This course leads to the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) for the 11-to-16 age range, which qualifies you to be a teacher in secondary schools in England and Wales. Where possible, we also give you the chance to gain experience in the 11-to-18 age range.

English is at the heart of education in the 21st century as a core subject in the curriculum. Its content and practice is sharpened further by an increasing awareness of the importance of language in relation to learning and the role of communication in an advanced technological society.

Our constant focus throughout the course will be on the learners and their needs.

There are three elements to secondary training with us: subject studies, general professional studies and school-based training. It differs from courses offered by other universities in that it is very much subject-based.

Our ethos is based on collaboration, not competition. We encourage you to work collaboratively just as you will when you qualify and start working in a school.

The university-based training initially consists of weekly lectures on themes that are then developed in seminar groups. You will work both in subject-specific groups and in mixed-subject groups.

We organise our training so that it feels like a school. We teach students mainly in small groups of 30 rather than in large lecture halls of 150 or 300 because it is important that you have plenty of time in your subject groups.

Your subject tutor will be like your form tutor at school. We believe that we should model good practice to you so that you can learn by example.

You will undertake two long placements in contrasting schools, totalling 24 weeks. We work in partnership with over 100 schools and colleges to provide a high-quality programme of support.  

You will be on placement from week three, so right from the beginning of your training you will have a strong link between theory and practice.

While an experienced teacher will be in the classroom with you, it is you who will be planning the lessons and teaching the lessons. You will start by observing the teacher, then helping. By the end of the Secondary PGCE course, you will be teaching 60 per cent of a normal teacher’s timetable.

You will have the opportunity to visit additional schools and settings. For instance, if your first placement is in a mixed comprehensive school in Barking & Dagenham, then you might go to a single-sex faith school in Havering for your second one.

Our tutors and subject mentors will advise and support you throughout each placement as you learn to teach.

Who will teach on this course

Stephen Palmer

The teaching team includes qualified academics, practitioners and industry experts as guest speakers. Full details of the academics will be provided in the student handbook and module guides.

We will support you to develop as a great geography teacher who can bring the subject to life by devising and delivering a diverse range of engaging lessons that educate and excite all pupils.

You will develop the skills to devise and deliver enlightening lessons and teach pupils about our planet’s people, places, landscapes, processes and fascinating natural history.

The subject studies element of the course will show you how to break down barriers and find ways to help both struggling and high-achieving students.

You will be guided by specialist tutors who have relevant teaching experience and who often contribute to educational research, policy and curriculum developments in your subject.

You will learn about children and child development in the core Active Inquiry and Technology-Enhanced Learning modules with the rest of the Secondary PGCE cohort.

For example, if the topic is behaviour management, your seminar group discussion will look at what managing behaviour means for an English teacher compared with a PE teacher or a design and technology teacher.