PGCE Secondary Mathematics draft

Program Overview

This course leads to the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) for the 11-to-16 age range, which qualifies you to be a teacher in secondary schools in England and Wales. Where possible, we also give you the chance to gain experience in the 11-to-18 age range.

Successful education is built on strong subject teaching. Learners need highly skilled specialist mathematics teachers to inspire and challenge them.

Good maths teachers are always in demand. In fact, more teacher training places were allocated to mathematics in 2014/15 than any other subject (source NCTL 2015).

It means that when you train to teach the subject, you could be eligible for the highest range of tax-free training bursaries - or a prestigious scholarship from the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.

A career in teaching mathematics offers the job satisfaction of giving all young people the chance to conquer a subject that's integral to their long-term success.

Program Outline

We will support you to develop as a great mathematics teacher who can bring the subject to life by devising and delivering a diverse range of engaging lessons that educate and excite all pupils.

The subject studies element of the course will show you how to break down barriers and find ways to help both struggling and high-achieving students develop skills, knowledge and understanding of mathematics in the secondary school context.

You will be guided by specialist tutors who have relevant teaching experience and who often contribute to educational research, policy and curriculum developments in your subject.

You will learn about children and child development in the core Active Inquiry and Technology-Enhanced Learning modules with the rest of the Secondary PGCE cohort.

For example, if the topic is behaviour management, your seminar group discussion will look at what managing behaviour means for a maths teacher compared with a PE teacher or an English teacher.

We are very well equipped for mathematics with two specialist base rooms, including multimedia training equipment and materials.

The subject studies element of your training programme enables you to develop skills, knowledge and understanding of mathematics in the secondary school context.

You will learn how to devise and deliver lessons that creatively tackle the subject's challenges - helping pupils with a range of abilities to achieve the best results possible.

There are three elements to our secondary training: subject studies, general professional studies and school-based training. It differs from courses offered by other universities in that it is very much subject-based.

The university-based training initially consists of weekly lectures on themes that are then developed in seminar groups. You will work both in subject-specific groups and in mixed-subject groups.

We organise our training so that it feels like a school. We teach students mainly in small groups of 30 rather than in large lecture halls of 150 or 300 because it is important that you have plenty of time in your subject groups.

Your subject tutor will be like your form tutor at school. We believe that we should model good practice to you so that you can learn by example.

Our ethos is based on collaboration, not competition. We encourage you to work collaboratively just as you will when you qualify and start working in a school.

You will undertake long placements in contrasting schools, totalling 24 weeks. We work in partnership with over 100 schools and colleges to provide a high-quality programme of support.

You will be on placement from week three, so right from the beginning of your training you will have a strong link between theory and practice.

While an experienced teacher will be in the classroom with you, it is you who will be planning the lessons and teaching the lessons. You will start by observing the teacher, then helping. By the end of the Secondary PGCE course, you will be teaching 60 per cent of a normal teacher's timetable.

You will have the opportunity to visit additional schools and settings. For instance, if your first placement is in a mixed comprehensive school in Barking & Dagenham, then you might go to a single-sex faith school in Havering for your second one.

Our tutors and subject mentors will advise and support you throughout each placement as you learn to teach.

To pass your PGCE and be recommended for Qualified Teacher Status, you have to demonstrate that you have met the Teachers' Standards.

While the course is modular, the emphasis is on the whole process of your development as a teacher. So, rather than a fragmentary approach, there is ongoing assessment, charting the often subtle transformations in your knowledge and understanding, and your practical skills.