Postgraduate Certificate in Education

Course description

Our graduates make great teachers. It’s that simple. The PGCE course helps you develop an understanding of research, policies and practice relating to education in general and secondary education in particular. You’ll analyse and reflect on what you learn to connect research with the classroom.

We teach an approach to your work that will stay with you throughout your career. Our graduates are dedicated to lifelong learning, developing their professional practice, and using classroom-based research. You’ll learn everything the qualified teacher needs to know about planning, teaching, learning, assessing, policies and processes.

Routes offered

We offer a provider-led route plus two routes in partnership with local schools (The University of Sheffield in partnership with Sheffield Teacher Training Alliance and The University of Sheffield in partnership with Ashfield School). 

The main differences for the two additional routes are:

• You’ll have your two school placements in the schools within the cluster that you are attached to, rather than in any school across the partnership.

• The schools in your cluster will have a greater input into the PGCE programme throughout the year.

• There will be a strong possibility of securing employment within the cluster of schools that you are attached to, subject to availability and suitability.

The English course is a research-led, reflective and exciting course presenting a balanced approach to language and literacy development. 

We encourage critical reflection which will enable teachers to develop their own rationale for English in school. Fiction, drama, poetry, media and cultural studies, as well as elements of language study, are all given an important place on the course.

There is an emphasis on academic reading and critical enquiry, as well as upon practical experience in the classroom; student teachers frequently share the benefits of their experiences and research with their peers in both formal and informal situations.

Course overview

University sessions are practical and workshop based, allowing opportunities to try out teaching ideas. Student teachers will be asked to study children's fiction, poetry and Shakespeare in order to discuss ways of presenting them in class and to read children's writing in order to decide how to respond to it positively. There will be additional workshops on A Level teaching, drama and media education.

A close relationship is maintained with the English departments of the Universities Partnership schools and there is close consultation between the PGCE tutor and the English mentor in the schools.

What are we looking for?

As this is an 11-19 course you will train to teach up to A Level. We will normally take into account the balance of your degree content and your profile of GCSE and A Level (or equivalent) subjects and results to assess your suitability for the programme.

You will need a degree that is predominantly English based, either in Language or Literature. If you have other related degree qualifications (such as in Law or in Journalism), we would like evidence of a strong engagement with literature and/or language-related work and that that you have read widely across a range of literature types, including Shakespeare.