The Prep Postgraduate Certificate in Education with QTS is a training course tailored to teachers in independent preparatory schools (ages 7 to 14) in England. You must be employed as a teacher in a preparatory independent school and be teaching within four consecutive school years to pupils aged 7-14 and across two Key Stages for a minimum of 50% of a full timetable. A requirement of this course is that you should have some involvement with Key Stage 3 (age 11-14) either in your school or in the second school placement.
Trainees will be expected to undertake a teaching placement in a second school which must be a contrasting school. The duration of this teaching placement is determined upon the interview and is usually for 30-solo teaching hours over a minimum period of three weeks (15 days).
What is the point of doing a PGCE if I am already working in a school?
- A doctor does not simply learn to recognise symptoms and the best-known response to those symptoms. He/she knows the deeper causes of each illness and the way such an illness might impact different people. In the same way, a teacher should know the deeper theoretical background to different teaching strategies, something which will enable them to teach with professional confidence. To achieve this, they need to read and evaluate recent research and texts.
- Although part of a teacher’s ability depends on their subject knowledge and force of personality, there are specific skills (the ‘craft of the classroom’) which need to be grasped if they are to be truly effective. All teachers, for example, need to know about pupils with special needs. All need to know about the most effective ways of maintaining good behaviour. All should know about the best ways of ensuring pupils capture what you are teaching them in their long-term memories.
- Having taken the trouble to gain this qualification will show your employer and future employers that you are a serious, professional employee.
- The PGCE with QTS will enable you to apply for jobs at the many schools that require teachers to have qualified teacher status.
- The PGCE at The University of Buckingham is a Level 7 course and is therefore designed to be intellectually stimulating. It leads on to an MA for those who wish to take that more advanced qualification.
Looking ahead: September 2024 arrangements: the university has been accredited to deliver the Qualified Teacher Status course by the UK government.
This will follow the existing Core Content Framework syllabus and involve 20 days of training for beginning teachers.
The Prep Postgraduate Certificate in Education with QTS is a training course tailored to teachers in preparatory schools (ages 7 to 14) in England. You must be employed as a teacher in a preparatory school and be teaching within four consecutive school years to pupils aged 7-14 and across two Key Stages for a minimum of 50% of a full timetable. A requirement of this course is that you should have some involvement with Key Stage 3 (age 11-14) either in your school or in the second school placement.
Trainees will be expected to undertake a teaching placement in a second school which must be a state school. The duration of this teaching placement is determined upon the interview and is usually 15 days.
Every year, some of our applicants arrange to work in a prep school for the specific purpose of gaining this training, others have worked in the school for a year or more already.
You will be expected to have the following qualifications:
- UK degree. For equivalent qualifications, contact education@buckingham.ac.uk to confirm that your qualification meets the University entry requirements
- GCSE in English, maths and science or a science at grade C/4 or above or equivalent. For equivalent qualifications, contact education@buckingham.ac.uk to confirm that your qualification meets the University entry requirements.
In addition, you must:
- Attend an interview.
- Demonstrate competence in literacy and numeracy
- Provide a reference from your headteacher supporting your application to undertake a PGCE.
- Obtain the commitment from your school to release you for the second school placement and to provide a suitable mentor.
- Provide a satisfactory criminal record check and show the physical and mental fitness to teach.
The employing school must be able to fully support a candidate through the course, enabling them to demonstrate all of the Teachers’ Standards across the full age and ability range of training, and cannot be graded as inadequate.
The Prep PGCE is a 37-week school-based course during which time you will work under the guidance of a mentor and receive weekly tutorials to review your progress and to set targets.
There are seven days of residential training and two days of online learning at the end of August. During these sessions, Prep trainees will be able to access subject specialisms for Key Stage 3 subject knowledge development. The Buckingham tutor and the school mentor will jointly assess the student’s competence as a teacher during and at the end of the course.
There are three essays to complete, carrying a total value of 60 Level 7 (Master’s) credits. If successful, trainees will be qualified to teach in both independent and maintained schools in England.
You need to be available to attend residential courses on 25-27 October 2023, 21-22 February 2024, 29-30 May 2024.
For teachers undertaking their first year of teaching we highly recommend your participation in our Ab Initio course as an addition to the PGCE. This will provide you with some basic knowledge and skills to start teaching.
The fees for this course are:
| Start | Type | 1st Year | Total cost |
|---|---|---|---|
Sep 2024 Full-time (37 Weeks) PREP PGCE+QTS (September 2024) | UK | N/A | £7,450 |
| INT | N/A | N/A |
The University reserves the right to increase course fees annually in line with inflation linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI). If the University intends to increase your course fees it will notify you via email of this as soon as reasonably practicable.
Course fees do not include additional costs such as books, equipment, writing up fees and other ancillary charges. Where applicable, these additional costs will be made clear.
Applicants must also pay a £275 non-refundable Registration Fee.
Fees are invoiced at the beginning of the course. Instalments can be arranged directly with the Finance department upon receipt of the invoice.
IAPS members are eligible for a reduced fee.
Please select ‘IAPS’ on the partnership section of the application form. For further details please get in touch using the contact details above.
Bursary funding
If you need financial assistance for a course, please contact Shonali Mathur at: pgce-support@buckingham.ac.uk. You will be asked to fill in a means-test form.
Accommodation for all residentials will be arranged by the Faculty of Education staff. If you have any questions, please contact us: education@buckingham.ac.uk
Please use the ‘Apply’ button at the bottom of this page; or contact The Faculty of Education on +44 (0)1280 820222 or email: education@buckingham.ac.uk.
Closing date for applications: 17 July 2023.
It can take at least 6 weeks to process applications. Please do not leave applying until the last minute. If you or your school are inaccessible in the summer holidays, your application will not be complete before the course begins.