What is School Direct - General Primary (Fee-funded PGCE) PGCE?

If you’re looking for a lifelong, challenging and exciting career, primary teaching may be for you. In collaboration with our school partners, we offer our students an exceptional training experience.

There are two possible awards at the end of the course, the Postgraduate Certificate in Education and the Professional Graduate Certificate in Education, depending on your success in the academic elements of the course. Both awards include recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) for successful candidates.

Study style

As a more school-based route into primary teaching, not only will you study with the university (approximately 1 day per week), you will also be part of a School Direct cluster of schools, undertaking cluster-based training (approximately ½ to 1 day per week) and spending the rest of each week in allocated schools, learning alongside expert, school-based colleagues.

We place a high priority on school-based learning and on developing your analysis, evaluation and autonomous learning and development skills. Each cluster works with a range of primary schools and early years settings, and will place you in at least two different schools throughout the course of training.

School placements are assessed through the scrutiny of evidence by students, school staff and university tutors, while professional development and subject knowledge are assessed through two written assignments.

Possible careers

Graduates from this course can go on to work in:

Primary school teaching
Further study postgraduate diploma or MA.