Become a Secondary School Teacher
Explore the different routes we offer into secondary school teaching, including our 1-year PGCE courses
A PGCE is the teaching profession's gold standard.
Whatever your chosen subject, throughout your teacher training you'll be supported by our tutors and school-based mentors to gain the skills and confidence you need to become an outstanding secondary school teacher.
Here are the ways you can start your journey towards teaching in a secondary school with us.
1-year PGCE (Secondary)
On our 1-year PGCE courses, you'll learn how to plan and deliver lessons with strong subject knowledge, confidence and imagination, and reflect on what it means to teach. You'll be supported by tutors, by professional and subject mentors in schools, and by subject knowledge enhancement courses if you feel you need them.
You'll graduate with eligibility for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), ready to begin your teaching career with a qualification that's in high demand. Thanks to our close links with schools across the region, many of our PGCE graduates get jobs in the local area after they complete the course.
We currently offer PGCE courses in the following subjects, but each comprises three interconnected strands – Curriculum Studies, Professional Studies and School Experience – where the skills and knowledge you gain in the taught sessions can be practised and built up through relevant teaching conditions.
Our PGCE courses
- PGCE Computer Science
- PGCE English
- PGCE Geography
- PGCE Mathematics
- PGCE Modern Foreign Languages
- PGCE Science (with Biology, Chemistry or Physics)
We also offer the PGCE Further Education and Training, which will allow you to train to teach in further education environments.
You'll find tuition fee details on each PGCE course page, and the different ways of funding your PGCE here.
School Direct
A unique school-led programme, School Direct allows schools to put their chosen candidates through a tailored teacher training course with us, which corresponds to the school's teaching needs. The candidates may then be employed by the school once they've successfully completed the course.
We're an approved School Direct provider to 2 teaching school alliances across the south-east of England, which are listed below. More information about the subjects available at each alliance can be found at their websites:
- Bohunt School (TESLA Teaching School Alliance)
- Academies Enterprise Trust (based at Ryde Academy)
If you're a School Direct applicant, you'll work closely with your school and train alongside our PGCE students. When you finish the course, you'll leave with 'Qualified Teacher Status' and a PGCE too.
Your tuition fees will be the same as those for our 1-year PGCE courses, and you can discover the different ways of funding your studies here.
The course is open to recent undergraduates, applicants with previous experience of working in a school environment, and anyone looking to change career and enter teaching. For more details, please e-mail schoolledtraining@port.ac.uk.
Undergraduate initial teacher training: Modern Foreign Languages or Computer Science
If you're a student on a suitable MFL or Computer Science undergraduate degree with us, you can begin training to teach during the second year of your degree. You'll take some specialised units and go on school placements where you'll will teach groups of students.
You'll be expected to complete the same entry and course assessments as any other trainee teacher, so when you graduate you'll have both an undergraduate degree in your subject choice and Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) – so you'll be well-placed to apply for teaching positions in secondary schools as a Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT).
Subject Knowledge Enhancement courses
As a trainee teacher you must have a secure curriculum knowledge of the subjects you'll teach in school – and that's where Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) courses can come in handy.
The courses are free if you've accepted a place on the next intake of an Initial Teacher Training Course from any institution – and you may be eligible for financial support while you complete it.