Bryony Gunn
Briony Gunn has achieved her PGCE in Physical Education
Bryony Gunn has always dreamed of becoming both a teacher and an athlete and, despite the pressures of the pandemic, she has racked up significant achievements in both fields.
“When it was announced that our graduation was going to be delayed, of course it was frustrating, but I also knew it was something to look forward to. I’m sure there will be lots of interesting stories from the past year to share! In one sense, through having a delayed graduation, there will be more to discuss as we’ve been out in the big wide world for nearly a year now and actually been putting what we’ve learned on our PGCE into practice! It’s more than a graduation in that sense, it’s a year later reunion.”
“Although it was frustrating, the university was very supportive and the PGCE module leaders gave us ample opportunities to develop ourselves despite the pandemic locking down the country. I cannot thank the university tutors enough for ensuring that as a cohort we were not at a disadvantage to previous cohorts and truthfully, some of the tasks we were assigned during the pandemic have shaped my teaching today.”
“I’ve wanted to be a PE teacher in a Secondary School for as long as I can remember,” Bryony said. “Receiving my PGCE qualification was essentially the moment I had been waiting for since forever. When you achieve something you’ve been wanting to achieve for a very long time, you can’t help but feel proud of yourself.”
Bryony, a dedicated middle and long distance runner, balanced her studies along-side her training throughout her PGCE year with great success.
“When completing my PGCE, I was also balancing my athletics training on the side – something I take pretty seriously,” she said. “I was training for the 3,000m at the BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sports) Championships. I knew I was in good shape based on my training and a few races prior, but, even now, I still cannot believe I won the race!! It is not only a fond memory of my time at Worcester, it is one of the fondest memories in my running career. I’ve always said the colour blue is my lucky colour!”
Having secured her first job as an NQT (Newly Qualified Teacher), Bryony is keen to continue to develop both her passion for teaching and her athletics career.
“I am thoroughly enjoying every moment of my NQT year,” she said. “I can honestly say that no day is the same. PE in schools has looked a little different this year due to the pandemic - I’ve never sanitised so much sporting equipment - but I wouldn’t change my job for the world.”
“In terms of athletics, I am working as hard as ever to run fast times and race well. With races returning, I am hoping to be back to competition soon and act as a role model to the pupils in my classes. I plan to continue balancing my training with my teaching. I want to pursue my running career for as long as I can and hopefully earn an international selection in the future.”
And with the positivity, drive and determination she has shown in achieving all that she has thus far, few would bet against Bryony enjoying more success in the future.