PGCE Secondary Design and Technology

Our one-year Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) prepares you to teach across the design and technology secondary school curriculum for the 11-16 age range.  

This includes food, textiles, and electronics design at Key Stage 3 and the GCSEs in 'Food Preparation and Nutrition’ and 'Design and Technology’, as well as associated GCSE vocational courses. 

During the course you will explore the range of materials used with design and technology as well as how to teach school students how to explore these and safely design and make with them.  Much of the university-based work takes a practical hands-on approach that includes Health and Safety and how to manage practical lessons. These take place in our modern and well-equipped suite of rooms that include a multi-materials workshop, a food preparation kitchen, and a textiles room. 

Alongside these practical experiences the course will provide you with the theoretical background that will help ensure you have the necessary subject knowledge to teach design and technology effectively. 

The course includes recent developments in pedagogy and the learning sciences and how these help you to teach the theoretical aspects of the subject including food safety and hygiene, aspects of nutrition and food science, food commodities, processes and techniques for textiles, woods, plastics, card, electronics and physical computing, including the use of CAD/CAM to support designing and making. 

Peer teaching will enable you to develop your understanding of GCSE and A-level theory topics, with a focus on the kinds of activities that pupils typically engage with in school.  

Past speakers on the course have included people from exam boards, The Design and Technology Association, Design Engineer Construct, Taste of Game in addition to departmental heads from a range of schools.