PGCE Secondary Science with Physics - PGCE

Program Overview

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Why study this course?

Learn how to teach science and physics to 11 to 16-year-olds and, by arrangement, 16 to 18-year-olds on this PGCE course.

You’ll attend sessions at both London Met and one of our partnership schools, learning the principles of teaching physics and getting the vital hands-on experience necessary for later employment.

Those already on our PGCE Secondary courses attain high results, with almost 100% passing the course. Department for Education (DfE) bursaries are available for this course.

Interested in finding out more? Sign up for one of our information events – online or in person – a chance to meet the tutors and get your questions answered. See below.

Program Outline

More about this course

Successfully complete this PGCE Secondary Science with Physics course to achieve Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and become a teacher of science for students up to the age of 14-years-old and physics for 15 to 16-year-olds. On request, we may also be able to arrange experience teaching at post-16 level.

At London Met you’ll develop your teaching strategies and pedagogical techniques as well as exploring the fundamentals of how children learn. These study sessions will include collaborative projects and school-based work with other trainees, as well as how to implement teaching and pupil assessment.

Our PGCE course uses its London location to widen your experience of teaching in multicultural urban environments. Through your placements at one of our partnership secondary schools you’ll help develop lesson plans and contribute to the development of pupils’ scientific skills and knowledge. London Met also provides you with the opportunity for post-16-year-old teaching experience where possible.

Our commitment to your development lead to positive reviews from Ofsted in our most recent inspection:

"Headteachers are particularly complimentary about the fact that the trainees and Newly Qualified Teachers are prepared well to meet the specific challenges of pupils in the context of London schools."

Ofsted 2015

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Assessment

Your assessment will consist of four elements:

School placement A

School placement B, where your teaching ability will be assessed in relation to the standard for Qualified Teacher Status

a Professional Practice Portfolio which is compiled across the year, detailing personal experiences and reflections on your development as a teacher, largely in relation to your practical teaching experience

the Educational Research Assignment which allows you to explore an educational issue

There are no examinations.

We place great emphasis on feedback from your peers and colleagues on the placement. You’ll complete a weekly reflection and contribute to discussions online in order to further develop your understanding of the role of a secondary teacher.

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Professional accreditation

This course is accredited by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA).

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Modular structure

The modules listed below are for the academic year 2022/23 and represent the course modules at this time. Modules and module details (including, but not limited to, location and time) are subject to change over time.

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Year 1 modules include:

This module currently runs:

all year (September start)

To support the trainee to:

● Develop a deep understanding of the curriculum they will be required to teach on school experience, and an ability to interpret this to plan engaging lessons which promote pupil progression.

● Develop their own subject knowledge to ensure they are confident to teach on school experience, through a combination of personal evaluation, target setting, personal study and engagement with university teaching and learning sessions.

● Develop a critical appreciation of the relevant traditions in pedagogy, assessment and children’s rights related to the areas they will be required to teach, and to use this knowledge to make decisions about planning, teaching and assessment which promote pupil progression.

This module currently runs:

all year (September start)

all year (January start)

autumn semester

To support the trainee to:

● Critically engage with the debate about teacher professionalism in the context of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the DfE Core Content Framework.

● Understand how teachers can use / undertake research to critically engage with complex educational issues.

This module currently runs:

autumn semester

To support the trainee to:

● Make progress towards meeting the minimum requirements of the Core Content Framework for ITT.

● Become a critically reflective practitioner inside and outside the classroom.

● Acquire the necessary skills, experience and understanding required to plan, deliver and evaluate the appropriate areas of the curriculum (for their route) by the end of the module.

To support the trainee to:

Achieve the professional Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or Early Years Teachers Standards for Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS) by the end of the course.

● To become a critically reflective practitioner inside and outside the classroom.

● To undertake the minimum requirements of the Core Content Framework for ITT.

● To acquire the necessary skills, experience and understanding required to plan, deliver and evaluate the appropriate areas of the national curriculum (for their route) by the end of the module.

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Where this course can take you

Upon successful completion of the course you will achieve Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) for teaching science at Key Stage 3 (ages 11-14) and Key Stage 4 (ages 14-16) and your physics specialism at Key Stage 4.

London Metropolitan University's trainees have an excellent rate of gaining Qualified Teacher Status and finding teaching positions within six months of graduating. Our trainees have gone on to become physics teachers at schools such as Brentside High School in the London Borough of Ealing.