International PGCE – China

Administered by Buckingham International School Education (B.I.S.E.) based in Beijing, this course takes one academic year and is suitable for teachers of all year groups in China. For 2020/21 we welcome applications from teachers in Beijing and Shanghai.

The course itself is a 37-week school-based course, during which time trainee teachers work under the guidance of a schools-based mentor (appointed by the school in which they work) and receive weekly tutorials to review progress, discuss pedagogy and set targets. It is available in most subjects and to all age levels. We employ external examiners to quality assure the qualification.

Trainees are judged against the English Teachers’ Standards and are required to provide evidence of reaching the required standard via an online e-portfolio.

In addition, trainees are required to write three academic assignments during the year and follow a weekly programme of training and readings on-line.

Trainees will be expected to attend 8 training days during the course hosted by B.I.S.E. in China and on-line. There may also be an opportunities to attend residential training in UK at an extra cost.

Trainees are assigned a university trained BISE tutor who will visit their school three times in the year to assess their progress and guide their development. A visit takes the best part of a full day as the tutor will need to observe three lessons, give feedback (including one paired feedback session with the mentor), meet with the mentor, give e-portfolio guidance to the trainee, and tackle any issues that may have arisen.

You must be employed as a teacher in an international independent school abroad and be in sole charge of a full size class for a minimum of 10 hours a week.

You will be expected to have a degree from a UK university or equivalent.

In addition, you must:

• Obtain the commitment from your school to provide a suitable mentor.
• 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.

How to apply

To start the application process email info@bise.org by 31 July 2020 for a September 2020 start.

Progression of International PGCE

The University of Buckingham iPGCE course offers an ideal foundation for trainee students to progress to other School of Education MA or MEd programmes carrying over 60 credits – such as Master’s Degree in Education (MA), Masters in Educational Leadership and Management (MEd) etc. Successfully completion of iPGCE will also lead to QTS. More details can be found from Find A Course page.

Applicants must also pay a non-refundable £275 registration fee.

Note: Training may be affected by Covid-19. We will keep applicants updated if the situation changes.