.jpeg)
Apply for this course
Please select when you would like to start:
This course is subject to validation.
Use the apply button to begin your application.
If you require a Student visa and wish to study a postgraduate course on a part-time basis, please read our how to apply information for international students to ensure you have all the details you need about the application process.
Why study this course?
This secondary English course leads to Qualified Teacher Status and to the academic PGCE qualification. You’ll learn all the skills you need to start teaching English in secondary schools, with expert guidance from our tutor team and with diverse school placements to give you the experience to develop your expertise.
You will learn how to communicate your passion for English through effective and inspiring teaching. The course will equip you to understand the fundamental principles of pedagogy as well as the subject specific requirements for the skilful teaching of English as a curriculum subject. You will learn how to facilitate learning which impacts on and shapes the lives of young people, how they see themselves and how they make sense of the world around them.
Within curriculum subject sessions we study the teaching of texts and contexts, language and grammar, the development of reading, writing and oracy as well as how to bring texts to life through drama and media literacy. We also examine effective lesson design, medium term planning as well as understanding principles behind assessment both formative and summative.
Boost your career prospects
Gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) on this course as well as a Master’s Level PGCE qualification
Take advantage of our London location
Learn to teach in diverse and multicultural schools, giving you good experience to take into your professional career as a teacher
Train in two different school placements
Immerse yourself in 25 weeks of placements and build your expertise and confidence as a teacher
Course modules
The modules listed below are for the academic year 2024/25 and represent the course modules at this time. Modules and module details (including, but not limited to, location and time) are subject to change over time.
Year modules
Curriculum Studies
This module currently runs:all year (September start)
(core, 30 credits)
The Curriculum Studies module aims to ensure that all students have appropriate knowledge, skills and understanding to teach their chosen specialism as an effective practitioner, in fulfilment of all relevant aspects of the Core Content Framework.
To support the student:
● to develop an understanding of the curriculum knowledge and pedagogical knowledge that they will require as a teacher, including the ability to interpret this to plan, teach and assess engaging lessons which promote pupil progression.
● to develop their own subject knowledge to ensure they are confident to teach their chosen specialist subject and/or phase, through a combination of assessment, self-assessment, target setting, personal study and engagement with university teaching and learning sessions.
● to develop a critical appreciation of the relevant traditions in pedagogy, assessment and children’s rights related to the areas they will be required to teach, and to use this knowledge to make decisions about planning, teaching and assessment which promote pupil progression.
Professionalism and Inclusive Practice
This module currently runs:all year (September start)
all year (January start)
autumn semester
(core, 30 credits)
The Professional Inclusive Practice (PIP) module aims to ensure that student teachers are prepared for all aspects of professionalism and professional thinking as a teacher. It aims to ensure that they are fully equipped to meet the broader knowledge, skills and behaviours beyond individual subject or phase specialist topics, in fulfilment of all aspects of the Core Content Framework.
To support the trainee:
• to develop a critical understanding of the key philosophies that underpin our curriculum, based on the principles of Education for Social Justice, Critical Pedagogy and the UNCRC.
• to teach in a range of contexts, with a focus on teaching in multilingual, multicultural schools, working closely with families, communities and other professionals and to develop a sense of professional identity which reflects this.
• to develop the full range of skills, competencies and attitudes needed to enhance their employability, by enabling them to attain the professional Teachers’ Standards for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) by the end of the course.
• to enable students to reflect upon, critically assess and research their own practice.
School Experience
This module currently runs:all year (September start)
(core, 0 credits)
NB: Teaching Period (whole course) is a statutory period of currently 36 weeks, set by the Department of Education. Placement Module dates are set at 24 weeks minimum. Term dates are set separately to the standard university dates, with an earlier start and later finish than other postgraduate courses.
The module will be comprised of two school experiences placements in contrasting schools or other appropriate settings to support the trainee to:
• Develop their professional practice as a teacher.
• Gain the skills and understanding outlined in the Core Content Framework for ITT.
• Become a critically reflective practitioner inside and outside the classroom.
• Acquire the necessary skills, experience and understanding required to plan, deliver and evaluate the appropriate areas of the curriculum (for their route) by the end of the module.
