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Brunel University London

Uxbridge , England ,United Kingdom

PGCE in Secondary Education (English) with Recommendation for QTS

English is one of the three core subjects within the UK curriculum, making English teachers in high demand with good opportunities for promotion.

Learning English can be simultaneously fascinating and challenging, but pupils’ achievement in both English Language and Literature can be strongly linked to how the subject is taught. This is where you can truly make a difference.

Brunel’s PGCE in Secondary Education (English) is designed to prepare you to teach pupils aged 11 to 16 with a focus on developing their aptitude for English.  You will teach them English, not only in preparation for compulsory exams but also for life beyond school.

Whether it is helping someone to have the confidence to analyse more challenging texts, inspiring a budding writer or engaging communicator, or enabling your pupils to look beyond the surface and become increasingly knowledgeable and critical readers, your English teaching will leave a strong legacy.

As an English teacher today you will need more than a solid grounding in the study of literature. You will need to be aware of the ways in which children read a vast range of texts in a variety of media and to understand how speaking and listening skills are developed.

Schools are seeking teachers with high levels of pedagogical competence and skill, as well as advanced subject knowledge for teaching as well as knowledge of the theories, policies and systems relevant to education.

The focus of your studies will be on the principles and methods of teaching and learning delivered through three core modules, together with compulsory, practical school-based teaching placements.  Your progress will be assessed in both areas.

As part of your teacher education, you will be taught how to use subject knowledge and relevant course specifications to plan and deliver the curriculum for pupils from 11-16, including examination and vocational courses.

Your placement will typically take you into Brunel partner schools or other educational settings in and around London for at least 120 days in block placements in two or more different contexts working with a school-based mentor.

Links with schools across our Partnership enable you to undertake placements that will equip you with the skills to work with young people in a diverse range of educational contexts. The Education Department at Brunel was highly praised for this Partnership work in the 2015 Ofsted inspection – Ofsted graded Brunel’s Initial Teacher Education Partnership as ‘Outstanding’ in all areas.

As you progress through your own development and learning on the course, you will be encouraged to reflect critically and constructively on your own and others’ teaching practices in relation to a range of aspects including national and regional priorities and policies, and current research.

At the heart of the programme is the commitment to ensuring that your practice will impact positively on pupil progress over time, and Brunel Partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement in which you will play a central part.

Upon successful completion of the course, you will receive both a postgraduate certificate in Education (PGCE) and a recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

Intakes

  • Sep

Application Processing Time in Days: 30

Minimum English Language Requirements

English Level Description IELTS (1.0 -9.0) TOEFL IBT (0-120) TOEFL CBT (0-300) PTE (10-90)
Expert 9 120 297-300 86-90
Very Good 8.5 115-119 280-293 83-86
Very Good 8 110-114 270-280 79-83
Good 7.5 102-109 253-267 73-79
Good 7 94-101 240-253 65-73
Competent 6.5 79-93 213-233 58-65
Competent 6 60-78 170-210 50-58
Modest 5.5 46-59 133-210 43-50
Modest 5 35-45 107-133 36-43
Limited 4 32-34 97-103 30-36
Extremely Limited < 4 < 31 < 93 < 30

Job Opportunity Potential

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PSW Opportunity

2 Years PSW is applicable after the course completing (Bachelors level or above)

Admission Requirement / Eligibility Criteria

Our conditions of entry to the PGCE Secondary Education programme require that applicants have:

An undergraduate or postgraduate degree in the field in which you intend to teach. Normally this should be a 2.2 classification or above in preparation for Masters level professional study.
Maths and English grades A* to C or equivalent at GCSE level.
To further strengthen your application, we also recommend that applicants have:

Modules within your degree course which should provide a foundation of preparatory knowledge for the phase or subject you are applying to teach;
An informed personal philosophy on the aims of your phase/subject area, drawing on relevant reading and research;
An understanding of statutory requirements for your phase/subject area within the state school sector;
An awareness of recent government policy or initiatives in education and your phase/subject area
Recent and relevant experience of state school education in England, either team teaching or observing with experienced teachers. This should normally be pre professional teaching experience where you have had the opportunity to develop relationships with a group(s) of pupils over a sustained period of time.
The ability to communicate effectively in both spoken and written English. If selected for interview, you will be expected to interact effectively with university tutors and school colleagues and demonstrate the potential to form positive and productive relationships with colleagues and pupils in schools and in professional learning contexts.
An awareness of the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2013).
An enthusiastic and energetic approach which communicates clearly your commitment to teaching and working with young people.
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Childcare Disqualification and Prohibition Orders

As an accredited provider of Initial Teacher Education we have to have regard to the Department for Education’s statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education, when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. We ensure that all student teachers have been subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records checks, including a check of the children’s barred list. The Department for Education has published statutory guidance on the application to schools of the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 and related obligations under the Childcare Act 2006.

We undertake our responsibility to ensure that the student teachers are not, therefore, disqualified from childcare or that the student teacher has obtained a childcare disqualification waiver from Ofsted. We also check that candidates are not subject to a prohibition order for teaching issued by the Secretary of State.

The application will cost £46.81 (this amount may be subject to change) and the University will send further instructions as part of the admissions process. For further guidance please email dbs@brunel.ac.uk.

A minimum score of 55%-65%. Offers within the grade range are determined by the higher education institution attended.

If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.

English language requirements
IELTS: 7 (min 6 in all areas)
Pearson: 64 (51 in all subscores)
BrunELT: 70% (min 60% in all areas)
TOEFL: 100 (min 20)