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Key details

Start date(s)
September 2025
Study Mode
Full-time (1 year)
Location
Main Campus (Horsforth)
School
Education

Teaching secondary-age children is your chance to share your passion for your subject and inspire the next generation.

Teaching children isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Every subject is different, which is why we centre our support on subject-specific knowledge, up-to-date teaching practices and, most importantly, your specific needs as a trainee teacher.

On successful completion of this degree and having met the Teachers’ Standards, you will be recommended for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). All our PGCE Secondary courses lead to the award of a level 7 Postgraduate Certificate in Education.

The Student Contract

Course modules

You will study a variety of modules across your programme of study. The module details given below are subject to change and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

Year 1

Stage One - Introduction to Teaching

From September to December you'll complete three months of integrated training, in which you’ll build up to spending four days a week in your stage one school. The other days will be spent learning with your peers, in order to support you in becoming a skilful teacher who is an pedagogy expert in your subject area. 
Stage Two – Developing your Knowledge, Understanding and Practice

From January to March you’ll start a second placement in a different school for stage two. Ongoing support from, and fortnightly training days at University will continue until the end of Stage 2. This stage includes targeted support and training to help you secure your first teaching job, alongside the development of your teaching skills.

In this placement, you will continue to be supported by your University subject tutor, your school mentor and a lead mentor who liaises frequently between school and University.
Stage Three - Embedding your Skills and Preparing you for your New Career

From May to July you'll continue to teach in the same school as for stage 2. At this point in the programme, you begin to take much more ownership of your classes. Embedding the skills you have learned in the first two stages you will begin to take on more teaching and only have a small amount of taught University training days.

For the final six weeks of stage three you will have built your timetable up to the equivalent of 80% of a qualified teacher’s timetable.  Gaining evidence to show that you have got what it takes to meet the Teachers' Standards by the end of the programme.

Learning and teaching

At the end of each placement your school mentor, who will have supported you throughout your time in school, will assess your practice, using evidence from the whole of your time in school, including observations, lesson plans and marked work.

You’ll complete a progress portfolio to collate evidence of your teaching practice. At the end of the course, we will use this evidence to show that you have met the Teachers’ Standards.

You’ll also complete two level 7 Master’s assignments to test your ability to be critically reflective and research-led in your approach to teaching. 

Learning and teaching

At Leeds Trinity we aim to provide an excellent student experience and provide you with the tools and support to help you achieve your academic, personal and professional potential.

Our Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy delivers excellence by providing the framework for:

  • high quality teaching
  • an engaging and inclusive approach to learning, assessment and achievement
  • a clear structure through which you progress in your academic studies, your personal development and towards professional-level employment or further study.

We have a strong reputation for developing student employability, supporting your development towards graduate employment, with relevant skills embedded throughout your programme of study.

We endeavour to develop curiosity, confidence, courage, ambition and aspiration in all students through the key themes in our Learning and Teaching Strategy:

  • Student Involvement and Engagement
  • Inclusion
  • Integrated Programme and Assessment Experience
  • Digital Literacy and Skills
  • Employability and Enterprise

To help you achieve your potential we emphasise learning as a collaborative process, with a range of student-led and real-world activities. This approach ensures that you fully engage in shaping your own learning, developing your critical thinking and reflective skills so that you can identify your own strengths and weaknesses, and use the extensive learning support system we offer to shape your own development.

We believe the secret to great learning and teaching is simple: it is about creating an inclusive learning experience that allows all students to thrive through:

  • Personalised support
  • Expert lecturers
  • Strong connections with employers
  • An international outlook
  • Understanding how to use tools and technology to support learning and development

Entry requirements

Leeds Trinity University is committed to recruiting students with talent and potential and who we feel will benefit greatly from their academic and non-academic experiences here. We treat every application on its own merits; we value highly the experience you illustrate in your personal statement.

The following information is designed to give you a general overview of the qualifications we accept. If you are taking qualifications that are not included below, please contact our Admissions Office who will be happy to advise you.

  • A good honours degree (usually 2:2 or above) with a significant proportion in Geography. Please note that applicants with third-class honours degrees will be considered on an individual basis, and normally only if applicants have additional qualifications and/or significant relevant professional experience.
  • GCSE Grade 4 (or C or accepted equivalent) in English Language or English Literature and Mathematics. If you do not already have the appropriate GCSEs, or if you are unable to provide proof of your grades, please refer to the GCSE Equivalency information below.
  • The ability to read effectively and communicate clearly and accurately in spoken and written standard English.
  • Suitable personal and intellectual qualities required for teaching in secondary schools.
  • Applicants also need to demonstrate the commitment, attitudes and values appropriate to those of a secondary teacher and the potential to train as a teacher. Strong applicants often have experience in secondary schools, but this is not a requirement.

This course is not available to students on a Student Route Visa.

Additional entry requirements

In addition to the above essential entry requirements, successful applicants also tend to have:

  • Advanced level qualifications (or equivalent) in Geography.
  • Experience of observing the teaching in a secondary school in this country.

You will also need to meet additional entry requirements set by the Department for Education (DfE) for selection. This includes the completion of a health check and a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. For further information, please visit our Initial Teacher Training additional entry requirements page. 

Interview information

If your initial application is successful, we will invite you to the next available Interview Day. For more information on the interview process, visit our PGCE Secondary Education interviews page.

GCSE Equivalency

If you do not already have the appropriate GCSEs, or if you are unable to provide proof of your grades, we can accept GCSE equivalency tests taken with A Star Equivalency, equivalencytesting.com or Birmingham City University (BCU) Further details are emailed to applicants who accept offers with us.

Please get in touch for further advice on 0113 283 7123 or admissions@leedstrinity.ac.uk.

Fees and finance

Funding

For information about our tuition fees please visit our Student Fees and Finance pages. 

How to apply

Get in touch

Apply through the Department for Education (DfE) (Apply for teacher training - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk))

You will need to create an account to apply. When you apply, you can make four choices, and you should complete all sections of the application in full.

You can search for the course you want to apply for by searching by location or course provider and then by subject. Find postgraduate teacher training courses - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

There's no set deadline, but when the course is full, it will show as having no vacancies on the DfE apply site.

What happens next?

Updates on your application will be provided through your DfE application.

If you receive an offer 

You will receive information about the offer conditions and deadlines from our Admissions team.

Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies (CCRS)

Achieve an additional qualification alongside your PGCE with the Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies. 

Although the CCRS isn't compulsory, it is recognised across the Catholic school sector as a desirable qualification that can expand on both your expertise and your vocational focus. The course aims to ensure you have the basic knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the beliefs and principles of the Catholic Faith while providing a basis for further study. 

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