PGCE Secondary Drama

Program Overview

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Secondary Drama PGCE

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.

As a drama teacher, you can help pupils discover and nurture new talents – and there is more to that than purely the theatrical and production sides of the subject.

You will teach a range of skills that show young people how to work together and collectively develop ideas.

Your teacher training will help you to devise and deliver lessons that are engaging and richly educational, demonstrating the importance of drama and how it intertwines with other subjects.

You can also build pupils' confidence and improve their ability to face important life challenges such as public speaking.

Course Options

• PGCE
  • Start date: September 2025
  • Duration: 1 year (full-time)

Entry Requirements

• Academic Requirements
  • Bachelor's degree with minimum Second Class (2:2) or equivalent in the subject applicant plans to teach.
  • GCSE English and Maths grade A*-C/9-4.
  • Satisfactory references.
  • Satisfactory personal statement.
• International Qualifications
  • We accept a wide range of European and international qualifications in addition to A-levels, the International Baccalaureate and BTEC qualifications.
• Interview
  • An interview is required with a member of the academic teaching team.
• Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
  • Applicants for this course are required to complete a Student Suitability Declaration and an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
• Health Check
  • Applicants for this course are required to complete an occupational health check.

Fees, Funding, and Additional Costs

• Fees
  • Home Applicant: TBC per year
  • International Applicant: £15,560 per year
• Funding
  • Home Students
    • Postgraduate Loans Scheme: up to £10,906
    • Postgraduate Scholarship: 50% discount on tuition fees
    • Alumni Discount: up to 15% fee waiver
    • Early Payment Discount: 5% fee waiver
    • Asylum Seekers scholarship: 100% fee waiver
    • Civic Engagement: £1,000
    • Hardship Bursary: up to £2,000
    • Sport Scholarships: up to £6,000
  • International Students
    • Living costs: £1,265 per month (estimated)
    • Tuition fees: £15,560 per year
• Additional Costs
  • Textbooks
  • Computer equipment
  • Printing
  • Travel

Course Modules

• Developing Subject Expertise and Subject Specialism Core Module
  • Learning outcomes:
    • To use mechanisms to identify areas of development within the chosen subject.
    • To select one area of development to improve expertise.
    • To implement strategies to develop subject expertise within the chosen area of development.
    • To understand pedagogy and its impact upon learning within the chosen subject.
    • To identify the different pedagogic models related to the chosen area of development.
    • To develop and implement a pedagogic approach that is appropriate and relevant to context of the chosen area of development.
    • To reflect on the implementation of the pedagogic model and to identify modifications or adaptations for future practice.
• School-Based Learning: Reflections on Practice (Mental Wealth) Core Module
  • This module focuses on the development of professional practice in a practical context.
  • It provides an initial experience of teaching and learning in a secondary school environment.
  • This module focuses on best practices in secondary teaching, based on current research.
  • With the support of an experienced mentor, this module aims:
    • to support students in understanding a range of key issues and curriculum initiatives related to teaching practice, and to implement this knowledge during their school-based experience
    • to enable students to meet the relevant Teachers’ Standards for Qualified Teacher Status
    • to enable students to support children’s learning and development effectively in the classroom
• Research Informed Practice Core Module
• Securing Pupil Progress Core Module
• Active Inquiry and Intervention: Impacting Upon Student Progress Core Module

What We're Researching

At the University of East London, we are working on the big issues that will define our future; from sustainable architecture and ethical AI, to health inequality and breaking down barriers in the creative industries.

Our students and academics are more critically engaged and socially conscious than ever before. Discover some of the positive changes our students, alumni, and academics are making in the world.

Your Future Career

The Secondary PGCE course at the University of East London was designed in 2001 in conjunction with the local authorities to address the secondary education teacher shortage in East London.

• Industry Links
  • The partnership works with input and support from the London Boroughs of Barking & Dagenham, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Waltham Forest, and Redbridge.
  • It means that our graduates are represented in virtually every secondary school in east London.
  • Some are now deputy heads or in senior management roles in schools that are taking our current trainees for their placements.
• Further Study
  • You may also decide to undertake further study at the University of East London, either at the end of your course or after gaining teaching experience, perhaps specialising in Special Educational Needs or taking our MA Leadership in Education.
  • We also offer doctoral study opportunities to further develop your teaching knowledge and expertise.
• Career Options
  • Explore the different career options you can pursue with this degree and see the median salaries of the sector on our Career Coach portal.

How We Support Your Career Ambitions

We offer dedicated careers support, and further opportunities to thrive, such as volunteering and industry networking. Our courses are created in collaboration with employers and industry to ensure they accurately reflect the real-life practices of your future career and provide you with the essential skills needed.

• Career Zone
  • Our dedicated and award-winning team provide you with careers and employability resources, including:
    • Online jobs board for internships, placements, graduate opportunities, flexible part-time work.
    • Mentoring programmes for insight with industry experts
    • 1-2-1 career coaching services
    • Careers workshops and employer events
    • Learning pathways to gain new skills and industry insight
• Mental Wealth Programme
  • Our Professional Fitness and Mental Wealth programme which issues you with a Careers Passport to track the skills you’ve mastered.
  • Some of these are externally validated by corporations like Amazon and Microsoft.

How You'll Learn

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.

• Class Sizes
  • 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.
• Placement
  • You will undertake two 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.

How You'll Be Assessed

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.

Campus and Facilities

• Stratford Campus, London, E15 4LZ
  • Our historic Stratford campus is located in one of the best-connected areas of London: close to Stratford's thriving town centre, the 2012 Olympic Park, just 15 minutes from London's West End and 20 minutes from Canary Wharf.
  • Stratford’s facilities include a state-of-the-art library and learning centre, the majestic great hall and specialist laboratories and computing services.
  • The School of Childhood and Social Care, and Centre for Clinical Education in Podiatry, Physiotherapy and Sports Science are housed in new buildings.
  • There is also a campus restaurant and bookshop, and a Students' Union café-bar.
  • Westfield Stratford City - Europe's largest indoor shopping mall - is just one of Stratford's attractions, alongside many other shops, cafés, bars, restaurants and cinemas.
  • Stratford is fast becoming London's new cultural quarter, with Sadler's Wells East and V&A East moving in.

Who Teaches This Course

This course is delivered by the School of Childhood and Social Care.

The teaching team includes qualified academics, practitioners, and industry experts as guest speakers. Full details of the academics will be provided in the student handbook and module guides.

• Course Leader
  • Tara Elie
  • Department of Education, School of Childhood and Social Care

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• PGCE Secondary Computing
• PGCE Secondary Languages