

On the Early Primary Education course, there’s plenty of opportunity for Charlotte to take this inspiration into local schools and gain practical experience in her chosen career.  Northumbria also provides a wide range of resources which help ensure that students, like Charlotte, are able to complete their placements to the highest possible standard.

“Throughout the course, we have had the opportunity to gain practical experience by going out into primary schools and day nurseries to teach from Early Years to Key Stage 2. As well books to support our assignment writing and wider reading, we are able to choose from a huge selection of children's literature, story sacks, resource packs, big books and teachers manuals to borrow to support our teaching.”

Overall, Charlotte has no regrets about making the life-changing decision to come to Northumbria.

“I have had an extremely positive experience at Northumbria University and have memories which will stay with me for years to come.”

She said: “After two years, I’m still really pleased that I chose this course. I didn’t enjoy learning about micro-organisms and cells at school but I’ve really enjoyed studying them at Northumbria as the staff are so passionate and enthusiastic about their subjects.”

Jessica has recently been accepted onto a placement year at the Institute of Neurology working with a Paediatric Neurologist. 

Jessica, who is from Lincoln, added: “Newcastle is a great city to study in. I come from a small village but I love the freedom of living in a city and being able to meet lots of new people.”

“Unlike some of the courses I had originally applied for, Northumbria has an accredited Biomedical Science course. Because of this accreditation, it was a better option for me than some of the ‘Red Brick’ universities,” said Joanne.

“My course is brilliant. It has a large lab element which is very important for science based courses and has really progressed our learning at a great speed. The teaching is well structured and the lecturers – particularly Robert Finn and Kay Padget – go out of their way to make the material accessible and engaging. They really help in guiding students through the degree.”

Following a lab placement at Northumbria over the summer, Joanne was able to secure funding for a PhD project at the university which will start in October 2014.

“Northumbria is the best choice I could have made – I have come out with a first class degree, a PhD offer and best friends for life!”

“On results day, I have to admit I was terrified! However, I spoke to someone from Northumbria on the clearing hotline and they managed to put me at ease. They were understanding and supportive which really helped me through the process.”

Becky already felt at home in Newcastle, having lived here all her life, but made the choice to stay in halls of residence while she was studying.

“Despite living in Newcastle originally, I decided to move out and live in halls, which was a great experience. The good thing about being a student in your home city is that you get to explore and discover new parts of the city which you might not have known about before.”

And although she had originally planned to study Maths, Becky loves her course and her lecturers have inspired her to think about teaching as a potential career path.

“It’s actually turned out better in the end and I’m so glad I’m at Northumbria. My course is hard work but it’s definitely worth it. We’re taught in small groups and we get a lot of one on one time with our lecturers, who are all very open and approachable.  The teaching is consistently excellent. It’s made me consider teaching myself and I’d love to develop games to help children learn in a fun way.”