About this course
Become a qualified teacher for 11 to 16 year-olds through our PGCE Secondary course. You’ll gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in one of 8 different subject areas and benefit from our partnership with over 125 regional schools.
Our university-led Secondary PGCE course provides an excellent route into teaching.
You’ll choose one of a range of National Curriculum subjects and have placements in 2 schools. Placements start in September, under the guidance of experienced classroom teachers. You’ll attend a school placement from Monday to Thursday to gain sustainable classroom experience. On Fridays you'll be in the University learning from teaching experts.
Through this course you’ll cover:
- key concepts and processes in your subject
- planning and behaviour management
- ICT, literacy, and numeracy within your subject
- inclusion and special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)
- age 11 to 19 curriculum
The individual subjects you can choose from include:
- PGCE Art and Design
- PGCE English
- PGCE Geography
- PGCE History
- PGCE Mathematics
- PGCE Modern Languages
- PGCE Physical Education
- PGCE Sciences
If you have the right qualities and enthusiasm to teach but may need some additional subject support, then you can talk to our tutors about how to develop suitable subject knowledge. Contact details are on each of the subject pages listed above.
For further general information on our courses please see our full list of teacher training courses.
Course lead
Your course leader is Rachele Morse, who is a Senior Teaching Fellow and Course Leader for our History, Geography and Religious Education PGCE programmes. She is also the Programme Director for the Secondary PGCE. Rachele has specific areas of interest in the mentoring and coaching of early career teachers and also developing pupils’ learning and thinking skills. She has published work on mentoring in the professional journal ‘Teaching History’ and is a member of the History Teacher Education Network (HTEN).
For more information view Rachele’s staff profile
Course locations
This course is based at Highfield and In school.
Awarding body
This qualification is awarded by the University of Southampton.
Download the programme specification
The programme specification sets out the learning outcomes of this course and details how the course is taught and assessed.
Entry requirements
You’ll need:
- a 2:2 undergraduate degree
- some subject knowledge
- GCSEs (minimum grade 4/C) in English language and maths
Find the equivalent international qualifications for your country.
You don’t need experience in a school before you start this course, but we do recommend you spend some time in a classroom to improve your understanding the role of a teacher.
Please also provide full details of subjects and level of any Access or other qualifications you have.
If your GCSE qualifications aren’t suitable, we offer equivalency tests in English and maths (non-transferable) which cost £50 each.
If you’re currently studying for one of the required qualifications, any place offered would be conditional on a successful outcome of this, or of a Southampton University equivalency test.
Got a question?
Please contact us if you're not sure you have the right experience or qualifications to get onto this course.
Email: enquiries@southampton.ac.uk
Tel: +44(0)23 8059 5000
Course structure
This is a full-time course. You’ll study from September to June, with breaks at Christmas and Easter.
You’ll divide your time between the University and 2 placement schools.
The course consists of 4 compulsory modules. We assess 3 of them at master’s level, 1 at undergraduate level. You’ll need to pass the 3 master’s-level modules to gain your PGCE award.
Want more detail? See all the modules in the course.
Modules
For entry in Academic Year 2021-22
Year 1 modules
You must study the following modules:
Learning and assessment
Learning
In your school placements, you’ll have structured opportunities to observe experienced teachers at work and to discuss professional issues with colleagues. You’ll spend the majority of time learning from practical experience in the classroom.
At university, the learning activities include:
- workshops and seminars
- tutorials
- group activities
- directed study
- independent study and research
- conference days
- guest speakers
Assessment
Assessment is based mainly on your ability to teach. You’ll also have 3 major assignments and several short tasks, which you’ll receive preparation for.
We’ll also assess you using:
- written assignments
- a presentation
- a portfolio
Academic Support
We’ll assign you a personal tutor, and you’ll have access to a senior tutor.
Careers
Successfully completing this course will give you Qualified Teacher Status as well as your PGCE award. This means you'll be able to work as a teacher in state-maintained and special schools in England and Wales.
We have high employment rates from our PGCE courses, with many trainees going on to work in our partnership schools.
If you choose to continue your studies, the credits you build up from your master’s-level modules can be put towards a future master’s degree qualification.
Careers services at Southampton
We're a top 20 UK university for employability (QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2020). Our Careers and Employability Service will support you throughout your time as a student and for up to 5 years after graduation. This support includes:
- work experience schemes
- CV/resume and interview skills workshops
- networking events
- careers fairs attended by top employers
- a wealth of volunteering opportunities
- study abroad and summer school opportunities
We have a thriving entrepreneurship culture. You'll be able to take advantage of:
- our dedicated start-up incubator, Futureworlds
- a wide variety of enterprise events run throughout the year
- our partnership in the world’s number 1 business incubator, SETsquared
Fees, costs and funding
Tuition fees
Fees for a year's study:
- UK students pay £9,250.
- EU and international students pay £19,850.
What your fees pay for
Your tuition fee covers the full cost of tuition and any exams.
Find out how to pay your tuition fees.
Accommodation and living costs, such as travel and food, are not included in your tuition fees. Explore:
Extra costs you might have to pay
Travel to and from school placements.
Teacher training bursaries and scholarships
There is a variety of government funding available for teacher training, including bursaries of £24,000 and scholarships of £26,000.
Find out what you might be eligible for on the Department for Education website.
Other postgraduate funding options
A variety of additional scholarships, grants and bursaries may be available to help you fund your master’s study, both from the University and from other organisations.
Funding for EU and international students
Find out about funding you could get as an international student.
How to apply
PGCE course applications are processed through UCAS. When you apply, you'll be taken to the UCAS website where you'll need to register an account with UCAS to submit an application.
Once you've registered with UCAS, you'll be invited to apply to several courses by including their course code in your application.
PGCE course | Course code |
---|---|
Art and Design | 32HL |
English | QX31 |
Geography | F8X1 |
History | V1X1 |
Mathematics | G1X1 |
Modern Languages (French) | R1X1 |
Modern Languages (German) | R2X1 |
Modern Languages (Spanish) | R4X1 |
Physical Education | X9C6 |
Sciences (Biology) | C1X1 |
Sciences (Chemistry) | F1X1 |
Sciences (Physics) | F3X1 |
Physics with Mathematics | F3GX |
Primary | X100 |
Primary with Mathematics | 2DXB |
Application deadlines
You must submit your application by the end of the day on 31 July 2021. You must supply all supporting documentation at least 2 weeks before starting your course.
We cannot guarantee you'll be able to start your course if you do not meet these deadlines.
Application assessment fee
We’ll ask you to pay a £50 application assessment fee if you’re applying for any postgraduate taught course that starts in or after September 2021.
This is an extra one-off charge which is separate to your tuition fees. It covers the work and time it takes us to assess your application. You’ll be prompted to pay when you submit your application which won’t progress until you've paid.
If you're a current or former University of Southampton student, or if you're applying for a Master of Research (MRes) degree, you will not need to pay the fee. Find out if you’re exempt on our terms and conditions page.
Supporting information
UCAS process applications for this course. When you apply, they'll give you details of any supporting information or documents you'll need to submit.
You may also be asked to provide:
- a reference
- an English language qualification
- a personal statement
- evidence of professional qualifications
Learn more about how to apply with our postgraduate application guide.
What happens after you apply
Following application through UCAS you'll hear back by email from the University. The University has 40 working days to respond to your application, but you'll almost always hear back much sooner than that.
If you get through to the next stage of the process we'll invite you to an interview. This will include a chance to find out more about the course and to ask questions. You'll give a short presentation, complete a short written task and have an interview with tutors. Following the interview, we'll make a decision on whether or not to offer you a conditional place. The decision will be uploaded to UCAS within 5 working days of the interview date.
Interviews will take place online if they are not possible in person. You'll receive an email from the admissions tutor if we'd like to talk to you before offering you a place.
All offers are conditional on enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and health checks.
Equality and diversity
We treat and select everyone in line with our Equality and Diversity Statement.
Got a question?
Please contact us if you're not sure you have the right experience or qualifications to get onto this course.
Email: enquiries@southampton.ac.uk
Tel: +44(0)23 8059 5000