PGCE Secondary Mathematics

Overview

Our Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) Secondary Maths course is consistently graded as good in Ofsted inspections, and leads to the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), qualifying you to teach the 11-18 age group in secondary schools in England and Wales.

You will be taught by experienced mathematics teachers who are all specially trained as mentors. They are a diverse and incredibly experienced community of academics with extensive school teaching and academic experience. You will benefit from their expertise and understanding of educating and influencing policy. You will benefit from their expertise and understanding of educating and influencing policy.

Placements

Placements enable you to develop the skills and knowledge valued and desired by employers - you will build your confidence in the classroom and gain practical teaching experience. Placements also provide you with the opportunity to connect with potential employers and build your professional network.

At Secondary level we have strong relationships with around 90 schools in the local and surrounding area. It is a testament to the strength of these partnerships and the regard with which our graduates are held, that most schools in Berkshire employ at least one graduate of the Institute of Education.

On your Secondary PGCE course, you are required to carry out three placements in two different age groups — ensuring you receive a broad range of experiences. Two placements must be undertaken in a school setting, but the third can be taken in a different setting, allowing you to sample teaching in an alternative environment.

We offer our students an unusually flexible and broad range of contexts and educational environments - you will have the opportunity to gain experience in special needs schools, Pupil Referral Units, independent schools, museums and charities.

We recognise that children need different ways of accessing mathematics in the way that’s most comfortable to them, and delve deep into what makes children care about maths.

Through seminars you'll participate in active discussions around the key issues in teaching and we'll provide you with a wide range of techniques that you can employ in the classroom, including manipulatives in maths, outdoor maths and global maths.

Your assignment actively connects the research and work of others in the field to what you’re doing in the classroom.

Careers

In addition to our many master's and PhD graduates, each year, we have over 500 students become newly qualified teachers (NQTs). Our excellent links with local schools ensure that our employment rates are consistently high, with well over 90% of our NQTs finding a teaching job last year.

Our courses have allowed many teachers to gain promotion within their institutions. A number of students also continue their studies onto EdD/PhD courses to pursue a career in educational research.