PGCE

PGCE Secondary

Year of entry: 2025

About the course

Our PGCE Secondary course will train you to become a professional, inclusive and reflective secondary school teacher, specialising in a particular subject. It will prepare you to teach the National Curriculum, GCSE and A-level. On completion of the course, you will receive a postgraduate qualification and recommendation for qualified teacher status (QTS) enabling you to apply for secondary teaching roles across the UK and beyond.

University-based sessions will enable you to reflect on teaching methods, which you can apply and develop during your sessions in schools and colleges. We will help you to transform your subject knowledge into teaching skills and to use educational theory to transform your practice. You will be given the opportunity to develop your own teaching style, to set personal targets, to demonstrate initiative and to evaluate your work in planning, teaching and assessing.

At Manchester, you will: • Spend approximately two-thirds of your time in schools and colleges developing your practical teaching skills. • Observe and teach classes under the guidance of an experienced teacher. • Get support from a mentor in lesson planning and marking and assessment skills.

Kareemah

PGCE Secondary

"One of the most exciting aspects of my PGCE journey is the opportunity to immerse myself in different school systems. Stepping into various educational settings, from urban to rural, I gain invaluable insights into diverse teaching methodologies, administrative structures, and student demographics. Each school offers a new perspective, broadening my understanding of the complexities and nuances of education."

Academic Spotlight

Tom Donnai

Tom spent 13 years teaching in Oldham, as a teacher of History, Head of Department, Professional Mentor and Assistant Head. He joined the University in 2017 and helped to set up the PGCE History course. He has a particular interest in inclusive curricula in History teaching. “We work with leading experts in the field of History education such as Dr Jeff Evans, one of the leading voices in LGBT+ History in the UK.”

Academic Spotlight

Siân Morgan

Siân chose Manchester for both her first degree and PGCE and, after teaching in the local area, she returned to the University to train teachers. She's passionate about reflecting the values of our city and University by running activities that help embed inclusivity and sustainability into the curriculum. “Each year we have an Inclusion and Inspiration Conference, where trainees from secondary and primary PGCEs join together for a fantastic event, with two keynote lectures and a wide variety of highly relevant and informative workshops focused on inclusion.”