Fees and key information

Course type
Postgraduate
Course code
3C9W
Entry requirements
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Why study this course?

This English with Drama PGCE course offers an exciting and inclusive programme that will allow you to train to teach with confidence and to thrive in any learning environment. Led by experienced industry professionals who have wide-ranging experience in London secondary schools, it draws upon powerful experiences in both university and school-based training, preparing you to become an effective school practitioner. You will be guided with assurance to use the key methods and approaches of both English and Drama as curriculum subjects across the secondary age range.

Our programme is also designed to give you a rich wider experience, exploring the role of teacher as a creative agent. Our work with local theatre companies will allow you to explore your own creativity, making strong links between your love of drama and English, and the practical skills you will need to teach these subjects in school.

Graduates of the English with Drama PGCE work across a range of schools in London and beyond, many having taken on roles in their placement schools. Our graduates are critically aware and reflective practitioners, confident of their ability to teach with creativity and imagination even in challenging circumstances. London Met teachers are equipped to work in diverse situations with inclusive practices, following our Education for Social Justice model.

Interested in finding out more? Sign up for one of our information events – online or in person – a chance to meet the tutors and get your questions answered. See below.

You will undertake practical exploration of the different strands of the Drama and English curriculum areas alongside a broader training, led by specialists, in the fundamental aspects of professional practice. Our course is research-led and focuses on building your skills as a critically reflective practitioner, allowing you to choose your own pathway towards becoming the teacher that you want to be.

Our alumni have considerable choice as to onward career path; by the end of the course you will have gained the skills to become a teacher of Drama, a teacher of English or a teacher of both English and Drama.

Drama is at the centre of a strong arts curriculum, allowing pupils to gain confidence in their personal, social and aesthetic skills. In this course you will learn to challenge their creative thinking through devising, physical theatre and the practical exploration of plays.
In English, you will explore language, literature, expression and the role of communication across Key Stage 3 and 4. You will have the opportunity to develop your English skills across the year with support from key practitioners in school.

The course also enables a complementary approach to your teaching of both English and Drama, allowing for a rich combination of ideas and methods. The two subjects are inextricably linked, but also offer very different approaches to learning. For example, the study of drama writing is an integral part of the English curriculum and the drama curriculum offers opportunities to explore plays in more practical ‘embodied’ ways and to develop links with dance, music, art and across the range of subjects. Practical drama also offers a rich resource for creative, reflective and analytical writing.

Initial Teacher Education at London Met is dedicated to broadening the diversity and inclusivity of our teaching profession, welcoming applicants from all backgrounds, and supporting you to work in often challenging urban schools. We actively work towards a model of Education for Social Justice and explore the key issues facing teachers today.
The course will centre on training you to teach 11 to 16-year-olds and, by arrangement, can also give you additional experience in the post-16 age group. This course qualifies eligible applicants for a bursary of £10,000. (Current bursary for 2024-2025 study).

Boost your career prospects

By the end of the course you will have gained the skills to become a teacher of Drama, a teacher of English or a teacher of both English and Drama

Learn from industry professionals

Led by experienced industry professionals who have wide-ranging experience in London schools, this course draws upon powerful experiences in both university and school-based training, preparing you to become an effective school practitioner

Explore your passions through external work opportunities

Our work with local theatre companies will allow you to explore your own creativity, making strong links between your love of drama and English

Student reviews

Our real, honest student reviews come from our own students – we collect some of these ourselves, but many are also collected through university comparison websites and other nationwide surveys.

London Metropolitan University not only teaches you 'what teaching is' but it also demonstrates and facilitates a way for you to become a great teacher.

Student reviewer

The course is well-structured and gives a solid grounding in the pedagogical disciplines needed for a career in teaching. However the highlight for me has been the quality of the subject tutors. All the tutors I have worked with have been highly knowledgeable, approachable and more than capable of pushing students to reach their potential as future teachers.

Martin Gadgill

I get so much support from my tutor, colleagues and the London Met team. The University itself has a great vibe, is highly social and very welcoming. I’m grateful to everyone at the University for all their help.

Zeinab Al-Ali

Choosing to complete my teacher training at London Met was the best career decision I ever made. Studying in the heart of London while being surrounded by a diverse body of staff and students was exactly the preparation I needed for teaching at inner-London secondary schools. London Met’s commitment to tackling the challenging issues surrounding modern urban education was, I believe, a key factor in my rapid progression to the position of head of department after just four years of teaching.

Having gained a unique insight into the value of teacher education throughout my undergraduate studies, I then embarked on a master’s in Education, again with London Met. After successfully completing this, I am now in my eighth year in the profession and currently considering application for a Doctorate in Education.

Rosie Walsh

London Met was very proactive in providing support and guidance for my new teaching post. The team educated me on everything necessary to prepare me for my forthcoming role; they are highly skilled professionals who were able to support me through my interview process as well as answer any queries regarding the teaching industry. With regards to course content, I felt everything covered during lectures and the professional studies sessions was relevant to my development and future prospects as a teacher.

Jatinder Chohan

Course modules

The modules listed below are for the academic year 2024/25 and represent the course modules at this time. Modules and module details (including, but not limited to, location and time) are subject to change over time.

Year modules

Curriculum Studies

This module currently runs:
all year (September start)

(core, 30 credits)

NB: Teaching Period is a statutory period of currently 36 weeks, set by the Department of Education. Term dates are set separately to the standard university dates, with an earlier start and later finish than other postgraduate courses.

The Curriculum Studies module aims to ensure that all students have appropriate knowledge, skills and understanding to teach their chosen specialism as an effective practitioner, in fulfilment of all relevant aspects of the Core Content Framework.

To support the student:
● to develop an understanding of the curriculum knowledge and pedagogical knowledge that they will require as a teacher, including the ability to interpret this to plan, teach and assess engaging lessons which promote pupil progression.
● to develop their own subject knowledge to ensure they are confident to teach their chosen specialist subject and/or phase, through a combination of assessment, self-assessment, target setting, personal study and engagement with university teaching and learning sessions.
● to develop a critical appreciation of the relevant traditions in pedagogy, assessment and children’s rights related to the areas they will be required to teach, and to use this knowledge to make decisions about planning, teaching and assessment which promote pupil progression.

Read full details

Professionalism and Inclusive Practice

This module currently runs:
all year (September start)
all year (January start)
autumn semester

(core, 30 credits)

NB: Teaching Period is a statutory period of currently 36 weeks, set by the Department of Education. Term dates are set separately to the standard university dates, with an earlier start and later finish than other postgraduate courses.

The Professional Inclusive Practice (PIP) module aims to ensure that student teachers are prepared for all aspects of professionalism and professional thinking as a teacher. It aims to ensure that they are fully equipped to meet the broader knowledge, skills and behaviours beyond individual subject or phase specialist topics, in fulfilment of all aspects of the Core Content Framework.
To support the trainee:
• to develop a critical understanding of the key philosophies that underpin our curriculum, based on the principles of Education for Social Justice, Critical Pedagogy and the UNCRC.
• to teach in a range of contexts, with a focus on teaching in multilingual, multicultural schools, working closely with families, communities and other professionals and to develop a sense of professional identity which reflects this.
• to develop the full range of skills, competencies and attitudes needed to enhance their employability, by enabling them to attain the professional Teachers’ Standards for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) by the end of the course.
• to enable students to reflect upon, critically assess and research their own practice. 

Read full details

School Experience

This module currently runs:
all year (September start)

(core, 0 credits)

NB: Teaching Period (whole course) is a statutory period of currently 36 weeks, set by the Department of Education. Placement Module dates are set at 24 weeks minimum. Term dates are set separately to the standard university dates, with an earlier start and later finish than other postgraduate courses.


The module will be comprised of two school experiences placements in contrasting schools or other appropriate settings to support the trainee to:
• Develop their professional practice as a teacher.
• Gain the skills and understanding outlined in the Core Content Framework for ITT.
• Become a critically reflective practitioner inside and outside the classroom.
• Acquire the necessary skills, experience and understanding required to plan, deliver and evaluate the appropriate areas of the curriculum (for their route) by the end of the module.

Read full details

Join our next open event on Saturday 9 November at 11am

Book your place

Course details

You'll be required to have:

  • a UK degree, preferably grade 2.2 or equivalent, in a relevant subject or with a considerable proportion of the content in the subject
  • GCSE English grade B/6 and GCSE Mathematics grade C/4 or above (or equivalent)*
  • literacy and numeracy tests — these are university-based tests, which you will be asked to undertake at your interview
  • A valid enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate which you will be advised to apply for after an offer is made
  • Confirmation of Fitness to Teach through a London Metropolitan University Health Check
  • Acceptable academic and/ or professional references

If you hold a third class degree, you may still be considered, particularly if this qualification is supported by a completed master's degree or relevant work experience.

If you feel your qualifications are slightly lower than our requirements, contact the Admissions Office for further advice before applying.

We are looking for dynamic, energetic, enthusiastic and caring trainees. As a teacher you will need to be passionate and enthusiastic about your work, as well as the desire to make a real difference to young people's lives and futures.

The University will assess any overseas qualifications for equivalence using a number of resources including our own internal guidelines, the UK ENIC and the Overseas Degree Table.

We highly recommend the one-to-one tailored advice on eligibility and equivalency offered by the Department For Education Get Into Teaching service.

*If you need to take an equivalency test for any of the required GCSEs, please sign up for A Star Equivalency or Equivalency Testing. Please be aware that you may need to undertake study towards the exam, either with the equivalency organisation or independently. Alternatively, you might want to sign up for a college GCSE course in the relevant subject, which will give a more thorough grounding in the subject.

Selection process

In addition to the entry requirements above, London Metropolitan University will undertake a rigorous selection process to ensure that you are suitable and ready to train to teach with us. This process will include:

  • Face to face interview in the university (online interviews may be available in certain circumstances)
  • Presentation of a text and related possible teaching activities
  • Group work assessment task
  • Maths and English skills (assessed as part of the interview)

Professional requirements

Before you can be permitted to enrol to this course: 

  • you must not already hold QTS or be qualified to teach in another EU/EEA country

Prior to the interview for this course, London Met recommends:

  • you have a minimum of 10 working days recent experience in a school
  • you are prepared for your understanding of current teaching practice and issues in schools to be assessed
  • you have an awareness of multiculturalism and other contexts unique to urban schools
  • you're aware you may be invited to interview based on information given in your application, which you may need to discuss with the interviewer.

Some offers may recommend further school experience if required.

International students

Overseas nationals who already hold an alternative visa in a suitable category or have been granted permission to remain in the UK indefinitely may be considered for admission, but please note that an additional international enhanced police check will be required.

English language requirements

This course has English language requirements over and above those normally required (see Entry Requirements and Selection Process above). 

To study a postgraduate degree at London Met, you must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. If you require a Student visa you may need to provide the results of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. This course requires you to meet our standard requirements. 

If you need (or wish) to improve your English before starting your degree, the University offers a Pre-sessional Academic English course to help you build your confidence and reach the level of English you require. 

Your development will be assessed formatively throughout the course, with regular feedback and feed-forward on next steps for progress. Towards the end of the course your teaching will be assessed in relation to the Teaching Standards for QTS.

In addition, you will complete two major assignments:

  • a Professional Practice Portfolio which is compiled across the year, detailing personal experiences and reflections on your development as a teacher, largely in relation to your practical teaching experience
  • an Educational Research Assignment, which allows you to explore a key educational issue of your choice.

There are no written examinations.

This PGCE with QTS course is authorised by the Department of Education (DfE) and is accredited by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA).

Most of our trainees go on to take up roles in schools as Early Career Teachers (ECTs) including with many of our partner schools or in their placement schools as teachers of English and/ or Drama.

Graduates of our PGCE training courses are spread across the educational world, in many cases reaching positions of leadership including Head teachers and advisors.

If you've already studied your undergraduate degree with us, as a graduate of London Met, you'll be entitled to a 20% discount on any further study with us.
* exclusions apply

Bursary funding is available for this postgraduate English with Drama course leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Depending on you degree classification, you may be eligible for a bursary or scholarship of £15,000 through the teacher training bursary.

  • Ask somebody you trust to check your personal statement, both for accuracy of writing and for focused, relevant content.
  • Ensure that your personal statement addresses your reasons for choosing the exact course, phase or subject specialism. Make sure that all potentially relevant experience is referred to in your statement – if you don’t tell us, we won’t know!
  • Don’t wait until you have passed all relevant qualifications before applying (but make sure you tell us about them – otherwise, again, we won’t know).
  • If your qualifications are from another country, you will have to get an ENIC statement of equivalence.
  • Make sure you have read all the relevant course documentation and requirements before applying.
  • If in doubt, ask!

How to apply

You can apply for all teacher training courses, apart from the assessment-only route, through the Department for Education’s “Apply for teacher training” service.

To apply to us, select London Metropolitan University as the training provider and then choose the relevant course. You can also use the following codes:

Training provider code: L68
Course code: 3C9W

When to apply

Please apply as early as possible to maximise your chances of securing a place. The application window opens in early October for courses starting the following September.

Do not wait until you’ve met all the criteria before applying.

If you’re not sure whether you meet the criteria, please do one of the following:

  • Contact us to enquire about the eligibility of your qualifications and experience. We’ll be able to let you know whether the Level 2 Maths certificate that you have is accepted for teacher training, or whether your degree is considered relevant to the secondary course you’re applying for.
  • Apply early and make it clear in your personal statement what steps you propose to take to get the relevant qualifications or experience.

Places are limited by the Teaching Regulation Agency and are offered on a first come, first served basis. We also operate waiting lists for these courses.

This PGCE course will operate different term dates from the standard university dates, following closely to the pattern of the English school year. It will normally start in early September and run until early July.

As this is a full-time (5 days per week) course, you will need to ensure that you are available for this time period

Are you from outside the UK? Find out how to apply from your home country

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