Contact details
PGCE Administrator
Department of Education
University of York
York Y010 5DD
Tel: +44 (0)1904 323454
email: educ21@york.ac.uk
Fax: +44 (0)1904 323459
The PGCE Course
The Department of Education welcomes a diverse range of graduate trainees onto the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course. Working in partnership with a number of local schools, we have developed a strong PGCE course in which school teachers and university tutors share the responsibility for teacher training.
Trainees spend two thirds of the course in schools and have experience in at least three schools.
The course prepares graduates to teach in five curriculum areas:
| Places available | |
|---|---|
| English | 20 |
| History | 13 |
| Mathematics | 32 |
| Modern Foreign Languages (French, German and Spanish) | 23 |
Biology |
10 |
The University of York's PGCE course was graded '1' ("outstanding") by OFSTED in March 2010. Key strengths noted by OFSTED include strong coherence between different elements of the training; very good and innovative university-based training and high quality school-based training; encouragement given to trainees to reflect on and evaluate their practice; effective management procedures that promote very good training.
Course Aims
The primary aim of the course is to enable trainees to reach the Standards specified for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) by the Training and Development Agency for schools (TDA). The course also aims to encourage trainees to examine, in a critical but constructive way, the current educational system and practice.
The intention is that trainees should become skilled members of the teaching profession, able to make a full contribution to educational debate and innovations of the future.
The programme is assessed at Masters (M) level.
Educational Studies at York
In addition to initial teacher training, the University of York provides education courses at both undergraduate and higher degree level.
The PGCE qualification provides 60 credits towards the York MA in Teaching Studies: applications for this part-time course are welcomed from trainees who complete their PGCE course successfully.
The Department of Education enjoys excellent working relationships with LEAs and schools, and staff work closely with teachers on school-linked research and development activities.