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Students
Tuition Fee
GBP 17,900
Per year
Start Date
2025-09-01
Medium of studying
On campus
Duration
1 years
Program Facts
Program Details
Degree
Masters
Major
Teacher Training | Foreign Language | Linguistics
Area of study
Education | Langauges
Education type
On campus
Timing
Full time
Course Language
English
Tuition Fee
Average International Tuition Fee
GBP 17,900
Intakes
Program start dateApplication deadline
2025-09-01-
2026-09-01-
About Program

Program Overview


PGCE Secondary – Modern Languages

Overview

Train to become a qualified Modern Languages teacher in a secondary school. You will help pupils access the world and new cultures while teaching the subject you love.


Course Content

Our Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) will prepare you to become an inspirational modern languages teacher with research-informed lectures, varied school placements, and interactive lesson simulations. You will benefit from University and school support throughout your course.


At Worcester, you will gain experience through placement in two different secondary school environments, teaching a range of secondary year groups, whilst receiving support from a school subject mentor and University tutors.


When not on placement, you will be taught through a mixture of lectures, workshops, and interactive subject sessions. In these interactive sessions, our tutors will model effective teaching and classroom management strategies. You will also get the opportunity to select one of our enhancement activities, these allow you to pursue a subject that's important to you – from Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) to English as an Additional Language.


Beyond the classroom, we’ll enrich your subject knowledge of the Modern Languages curriculum. Recent students have explored how to teach grammar effectively with guest speakers, learnt how to empower disadvantaged pupils, and led workshops in schools focussing on culture.


When you successfully complete the course, you will receive Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), which means you will be recognised by the Teaching Regulation Agency as a fully qualified teacher.


Combinations

  • French
  • Spanish
  • French with Spanish
  • Spanish with French
  • French with German
  • German with French

Placements

You will complete a minimum of 120 days of placement, teaching modern languages in two different schools, so you can experience a wide range of age groups and learning environments. There will also be additional school visit days where you can explore practical strategies for the classroom, with opportunities to practice, rehearse, and then implement in school.


We have a strong relationship with over 100 partnership schools, where you will be supported by subject specialist mentors. School mentors are experienced teachers who we work with to make sure you get the highest quality, placement experience.


Regional Training Hubs

You can apply to study a PGCE directly with the University or with one of our partner Regional Training Hubs.


These Regional Training Hubs are networks of schools working together to train teachers. When you apply through a hub you will do a mix of training at their sites and at the University, and the hub will organise your placements within their network of schools.


Course Highlights

  • Outstanding by Ofsted
  • Our education of future primary and secondary teachers has been given the highest possible grade by Ofsted, with inspectors stating that, along with its partners, the University creates “a learning community that places children at the heart of everyone’s endeavours”.

Teaching and Assessment

Teaching is a mix of interactive seminars, classroom simulations, and one-to-one tutorials. Alongside this, you’ll be supported by university staff and school mentors when out on placement. Your assessments will prepare you for a career as a teacher, and include creating a learning resource, delivering a presentation, and writing reflective essays.


Teaching and Assessment Contents

  • Teaching
  • Assessment
  • Feedback
  • Contact time
  • Independent study
  • Teaching staff
  • Specification

Teaching

Programme design underpins the Meeting the Teachers’ Standards (2013) and the Initial teacher training (ITT): core content framework (November 2019).


Each programme incorporates a range of teaching, learning, and assessment methods including lectures, workshops, peer group activities, seminars, directed reading, independent research, directed study tasks, presentations, e-portfolio, tutorials, and school experience. There are also 20 days identified within the provider-based programme for ‘Intensive Training and Practice’ (ITaP), where there is a focus on an area of pivotal practice.


You will experience specialist subject training to develop the necessary knowledge and understanding of their subjects and related pedagogy, which will enable them to teach their subjects across the full age and ability range of training.


Schools and further education settings in the partnership play a crucial role in designing training that provides the range of experiences that students need. ‘The cream of the talent’ from within the partnership, alongside subject specialist tutors, provide taught experiences to give students a breadth of experience and provide them with opportunities to demonstrate all the Teachers’ Standards.


In addition, meetings with Personal Academic Tutors (university lead tutors) are scheduled throughout the course. Tutors and Regional Training Hub Leads also visit students in school to quality assure the process and offer tutorial support.


The majority of teaching sessions will be face to face. There will be elements, especially large cohort sessions, that may be delivered online.


Entry Requirements

  • Honours degree, normally 2:2 or higher from a United Kingdom higher education institution or equivalent qualification, in a relevant subject area. Applicants with a 3rd class degree will be considered on an individual basis.
  • GCSE grade C/4 in English Language or English Literature, Mathematics, and Science, or equivalent qualifications. We do offer an equivalency test if you don’t have the required GCSE grade to apply for our courses.

Fees

  • UK: £9,535 per year
  • International and EU students: £17,900 per year

Key Facts

  • Ofsted Outstanding
  • Start date and location: Sep 2025 - Worcester
  • Fees: UK £9,535, International £17,900
  • 1 year full-time
  • Placement: 120 days of placement in two different secondary school environments.

Program Outline

What will you study

Our courses are informed by research and current developments in the discipline and feedback from students, external examiners and employers. Modules do therefore change periodically in the interests of keeping the course relevant and reflecting best practice. The most up-to-date information will be available to you once you have accepted a place and registered for the course. If there are insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, this might not be offered, but we will advise you as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative.


Subject Knowledge with a Deep Understanding

  • Enrich your subject knowledge drawing on the expertise of tutors with national and international research profiles in partnership with school mentors with excellent current practice in your specialist area.
  • An excellent teacher requires confident subject knowledge and an understanding about how pupils learn. The majority of your time in university is in subject workshops.

Specialist Subject Opportunities

  • Carry on working on your subject knowledge throughout the course.
  • Plan activities for the European Day of Languages for KS3 pupils at a local school.
  • Work with Modern Languages mentors and Heads of Department, for example, to explore links between grammar teaching and problem-solving, to reflect on how to work effectively with disadvantaged learners and to understand how to motivate boys to study languages.
  • Network with PGCE Modern Languages students from another University to share good practice.
  • Teach a lesson at a Primary school and reflect on KS2/KS3 transition.
  • Take part in cross-curricular sessions with trainees from different PGCE subjects to enrich your practice.
  • Links to subject associations.

Pedagogy

  • Understand and apply theory and research on how children learn and develop.
  • Explore a range of learning and teaching styles, and classroom organisation.
  • Discover how to promote progress through observing, planning, teaching and assessing learning.

Professional Studies

  • Develop adaptive teaching strategies to respond to the unique needs in a range of contexts, leveraging the diversity inherent in schools.
  • Be informed by the research and evidence about effective teaching at a general level before applying this knowledge to subject-specific approaches.
  • Learn the expectations, standards and behaviours which are appropriate to the profession and the wider responsibilities of a teacher.

Enhancement Activities

  • Gain expertise through one of our unique Enhancement Activities: PSHE and Citizenship, Developing a Second Subject, English as an Additional Language, Education in Climate Emergency, Teenage Mental Health, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities or Technology Enhanced Learning.  In addition we also offer an Aspiring Leaders programme

Your career

  • Become a reflective self-evaluating practitioner.
  • Enjoy great employment prospects; our support takes you from trainee to ECT (Early Career Teacher) and beyond
  • Prepare for leadership and your Masters with 60 credits and a strong research foundation.

  • Great employment prospects
  • Prepare for leadership and your Masters with 60 credits and a strong research foundation
  • Many University of Worcester trainees gain promotion within the first few years of teaching


Careers and Employability

Our Graduates pursue exciting and diverse careers in a wide variety of employment sectors.

Find out how we can support you to achieve your potential.

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