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Routes into teaching

Teacher taster courses

Taster courses are short courses for people considering becoming a teacher which are designed to provide participants with some experience of what it means to be a teacher and an insight into what life in the classroom is all about.

We run taster courses with neighbouring boroughs which normally last four days, two of which will be spent in a school.

There are courses for different subjects and phases with many aiming to attract participants from groups currently under represented in teaching.

Applications for taster courses are made through the Training and Development Agency. Call 0845 600 0991 for more information.

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Undergraduate route

To gain entry to a university based undergraduate course requires at least two A levels or equivalent with at least one being in a national curriculum subject.

Most courses are for primary teaching but there are also some undergraduate secondary programmes.

Full-time courses last three or four years. If you have already completed one year of full-time higher education, you may be suited to a two year course in order to gain qualified teacher status (QTS).

See Undergraduate Route information in the external links section below.

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Postgraduate route

The PGCE (postgraduate Certificate in Education) offers graduates the opportunity to train to become a teacher.

It is normally a year long university based course involving placements in schools throughout the year.

See postgraduate route information in the external links section below.

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Graduate and registered teaching programme (GRTP)

The GTP is for people who have a UK degree or an equivalent qualification and the RTP is for people who have completed two years of higher education (or equivalent) to qualify as a teacher while employed in a school.

Entry is competitive with places going to the best applications in each of the teacher training agencies (TTA), and priority categories.

People who want to train through the GRTP need to find a school willing to employ them as an unqualified graduate or registered teacher.

Some schools and local authorities have set up partnerships to help.

The organisation that takes responsibility for the training is called the recommending body (RB) for the trainee. The RB may be:

a school
an initial teacher training (ITT) provider
a local authority (LA)
another organisation with ITT experience
a combination of these organisations.

The recommended body is responsible for designing a training plan, supervising the delivery of the training, and arranging the trainee’s final assessment against the QTS standards.

For us, the GRTP is run by the north London consortium which represents north London training providers and LEAs.

Tel 020 8411 4602
Email lonoco@mdx.ac.uk

See graduate teacher programme information in the external links section below.

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