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Course description

PGCE Secondary – Engineers teach Physics will train you to become a Physics or Physics with Maths teacher across the 11?to?16 or 11?to?18 age range. You will be trained to teach across all sciences up to KS3.?

The course will prepare you to teach the National Curriculum and related national strategies, GCSE and A-level. Completion leads to both a postgraduate qualification and recommendation for qualified teacher status (QTS).

University-based sessions will enable you to reflect on teaching methods and engage critically with the Science curriculum. Experienced teachers will work Â鶹ԭ´´ PGCE tutors, plus visitors from exam boards and the Institute of Physics.

Some sessions are run with the University's science departments to benefit fully from the University's resources,?and?with Manchester Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.

Teaching and learning

The structure of our PGCEs includes both school-based and university-based learning.

On our secondary PGCEs, around two-thirds of your time will be spent in secondary schools, academies and colleges on placements.

The?course is run in partnership with schools and colleges drawn from a wide area, including Bolton, Bury, Cheshire, Deeside, Lancashire, Manchester, Merseyside, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Staffordshire, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Warrington and Wigan.

The University's partnership schools are highly committed to giving you the best possible experience whilst you are on your school placements, giving you the opportunity to put into practice all the knowledge you have acquired from sessions held at the University.

When on placement, you will observe and teach classes under the guidance of an experienced teacher. You will also have a mentor to help you to plan lessons, deal with marking and assessment, and improve your teaching skills.

Peer observations of lessons will enable you to participate actively in your own and your fellow students' development as teachers. You will be provided with a significant amount of responsibility to develop your own teaching style, set targets, take your own initiatives and evaluate your own work in planning, teaching and assessing.

Your remaining time will be spent at the University, for example in lectures and seminars, and in subject-specific groups.

We will support your training to become a secondary school teacher by providing:

a quality teaching experience in our partner schools and colleges;
a study of current, challenging educational issues;
careers planning and early professional development;
guidance and support from experienced tutors and mentors;
opportunities for reflective practice and research.

As a guide, you should anticipate that time in university-based learning combined with school-based placements will roughly equate to the time commitment of a full-time job, with additional time required in evenings and weekends for background reading, lesson planning and completing written assignments.

Career opportunities

Completing a PGCE is one route to becoming a fully qualified teacher. This form of teacher training is recommended for anyone with an undergraduate degree who is looking to gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

You need QTS to teach in a state-maintained or special school in England and Wales. While other routes to gain QTS exist, they do not all come with the postgraduate qualification of a PGCE. A PGCE from The University of Manchester is a valued qualification regionally, nationally and internationally.

When you study a PGCE with us, we help you prepare for a successful career in education. You will be given clear direction, advice and support when making applications for teaching posts and our employment rates are consistently high.