Postgraduate Certificate in Education - Secondary Biology with Science with QTS (2WQH)

This is a strand of the PGCE Science course where students will specialise in Biology. If students successfully complete this route they will be in a strong position to gain employment as teachers of Biology and general science to KS4.

This course has been designed to train teachers to practise as a subject specialist teacher for the secondary age range (11-16). They will be assessed against the standards for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) across the age range. They will also often gain experience of the 16-18 age range, although they will not be formally assessed in this phase.

This course is active and practical allowing students to develop professional competence through work undertaken in schools and in the university. They will work with young people, develop expertise in their specialist subject area, share and discuss educational issues and study relevant educational research. The course is just the beginning of what we hope will be a process of continual professional development throughout a challenging and rewarding career.

Guiding young people to develop an understanding of how scientists set about investigating the world, what science can answer and, probably more important in some ways, what it cannot, is exciting and very rewarding. Helping pupils to address misconceptions whilst facing some of their own is certainly a challenging yet fulfilling task.

As a trainee teacher, students will complete a minimum of 120 days in school on placement practice. This will take place in at least two contrasting schools, in blocks of no less than six weeks, during which time they will be expected to demonstrate effective progress in their own practice and have a positive impact on pupil progress over time.