English is one of the three core subjects within the UK curriculum, making English teachers in high demand with good opportunities for promotion.

Learning English can be simultaneously fascinating and challenging, but pupils’ achievement in both English Language and Literature can be strongly linked to how the subject is taught. This is where you can truly make a difference.

Brunel’s PGCE in Secondary Education (English) is designed to prepare you to teach pupils aged 11 to 16 with a focus on developing their aptitude for English.  You will teach them English, not only in preparation for compulsory exams but also for life beyond school.

Whether it is helping someone to have the confidence to analyse more challenging texts, inspiring a budding writer or engaging communicator, or enabling your pupils to look beyond the surface and become increasingly knowledgeable and critical readers, your English teaching will leave a strong legacy.

As an English teacher today you will need more than a solid grounding in the study of literature. You will need to be aware of the ways in which children read a vast range of texts in a variety of media and to understand how speaking and listening skills are developed.

Schools are seeking teachers with high levels of pedagogical competence and skill, as well as advanced subject knowledge for teaching as well as knowledge of the theories, policies and systems relevant to education.

The focus of your studies will be on the principles and methods of teaching and learning delivered through three core modules, together with compulsory, practical school-based teaching placements.  Your progress will be assessed in both areas.

As part of your teacher education, you will be taught how to use subject knowledge and relevant course specifications to plan and deliver the curriculum for pupils from 11-16, including examination and vocational courses.

Your placement will typically take you into Brunel partner schools or other educational settings in and around London for at least 120 days in block placements in two or more different contexts working with a school-based mentor.

Links with schools across our Partnership enable you to undertake placements that will equip you with the skills to work with young people in a diverse range of educational contexts. The Education Department at Brunel was highly praised for this Partnership work in the 2015 Ofsted inspection – Ofsted graded Brunel’s Initial Teacher Education Partnership as ‘Outstanding’ in all areas.

As you progress through your own development and learning on the course, you will be encouraged to reflect critically and constructively on your own and others’ teaching practices in relation to a range of aspects including national and regional priorities and policies, and current research.

At the heart of the programme is the commitment to ensuring that your practice will impact positively on pupil progress over time, and Brunel Partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement in which you will play a central part.

Upon successful completion of the course, you will receive both a postgraduate certificate in Education (PGCE) and a recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

A Brunel PGCE with recommendation for QTS is a recognised symbol of high quality Initial Teacher Education (ITE). This is demonstrated by Brunel’s outstanding employment rates over time and feedback from Brunel alumni student teachers, our partnership schools and Ofsted inspectors.

Brunel PGCE graduates have gone on to work in our Partnership schools, and many in schools where they undertook a placement experience. This allows the department to retain links with former students and often they become school-based mentors for Brunel PGCE students. The department also has a network of alumni in positions of responsibility in schools across the country.

After you graduate, your relationship with Brunel doesn’t stop there. As alumni,  you can remain involved in the Partnership in a range of ways including mentoring, and can also sign up to receive invitations to Brunel public lectures, Education Department research seminars, events and steering groups, to ensure you continue to develop through a community of professional practice within, and beyond the school in which you work.

If you decide to pursue further study after your PGCE course, (perhaps an MA, a taught Doctorate of Education or a research based PhD), you will be warmly encouraged by the department with the opportunity of discounted fees as a Brunel graduate.