PGCE Primary

Learn to be an effective teacher, and gain an insight into the key skills your students will need across the primary curriculum.

Year of entry: 2025 (September)

Start date

September 2025
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Length

10 months full-time

School/department

Department of Education

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Challenge yourself and get to grips with up-to-date thinking and the latest research in teaching and learning for primary age pupils.

Become a research informed, adaptable teacher who is able to enrich the lives of pupils, and gain an insight into the key skills your pupils will need across the primary curriculum.

Our 5-11 PGCE Primary course will prepare you to teach across both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, supporting pupils in different age groups, with different needs and abilities.

This course is delivered through a University-based core route and through our partnership with the Nicholas Postgate Academy Trust (NPCAT). This course is delivered through university-centred and lead partner routes.

Please reference our course codes when applying. The course codes for PGCE Primary are:

Y068 (core code)
S888 (NPCAT code)

Accreditation

On successfully completing this course you will be recommended for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), which is awarded by the Department for Education (DfE).

Rated good by Ofsted

In its most recent evaluation, the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) awarded our PGCE programme a Grade 2: Good.

UK top 10 department

We're ranked 9th in the UK and World Top 50 for Education (QS World Rankings by Subject, 2023)

Experienced Tutors

You'll be taught by experienced practitioners, with recent or current experience of working in classrooms.

Course content

Our PGCE provides a stimulating, collaborative and supporting learning environment, where you can develop your skills and understanding as a beginning teacher. Learning occurs in taught sessions and on teaching placements which take place in a diverse range of partnership schools, within the state and independent sector.

You will understand how to create a safe and positive climate for learning, support pupils with a range of different needs and abilities, and develop a strong sense of subject-specific pedagogy. You will be taught the skills needed to engage in relevant current educational research, and understand what evidence-informed teaching looks like in the classroom.

This course focuses on supporting you to develop your own professional identity as a skilled, solution-focused practitioner who is able to enrich the pupils’ experiences of learning and to support their colleagues and schools they work in.

This course is worth 60 Masters-level credits, which you can put towards a Masters degree through Accreditation of Prior Credited Learning (APCL).

Placements

Placements

Over the course of your two contrasting teaching placements in two different schools, you will have the opportunity to work in both Key Stage one and Key Stage two, with different age groups and different abilities. You will experience a variety of schools and approaches, enhancing your understanding and teaching skills

As part of your first placement you will complete assignments to support your own practice and understanding of teaching and learning covering the topics below.

Lesson Observation and Wider School Ethos

During your second placement you will complete an assignment covering:

Evaluation of a Learning and Teaching Sequence

Special Study - Reflective and Research Literate Practitioner

You will also be assessed throughout the PGCE course around the Professional Aspects of Training. These include:

Meeting Teachers' Standards
Secondary Experience (2 days)
Professional Enrichment Experience (1 week)
Future Career Profile

Before starting a placement that forms part of your course, you are likely to be asked by the placement provider to sign a confidentiality agreement. This is to ensure that you do not disclose any information that is confidential to the placement provider.

Learning outcomes

Every course at York is built on a distinctive set of learning outcomes. These will give you a clear understanding of what you will be able to accomplish at the end of the course and help you explain what you can offer employers. Our academics identify the knowledge, skills, and experiences you'll need upon graduation and then design the course to get you there.

Learning outcomes for this course

Independently and creatively plan, resource and deliver lessons by applying theory, discipline knowledge and appropriate level expectations.
Create an inclusive, stimulating learning environment by managing classroom dynamics and adapting to learning need.
Effectively assess learning and progression through critiquing a range of well-developed formative and summative strategies.
Critically reflect on, and perceptively develop their own classroom practice by assessing and selecting appropriate evaluative frameworks and engaging actively with a supportive network for feedback.
Communicate clearly, confidently and professionally with teaching colleagues, pupils, parents/guardians, support staff, external agencies and in academic contexts, using media appropriate to the situation.
Contribute with justifications to debates and developments in primary education by applying a research-informed approach to the analysis of their own practice and by proactively researching broader education issue.

Fees and funding

Annual tuition fees for 2025/26

Study mode	UK (home)	International and EU
Full-time (1 year)	£9,250	£25,900

Students on a Student Visa are not currently permitted to study part-time at York.

Fees information

UK (home) or international fees? The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.

Find out more information about tuition fees and how to pay them.

Postgraduate taught fees and expenses

Additional costs

You will be expected to arrange your own transport to and from placements. The cost of this will vary depending on the location of your placements and your personal situation. We'll make every effort to place you in a school that you are able to travel to easily.

Successful applicants must undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) enhanced check. The fee for this is £44.

Teaching bursaries

Governmental bursaries and scholarships (gov.uk)

Living costs

You can use our living costs guide to help plan your budget. It covers additional costs that are not included in your tuition fee such as expenses for accommodation and study materials.

Teaching and assessment

You’ll work with world‐leading academics who’ll challenge you to think independently and excel in all that you do. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace. You will work with university PGCE tutors and school mentors who are experienced teachers with mentoring expertise in each of your main placements, and all of whom hold QTS (qualified teacher status).

Teaching format

Participation in the PGCE course is an active process. Although there are lectures and presentations, much of your learning will come from workshops, seminars and school and classroom activities with strategies and techniques for an effective learning environment in your placement classrooms.

Trainees come to the course with a range of qualifications, employment backgrounds and interests. Throughout the course you will be encouraged to work collaboratively, sharing your experience, knowledge and technical expertise. Activities emphasise teamwork and require you to share the responsibility for your learning.

Throughout the course, you will be guided by mentors in your placement schools and supported in school and in university by your specialist university tutors.

Teaching location

The Department of Education is located in Derwent College, on the west part of our campus. Most of your teaching will take place nearby on Campus West.

School placements take place across the region. We take many factors into consideration when allocating placements and will work with you to ensure you can get to your placement safely and easily.

About our campus

Our beautiful green campus offers a student-friendly setting in which to live and study, within easy reach of the action in the city centre. It's easy to get around campus - everything is within walking or pedalling distance, or you can always use the fast and frequent bus service.

Assessment and feedback

You'll complete three academic assignments:

Lesson observation - You'll critically evaluate the observations you have undertaken during the serial visits to your first placement school.
Evaluation of Teaching and Learning - You'll evaluate your early teaching by analysing some of the work pupils have produced in the lessons you have planned and delivered.
In-depth Focus Study - This is a small-scale study based on a piece of research. This is an opportunity for you to pursue an individual professional interest by investigating a particular aspect of what it means to teach your subject effectively

The primary aim of the course is to enable you to meet, and ideally exceed, the Teachers’ Standards and be recommended for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

Careers and skills

Most of our graduates become teachers, but the skills you learn will open other career paths too.

Career opportunities

Primary school teacher
Dyslexia support worker
Education consultant
Youth worker

Transferable skills

Ability to articulate complex ideas
Learning/teaching methods and strategies
Managing time and setting priorities
Assimilate, analyse, and evaluate complex information
Computer literacy for teaching and learning
High standards of personal and professional conduct
Presentation and communication skills

Entry requirements

Qualification	Typical offer
Undergraduate degree	2.2 or equivalent
Other international qualifications	Equivalent qualifications from your country

Additional requirements

GCSE Mathematics grade 4 (C)
GCSE English grade 4 (C)
This is in addition to any other English language requirements you may need to fulfil.
GCSE Science grade 4 (C) in Biology or Chemistry or Physics or Combined Science

Further information about government requirements for teacher training.

English language

If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:

Qualification	Minimum requirement
IELTS (Academic and Indicator)	6.5, minimum 6.0 in each component
Cambridge CEFR	B2 First: 176, with 169 in each component
Oxford ELLT	7, minimum of 6 in each component
Oxford Test of English Advanced	136, minimum 126 in each component
Duolingo	120, minimum 105 in all other components
LanguageCert SELT	B2 with 33/50 in each component
LanguageCert Academic	70 with a minimum of 65 in each component
Kaplan Test of English Language	478-509, with 444-477 in all other components
Skills for English	B2: Merit overall, with Pass with Merit in each component
PTE Academic	61, minimum 55 in each component
TOEFL	87, minimum 21 in each component
Trinity ISE III	Merit in all requirements

For more information see our postgraduate English language requirements.

If you haven't met our English language requirements

You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses. These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer.

The length of course you need to take depends on your current English language test scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements.

After you've accepted your offer to study at York, we'll confirm which pre-sessional course you should apply to via You@York.

Applying

To apply to York, you will need to complete an online application via Apply for Teacher Training.