PGCE Secondary: Design & Technology

You’ll need:

• to meet our fitness to train requirements
• a GCSE Grade C/4 or above in English and Mathematics. Please note, we can only accept some UK and international GCSE equivalent qualifications. A complete list of accepted UK GCSE equivalencies can be found here: link. If you have a non-UK qualification that you believe is GCSE equivalent, you must check this with the Admissions team.
• an undergraduate honours degree, at 2:2 or above from a university in the United Kingdom or an international equivalent in a subject related to Design and Technology, such as theatre design, product design, graphics, silversmithing, or architecture

In some special cases, an unrelated degree may be acceptable if you have worked in a field related to Design and Technology. Each year the programme contains a good mixture of graduates with a broad spread of specialist expertise, and we welcome applicants with experience of working in business and industry.

For fees and funding options, please visit website to find out more

The Department for Education offers tax-free scholarships and bursaries to trainees on eligible PGCE programmes. Bursary amounts vary depending on your previous qualifications and the subject in which you’re training to teach.

College-based work

There are seminars examining the nature of Design and Technology education, and workshops designed to develop your subject expertise. By the end of the programme you must offer a second area of competence to teach to the end of Key Stage 3, as well as your specialist area at Key Stages 4 and 5.

You engage in two design activities: one in the first term, and the second throughout the year.

The first activity is mirrored by the same project being undertaken by Year 9 pupils in a local school, and culminates in a shared presentation.

The second activity culminates in a presentation of a personal design-and-make project to your peers, to consider and reflect on the nature of the process of designing.

School-based work

During the Autumn Term you are placed in your first school, usually with a partner Design and Technology student teacher. The aim is induction, both into schooling and the teaching of design and technology, and into learning and teaching practices.

You do this by:

• observing teachers working and pupils participating in learning activities
• learning about whole school policies and practices
• studying the Design and Technology curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4 (examinations)
• progressively taking on teaching activities, initially in tandem with the class teacher
• Spring and Summer terms are devoted to teaching practice in a second school, developing your competence to meet the Professional Standards.