• Course content
• Entry requirements
• Additional information

Course content

The course is 36 weeks long of which 24 weeks are spent on placement in a partnership school. There are five phases: Preparation (university and some school-based activities); School Placement 1 (seven week placement in school); Development (university and one week in your second school); School Placement 2 (12 week block placement and some university days); Completion (two further weeks in second school and two weeks in university).

The course will not pretend that teaching Religious Education is straight-forward, because it is not! Our sessions will rarely be of the form of a lecture, instead we use activities and discussion as the main way of working.

We will help you become aware of issues relating to planning lessons, assessment, the difference between telling students information and teaching students, how to provide learning experiences which meet the needs of students with different learning styles, how different approaches to teaching a topic can change the learning experience for students, how choice of teaching methods, resources and technology can change the sort of religious education with which students engage. Along the way we will, of course, also introduce you to the National Framework and local agreed syllabuses for religious education and you will have some opportunities to experience religion at first hand!

Assessment

All students have to complete six modules, five of which require a written assignment. In addition all students complete two teaching placements and have to pass the TDA Standards for the Award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

Progression

As postgraduate programmes, PGCE courses at this university are assessed at Masters level. On successful completion of the PGCE course you will be awarded 120 credits. For those students who successfully complete their induction year there is an opportunity to transfer credits to the MEd course which is awarded on completion of a 60 credit dissertation. (Transfer is subject to a satisfactory reference from your PGCE tutor and induction tutor).

Many local schools have a high regard for Birmingham Religious Education PGCE students and we have an excellent record of students gaining jobs at the end of the course. Many of our ex-PGCE Religious Education students are now Heads of Departments in our partnership schools.

Entry requirements

All applicants to the Secondary PGCE course must hold a degree or equivalent qualification in the area they wish to teach. In addition to this you will be required to have a grade C in GCSE mathematics and English, or equivalent. DfES require us to check original certificates; you therefore cannot start a PGCE course unless you already hold these qualifications.

We will expect your degree to have a high level of religious studies/theological content or to have a range and level of religious studies/theological content equivalent to 50% of a religious studies/theological degree. If your degree has less required content then it possible to undertake a 'bridging course'.

Additional Information

When to apply

Applications, via the GTTR (see How to Apply link on the left side), can be made from 1st October for the following September start. There is one intake per year.

You can apply throughout the year although often the course becomes full well before summer. Therefore it is best to apply as early as possible.