A Route into Teaching
Are you interested in becoming a teacher?
The Education Tripos provides excellent preparation for continuing onto a teacher training course in the with Faculty’s PGCE programme. The Faculty of Education’s Early Years and Primary and Secondary PGCE courses are consistently rated as the best in the country, attracting highly qualified applicants and achieving the highest rates of employment in school on completion of the course. In the most recent Ofsted report (2011), inspectors described one of the outstanding features of the PGCE course as “the outstanding well-established and collegial partnership based on positive relationships, mutual respect, high expectations, a pursuit for excellence and a detailed and up-to-date knowledge and understanding of the theory and practice of teaching”.
The PGCE courses
The Early Years PGCE prepares trainees for teaching the 3-7 age range. The Primary PGCE course prepares trainees for teaching the 5 -11 age range. The Secondary PGCE includes subject specialities in: Art, Classics, Design and Technology, English and Drama, English, Geography, History, Mathematics, Modern Languages, Music, Science with Biology, Chemistry or Physics and Religious Studies. Two thirds of the PGCE year is spent on school placements.
What qualifications do you need to continue from the Education Tripos onto one of the PGCE courses?
Firstly, you will need to show a professional commitment to teaching by working in schools and/or other educational settings prior to application and during your time in the Education Tripos. Secondly, you will need to obtain at least an upper second-class degree (2*, 2:1) from the Education Tripos and you meet a number of other statutory requirements. For example, you need also to ensure that approximately 50% of your papers are chosen from your subject options if you want to enter the Secondary PGCE. As such, you will take three subject papers in your second year (Part I) and two subject papers in your final year (Part II).
In the case of some subjects, particular specialisms are needed. For instance, the Modern Foreign Languages PGCE course requires you to have French and one other language from German, Spanish and Italian. You would need to have one language to an undergraduate degree level standard and one language to at least to an A-level standard. This requirement exists because of the availability of languages on the secondary school timetable. If you have one language at A-level, then opportunities are in place over the course of the Education Tripos for you to gain a second language.
You will be advised of these specific requirements and be given advice to help you choose the correct blend of papers from the outset of the Education Tripos. You will be informed about associated issues like undertaking an appropriate and relevant R&I dissertation project or arranging voluntary vacation work in local schools and other education-related settings (e.g., The Stimulus Project) in the UK or abroad over the course of their degree.
What other experience will be useful for you?
It is essential to visit one or more UK state schools before applying to continue to PGCE. Observe some lessons and help out at your local primary or secondary comprehensive school, depending on whether you wish to apply for the Early Years, Primary or Secondary PGCE course. This experience will give you a useful preliminary idea of what the job involves. In addition, you will be strongly encouraged to gain school or educational experience during the summer vacations as an undergraduate. You can organize such placements/work experiences in Cambridge, in your home town or abroad. You should also select a school-related topic for your R&I project, allowing you to do an in-depth investigation of aspects of teaching and learning in a school.
How do you go about applying to continue onto the PGCE?
You will need to apply through the GTTR like all applicants. You are advised to apply at the earliest opportunity and not later than 15th November in your final year if you wish to start the PGCE the following academic year. Applicants will be invited to meetings with the relevant tutors from the Early Years, Primary, or Secondary PGCE course.
Continuing your studies at Cambridge after completing a PGCE
All three Cambridge PGCE courses may be counted towards the first year of a part-time MEd degree. Students may transfer directly to this next stage either immediately upon the successful completion of the PGCE course, or they may take up this option after a period of teaching in schools. For more information see the PGCE-M page