Secondary: Religious Studies (PGCE)

The University of Brighton is one of the UK's largest teacher training universities, rated ‘outstanding’ in our last Ofsted inspection.

This course leads to the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) for the 11–16 age range which enables you to teach in schools in England and Wales. The course also offers enrichment opportunities to teach the 16–18 age phase.

Studying with us, you will have access to excellent resources and gain practical experience in two of around 600 schools with whom we have partnerships. You will be mentored by a successful teaching team with an outstanding national reputation and comprehensive research profile that informs course content.

Religious education continues to occupy a lively, distinctive and often controversial place in education and we engage in this debate as part of the healthy growth of the subject. You will be required to work out your own answers and approaches to the exciting challenges in religious education in professional, reflective and practical ways as you take on the role of a religious education teacher.  

You could be eligible for a bursary of up to £9,000 if you are looking to start this course in 2018.

Course structure

Two-thirds of your year will be spent teaching, under supervision, in schools. Our tutors and mentors will advise and support you throughout each placement. You will receive comprehensive feedback during this time, enabling you to see where you are doing well and where you could improve.

The university works in partnership with schools and colleges to provide a high quality programme of support, ensuring a sound relationship between theory and practice. You will benefit from undertaking two placements in two schools or colleges, with the opportunity to visit additional schools or colleges as part of the 'Peer Observation' programme.

You will be encouraged to approach your teaching strategies creatively, to aid the progress of your students and your own skills as an RE teacher. You will learn and practice a variety of teaching approaches and innovative classroom practices on this programme. Your learning will involve:

• tutor and student-led seminars and presentations
• practical workshops
• group-work
• drama and role play
• media based activities; tutorials
• sessions by visiting specialist lecturers
• independent directed study
• external national courses
• active learning and a range of RE pedagogies.

You will have access to multimedia training materials, giving you the opportunity to develop your confidence and competence in the use of ICT. Our multimedia suites are regularly updated to keep up with technological advancements in classroom teaching provision. The Open Learning Centre and Falmer Library on campus contain a wealth of materials used in the teaching of Religious Education. This includes artefacts, music, images, film and text-books that you can draw upon to use in the classroom.

We will support you in the development of your subject knowledge by:

• the use of a subject audit
• skills exchanges
• subject knowledge enhancement days on Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Philosophy and Ethics and Sikhism
• Islam micro-teaching
• Hinduism interactive graduate presentations
• visits to places of worship
• advice on how to speak to people of faith
• the maintaining of an ongoing subject knowledge folder.

Areas of study

A number of support systems are put in place before and during the course, to help students develop their subject knowledge in key curriculum areas. The subject knowledge required for Key Stages 3/4 includes the six major world faiths, religious philosophy and ethics, and secular philosophies and other religious traditions.

There are four strands to this course: subject study/subject education, education studies, school placements and professional development.

School-based training

Ofsted identify our approach to training in schools as a key strength of this course, with an excellent balance between university tuition and school-based training.

You will spend a minimum of 120 days on school-based activities, with your training shared between the university and the partner school. 

Your school-based training will include observing teachers, working with individual pupils and groups of pupils, team teaching and independent teaching. Your training will also entail completing specific subject tasks and developing your knowledge of school policy and effective practices.

You will maintain a professional training portfolio and be supported to review your work critically and analytically as well as to set appropriately challenging targets. We will also develop an action plan with you to identify strengths, development needs and actions, so that your practice is continually developing.

School Direct

School Direct is an alternative route to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and the University of Brighton is working with a number of schools to deliver this programme across a range of secondary subjects as well as in the primary phase. 

To train as a teacher through the School Direct programme you need to apply directly to a school for a School Direct training place, with schools advertising their vacancies on the UCAS Teacher Training website. The University of Brighton supports School Direct through providing training and assessment opportunities at the request of participating schools.

Find out more about School Direct and view vacancies.

Careers and employability

Graduates of the course are equipped with the skills and knowledge to become confident and competent secondary-school teachers.

As well as gaining a PGCE, you will be assessed against the national Teachers’ Standards in order to be recommended for the award of Qualified Teacher Status.

Most students gain employment in schools across the UK very soon after they have completed the course and achieved the teaching qualifications. 

If you demonstrate a high level of understanding you may be eligible for masters-level credits.

If you are considering whether a career in teaching is for you, and you are a UK resident, the Department for Education’s School Experience Programme (SEP) offers 1 to 10 days’ classroom experience in a secondary school. For details, please check: http://www.education.gov.uk/get-into-teaching/school-experience.aspx 

Visit the Secondary: Religious Studies (PGCE) page on the University of Brighton website for more details!