Secondary Teaching leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) PGCE: Citizenship with Social Science

Why choose this course?

Want to make a difference to the lives of young people in the classroom? Train to teach in one year with our PGCE Secondary course. Our small cohorts ensure you have the personalised support you need to succeed in your future career as a teacher. We will prepare you to teach secondary students with additional opportunities to develop your ability to teach at sixth-form level. This course will enable you to become an effective, inclusive and evidence informed teacher. Kingston's Citizenship with Social Science PGCE is an exciting teacher training route for those who are passionate about developing actively engaged young citizens. You will be trained by leading practitioners in the area who will support your emergence as a highly effective, research-engaged teacher. The course is led by Amit Puni, a trained citizenship teacher who was until recently head of social sciences in a large, outstanding London secondary school. The course is designed to model dynamic, flexible and responsive teaching which you can use in your own practice. You will learn how to teach high-quality lessons and you'll also know how to form partnerships in learning with other sites of education including museums, parliaments and courts of law. You'll develop practical skills such as campaigning that form an important part of the subject. You will also develop a deeper understanding of key areas of subject knowledge in citizenship including democracy, the law and justice, human rights and diversity. The course will explore the curricular requirements associated with citizenship for 11-16 year olds as well as the key GCSE examinations. The course also includes an additional element of Social Science training, enabling you to receive support in teaching sociology, politics, psychology or philosophy in the 14-19 age group. This will benefit your employability in schools at the end of your training.

What you will study

At the heart of our course is a commitment to personalising your journey to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). We'll help you to grow in confidence and competence by providing you with outstanding support as you train. We model good teaching as we train you, so you can transfer what you've experienced into your own practice. You'll find a supportive learning environment at the University and in our partnership schools. This will help you develop a deep understanding of the secondary curriculum, including your own specialist subject and acquire a range of teaching methods, based upon the latest research in education. In addition to gaining Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in accordance with government standards, you will also receive the award of PGCE with 60 credits towards our Master of Research in Education (MRes), which you can continue with beyond your PGCE year.

Teaching and assessment

Your taught sessions will be a mix of seminars, lectures, practical workshops, field trips and work with pupils. Peer-led critical support groups will also feature in the programme. Most of your sessions will be taught by university tutors but there may also be guest speakers, such as headteachers or subject leaders.

After you graduate

The course also aims to develop your professional skills to help you gain employment in a secondary school and continue with your professional development. It will provide you with a rigorous training in all aspects of being a secondary school teacher. Over 95% of our graduates enter the teaching profession after they complete their course. Many go into middle and senior management roles in schools.