About referees
Who should be a referee?
We ask GTTR applicants to provide the name and contact details for a principal and a second referee.
Principal referee
The principal referee needs to provide a reference using the referees' system before the applicant can send their application to us.
We ask applicants who are at university or college, or who finished their studies within the last five years, ideally to name a tutor or lecturer who can comment on their academic achievements and personal qualities as their principal referee.
We ask applicants who finished their studies more than five years ago to name a responsible person who knows them well enough to write with authority about them as their principal referee; for example, an employer, training officer or careers adviser.
If you are nominated as a principal referee, you should be able to comment in detail about the applicant's suitability for their chosen PGCE/PGDE courses, and any training or study they have done recently. If you feel that you cannot do this effectively, please do not agree to be a principal referee.
Second referee
The second referee does not provide a reference using the referees' system and may not be required to provide one. Training providers contact second referees direct if they need another reference.
We ask applicants to choose a second referee who knows them well enough to provide a character reference and to comment on their suitability for teaching.
Who must not be a referee?
We ask applicants not to choose family members, friends, partners or ex-partners as a principal or second referee. If your relationship to the applicant falls into any of these categories, please do not agree to be a referee.