Programme overview

English is core to any school curriculum, but what 'English' should consist of is often multifaceted.  We explore the subject as we support you to to develop your understanding of English as a rich dialogic, creative, arts-based subject. Along with research-based teaching, we use practical classroom strategies from the outset - a real 'hands-on' approach to enable you to develop your pedagogy and celebrate ‘English’ in all its forms. You will be taught by the experienced tutor team, visiting experts, and practicing English teachers in our partnership schools.

What you will do

You will:

• explore the English curriculum past, present and future and consider the role of the English teacher within it. 
• examine the power and potential of literature, language and multimodal texts.
• secure an understanding of literacy, how and why children learn to speak, listen, read and write.
• learn strategies and methods to enable pupils to understand a broad range of oral and textual forms of language and media.
• be prepared to implement the National Curriculum for English and the relevant exam specifications for GCSE and A-Level.
• be encouraged to build your confidence in drama methods and technology-enhanced education.

By the end of the programme, you’ll have become a reflective, innovative and flexible teacher who can enable pupils to learn and make progress.

Experiences in school

Induction phase

You will meet your tutor at the very start and work alongside them and your peers throughout the course. Early university sessions will challenge you to explore how children learn to speak and listen, read and write, and how to plan effective, enjoyable lessons, alongside preliminary visits to a secondary school.

These visits will prepare you for a period of a shorter first Placement 1 in school, where you will teach on a 50% timetable.  You will be immersed into the department and fully supported by a mentor dedicated to helping you develop your classroom practice.

Assimilation phase

After the placement finishes, you will have time back at university to reflect on and celebrate your experiences, develop further subject expertise, and explore future targets before your next placement. 

Placement 2, in a different secondary school, runs from January to February half term. Placement 3 then continues in the same school until Easter. You will be teaching a 65% timetable, again, closely supported by a mentor, and be seen as one of the English team. 

Extension phase

After a further short opportunity to reflect  at University, with further expert subject input, you will have a final placement in May to June. On this placement, you will be able to extend your practice, in an area of particular interest to you, and with opportunities in professional educational settings beyond the English classroom. 

Benefits

You will benefit greatly from having your placements spread across different schools. They will provide you with the opportunity to:

• compare and contrast your experiences
• face different challenges and achieve success in a variety of ways
• observe and experiment with different teaching styles
• learn how you can adapt to different situations.

By the end of your course, you will have developed into a confident teacher with your own teaching style.

Opportunities

Students who have taken this programme in previous years have benefitted from a variety of opportunities including:

• workshops led by outside specialists, such as professional actors, writers, child psychologists, and film makers
• taking part in the SW Teachers as Writers group, led by the PGCE course leader
• involvement with the Green Apple initiative
• trialling new classroom technologies, and exploring the use of AI
• involvement in cross-curricular work with other secondary subjects, including History, and Science
• following a short course which will allow them to teach the Minimus beginners Latin course.

Assessment

Assessment takes place through three written assignments (or investigations), a research presentation and classroom observations.

Who this is for

If you have a passion for literature, creativity, enthusiasm, commitment and willingness to learn, we think that you’ll find this programme to be a brilliant start to your teaching career.

The majority of students have a minimum of a 2.1 degree in English or a related subject. However, we also consider you if you have a degree in another area such as History, Philosophy, Media and Ancient or Modern Languages, and can demonstrate a knowledge and expertise in aspects of English covered in the National Curriculum. 

What our students say

Our English PGCE students often say this is the most demanding - but enjoyable - year of their higher education. They have always rated the quality of their experience extremely highly, as showed in their end of year evaluations.