Your offer

You will hear from us soon after your interview, usually by phone initially, then by email with an offer letter and through the ‘Apply’ platform.

If you want to accept our offer, please do get in touch with us and tell us – we love to hear from you! You will also need to formally accept our offer on ‘Apply’. 

Everyone’s offer is conditional at this stage. These standard conditions will be:

• you must show us or the University:
  • the original certificates for your qualifications, including GCSEs and undergraduate degree with Honours,
  • proof of your address that’s less than 3 months old,
  • proof of your identity using your original birth certificate, driving licence, passport and any documentation relating to name changes
• we need to receive at least 2 satisfactory references for you
• you obtain an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance check after accepting an offer (please note, the cost of the clearance check is covered by you (£40 at the time of publishing) and if you interrupt your studies and return the following academic year you may be required to pay for a new DBS clearance check)
• you will also be required to complete an occupational health check to confirm that you are fit to teach

Depending on your circumstances, there may be additional conditions such as completion of an SKE, gaining GCSEs in Maths or English or an undergraduate degree with Honours – 2:2 or higher, before the start of the course.

If you do not meet the conditions of your offer before the start of the course (the deadline is usually the nearest working day to 31 August) you will not be able to start the course with the Rural Schools Alliance at the beginning of the school year.

The University will mark your conditions as met on ‘Apply’ once they have collated the evidence needed. This often does not happen until the end of the summer.

Our offices are closed during the school holidays, so if you know you have unmet conditions or any questions during the summer, you will need to contact the University’s Admissions team: University of Winchester | Contact us

Reading list

We will send you a reading list after you formally accept our offer. This contains several books that will be helpful for you to read before starting your training to give you a headstart.

Experience in school

If you would like to spend time in school to gain more experience before starting your training, please let us know. We can arrange for you to spend time observing classes, enabling you to become more familiar with various teaching and behaviour management techniques and lesson formats.

Induction day

All our trainees who have accepted an offer before the end of June are invited to the New Staff Induction Day at Swanmore College. This usually takes place in early July and if invited you are expected to attend. You will spend the day in the College, initially with all new members of staff who will be joining Swanmore College at the start of the new school year in September, as well as with the other new trainees. You will be given training on the IT systems we use, told more about the school and its procedures, get to meet your department, and spend time in the RSA Hub with the Lead Mentors to find out more about your training.

The University of Winchester

You will hear from the University once you formally accept our offer. As the Accredited Provider for our courses, the University are responsible for enrolling you. They will send you more information including details of how to obtain the enhanced DBS clearance check and a form to complete for your occupational health check. Please do these as soon as you can to limit the possibility of delays in the process. When our offices are closed, you can contact the University for help (see above).

Can we help?

It is likely that after you accept our offer, and before your training begins, you will have some questions or need help. Please do get in touch with us! You can either use the team email address on our Contact us page, or email us directly (you will have received emails from our individual accounts during the application process). If we don’t know the answer to your question, we will know someone who does.

Starting your training

Your training in school starts before you enrol at the University. Your first day will be the first day of the Autumn term. Details, including dates and times, will be provided.