Applying for a PGCE
Trainee teachers must meet a set of professional standards determined by the government before they can be awarded qualified teacher status (QTS). They do this by completing a period of initial teacher training (ITT) followed by an induction year in employment as a teacher. For an overview of the different routes into teaching, see teacher training.
Universities offering the PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education), or PGDE (Professional Graduate Diploma in Education) in Scotland, use nationally agreed professional standards to determine their minimum entry requirements and may also employ additional criteria. The standards and requirements listed below apply to England. For variations in the other countries of the UK, see teaching in Scotland, teaching in Wales and teaching in Northern Ireland. Full details are available from the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) .
Minimum requirements are:
If you don't have the required GCSEs, check whether the ITT provider will view your qualifications as equivalent. Some may offer equivalency tests. Alternatively, study and take the GCSE examination. Further education (FE) colleges/adult education centres and distance learning institutions often run one-year GCSE evening or day classes.
All candidates must, by law, pass a fitness to teach test before acceptance onto a course. Medical fitness is assessed initially via a declaration of health questionnaire which is completed by all students. In exceptional cases, or if doubts are raised about their ability to teach, students may subsequently be required to have a formal medical examination.
The decision about a person's fitness ultimately rests with admissions tutors, but they will be influenced by recommendations from the college medical adviser (often a local GP). If you have a disability, you are strongly advised to make early contact with the training provider before submitting your application.
Many disabled people are medically fit to teach, and employers make reasonable adjustments to allow disabled people to carry out their duties effectively. Advice from a relevant medical specialist or non-medical specialist, e.g. Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) , could help you to prepare a case for admission.
The provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, which allow convictions for criminal offences to be regarded as 'spent' after a period of time, do not apply to the teaching profession. You are required to declare any previous convictions. All trainee teachers undergo a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check before starting school-based training in order to establish that they do not have a record that would exclude them from work that involves contact with children.
Most, if not all, ITT providers will require you to have spent some structured time in a classroom with the age range you wish to teach. It is also a good idea to start thinking early on about how you can get experience in other less obvious ways, such as after-school clubs, sports coaching, student tutoring, community education and youth schemes. The more relevant experience that you have to offer, the more chance you have of making a successful application.
For further advice on gaining experience in education in the UK, see teacher training.
If you are an international student with a degree from a UK higher education institution (or equivalent), you can apply to do a PGCE course.
You must have a very good standard of written and spoken English, and you must have the qualifications (or equivalent qualifications) that an ITT provider asks of all its applicants.
You should be aware that a teaching qualification gained in the UK may not qualify you to teach in your home country. If you are thinking of training in the UK and then teaching in your home country, check first in your own country to see whether UK qualifications are acceptable.
You will only be eligible for the government-funded bursaries to train as a teacher if you have been in the UK for three years or more and have a residency visa. The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) has further information on funding for teacher training.
Once you have completed your teacher training, you may need a work permit if you wish to teach in the UK. This could be challenging, especially if you have trained to teach at primary level. See the UK Border Agency (UKBA) - Working in the UK for more information.
The Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR) processes most applications for places on PGCE courses, some distance learning courses, some further education (FE) courses and the majority of school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) schemes in England and Wales. All Scottish higher education institutions (HEIs), except the University of the West of Scotland (UWS), use the GTTR system. For initial teacher training (ITT) providers who do not use the GTTR system, you need to apply directly to the institution.
All applications are made online. You can apply from September 2011 for entry to courses starting in 2012. You are encouraged to talk directly to ITT providers about any specific queries you have regarding their courses. Telephone numbers are available on the GTTR website.
There is no deferred entry system for full-time, one and two-year postgraduate teacher training courses. If you are planning to travel, contact the ITT providers to discuss your plans as some may agree to defer your place when they make an offer. If you accept a deferred place for 2013 entry, you must still meet all the conditions of the offer by August 2012.
Middle years and secondary applicants can apply up to 30 June 2012 for 2012 entry. Courses fill up quickly, particularly for popular areas such as history and PE, and many courses can be full as early as January. Applications are processed by the Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR) in the order in which they are received and are dispatched daily to ITT providers from early October 2012. Therefore early completion of applications is strongly recommended for all disciplines.
For primary PGCE courses, the GTTR must receive your completed application and reference by 1 December 2011, but you are strongly advised to apply early. Competition for places is stiff, and candidates are often interviewed and selected before the closing deadline. However, ITT providers are still able to receive applications after 1 December if they have places available.
Give yourself plenty of time to ask your referee for a reference and to confirm that the referee will provide your reference online. You will not be able to submit your application until the reference is completed.
If you are applying late, check that courses you are applying for are not full before you include them on the application. The Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR) online course search facility provides the latest course vacancy information.
If the GTTR receive your application after 30 June 2012, they will not send it to any of your chosen providers. You will be entered directly into clearing where you can then apply directly to ITT providers with places.
The GTTR accepts applications for PGCE courses in England and Wales. For more information about applying in Scotland and Northern Ireland, see teaching in Scotland and teaching in Northern Ireland. Also find out how to complete the form.
You can apply for up to four courses, of which a maximum of two can be primary teaching courses. The Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR) will send your application to one ITT provider at a time, following your stated order of preference. For secondary, middle years (key stages 2 and 3) and some primary courses, you must also choose a subject specialism.
This is a crucial part of the application. You have 47 lines, and 80 characters per line including spaces, in which to persuade the ITT providers to offer you an interview. It must be concise and sell your potential to be a successful teacher.
Your personal statement should reflect the courses you have applied for. Each ITT provider will want you to show commitment to the age range and subject for which you have applied. If you decide to apply for both primary and secondary courses, use the personal statement to explain why.
Write your draft personal statement in Word so you can check it for spelling and grammatical errors and then copy and paste it into the application.
Note that all personal statements are put through the GTTR Similarity Detection Service to ensure that each personal statement received is entirely the candidate’s own work.
You will be asked to describe your reasons for wanting to teach, giving the relevance of your previous education and experience, including teaching, visits to schools and other work with young people. To answer effectively:
In addition, you should use this space to explain anything not made clear elsewhere on the application, such as reasons for restricted geographical mobility. If you don’t live in the UK currently then also explain why you want to study in the UK and, if relevant, provide evidence that your language skills are sufficient to complete the PGCE course.
Show your personal statement to a careers adviser or tutor to get feedback about the content. The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) produces a useful Teacher Training: Application Form Assistant that can help you write your personal statement.
You have 20 lines in this section to list where you have worked (paid and unpaid), dates, job titles, employers and responsibilities. Use the personal statement to elaborate on how this work experience is relevant to teaching.
Print out a copy of your application before sending it to the GTTR so that you can remind yourself of the content for interviews.
Once your application is received, the GTTR will send it to the training institution that you have listed as your first choice.
If your initial application is successful you will be invited to an interview or selection day. The selection process is demanding and usually lasts at least half a day.
Each training provider will have their own format for the day. It normally includes an interview and is also likely to involve several of the following activities:
You may be sent details of topics for a presentation or mini-lesson in advance, or may be given time to prepare on the day.
The selection panel will want to see that you have the qualities necessary to become a successful teacher. Throughout the day they will be looking for evidence of your:
It is important to show that you can reflect on and learn from your experience, so use every opportunity to bring in examples from your work in schools.
Primary: A maths test might involve fractions, percentages, long division and multiplication and mental arithmetic. The English task will test spelling, punctuation and grammar. The tests may be a straightforward assessment of your own ability or could take the form of marking a child’s work. You may also be asked to do an ICT test or audit.
Secondary: You may have a written exercise, such as a short essay on the qualities of a good teacher or an article with questions to answer. Other tests are less usual for secondary places, though you may be asked to complete a subject knowledge test or profile.
The assessors will want to see:
Try to convey your enthusiasm and include an interactive element. Providers want to get an idea of how you will perform in a classroom setting.
The assessors will be able to observe your:
Make sure you contribute and encourage others to do so too. Read any material provided as part of the exercise carefully and keep the group focused on the objective.
If your selection day includes a visit to a local school or takes place in school, you are likely to spend some time helping in a class or delivering a mini-lesson, so that selectors can see how you engage with the students.
You may be given a selection of topics to choose from in advance or may be given resources to work with on the day, such as pictures, books or objects. Usually the mini-lesson will last 10-15 minutes. Interviewers will be looking at how well you interact with the group, the appropriateness of your material for the age group, your enthusiasm and creativity. You may have to answer questions afterwards or discuss the lesson with your interviewer.
The individual interview usually lasts around 20 minutes, but may be anything from 5 minutes to an hour. It is likely to be with one lecturer and a teacher, but sometimes young people will also be involved in the selection panel. Some institutions interview candidates in pairs or a larger group.
Thorough preparation will help you to feel more at ease and confident on the day. You can pick up tips from other students who have attended PGCE selection interviews by looking at the forum for prospective student teachers on the Times Educational Supplement (TES) website. You can also check your responses to the kinds of questions you can expect by doing the Teacher Development Agency (TDA) interactive interview .
Your university careers service should also be able to help you with your interview technique.
You should expect questions about:
Be ready to give specific examples from your work experience. Talk about what you have learned about planning lessons, organising the classroom, assessing learning and adapting to the needs of different students. Don’t be afraid to state your views, practical solutions or novel ideas.
Modern languages applicants may be interviewed in the language they propose to teach and be asked questions about their time abroad.
It is important that you know about the national curriculum for your subject and age range (see National Curriculum Online ).
You should also practise for the tests. Use resources such as:
Find out about hot topics in education. These could come up in the group discussion, written exercise or in your individual interview. Resources to help with researching current issues include:
It is important to wear a smart outfit. Candidates for PE and drama courses should check whether there are any selection activities requiring other clothing or sportswear.
Plan your route to the interview location and make sure you have any documents you are told to bring with you on the day.
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