Learn how to teach science and physics to 11 to 16-year-olds and, by arrangement, 16 to 18-year-olds on this PGCE course.
You’ll attend sessions at both London Met and one of our partnership schools, learning the principles of teaching physics and getting the vital hands-on experience necessary for later employment.
Those already on our PGCE Secondary courses attain high results, with 95% achieving an Ofsted good or outstanding grade by the end of the course.
Successfully complete this PGCE Secondary Science with Physics course to achieve Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and become a teacher of science for students up to 14 years old and physics for 15 to 16-year-olds. On request, we may also be able to arrange experience teaching at post-16 level.
At London Met you’ll develop your teaching strategies and pedagogical techniques as well as exploring the fundamentals of how children learn. These study sessions will include collaborative projects and school-based work with other trainees, as well as how to implement teaching and pupil assessment.
Our PGCE course uses its London location to widen your experience of teaching in multicultural urban environments. Through your placements at one of our partnership secondary schools you’ll help develop lesson plans and contribute to the development of pupils’ scientific skills and knowledge. London Met also provides you with the opportunity for post-16-year-old teaching experience where possible.
Our commitment to your development lead to positive reviews from Ofsted in our most recent inspection:
"Headteachers are particularly complimentary about the fact that the trainees and Newly Qualified Teachers are prepared well to meet the specific challenges of pupils in the context of London schools."
Ofsted 2015
Your assessment will consist of four elements:
There are no examinations.
We place great emphasis on feedback from your peers and colleagues on the placement. You’ll complete a weekly reflection and contribute to discussions online in order to further develop your understanding of the role of a secondary teacher.
This course is accredited by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA).
You will be required to have:
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.
We do make conditional offers (with strict deadlines) so it is important that you include all pending qualifications in your UCAS application.
The University will assess any overseas qualifications for equivalence using a number of resources including our own internal guidelines, the UK National Recognition Information Centre (NARIC) 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. They offer all three GCSE equivalencies. 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 course in the relevant subject, though this is likely to take longer and you may not have the chance for a re-sit, if required, prior to the start of the PGCE course.
Before you can be permitted to enrol to this course:
Prior to the interview for this course, London Met recommends:
Some offers may recommend further school experience if required.
Due to statutory requirements, we are not able to offer sponsorship under the Tier 4 visa route for this course. We will be happy to consider those falling into this category for an alternative suitable course on request. EU nationals may be considered for admission, as well as overseas nationals who already hold an alternative visa in a suitable category or have been granted permission to remain in the UK indefinitely, but please note that an additional international enhanced police check will be required.
To study a degree at London Met, you must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. For more information about English qualifications please see our English language 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.
The modules listed below are for the academic year 2020/21 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 1 modules include:
To support the trainee to:
• Develop a deep understanding of the curriculum they will be required to teach on school experience, and an ability to interpret this to plan engaging lessons which promote pupil progression.
• Develop their own subject knowledge to ensure they are confident to teach on school experience, through a combination of personal evaluation, target setting, personal study and engagement with university teaching and learning sessions.
• 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.
To support the trainee to:
• Critically engage with the debate about teacher professionalism in the context of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• Understand how teachers can use / undertake research to critically engage with complex educational issues.
To support the trainee to:
• Make progress towards meeting the minimum requirements of the Teachers’ Standards for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or Early Years Teachers Standards for Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS)
• To become a critically reflective practitioner inside and outside the classroom.
• To 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.
To support the trainee to:
Achieve the professional Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or Early Years Teachers Standards for Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS)
• To become a critically reflective practitioner inside and outside the classroom.
• To acquire the necessary skills, experience and understanding required to plan, deliver and evaluate the appropriate areas of the national curriculum (for their route) by the end of the module.
"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."
Former trainee from our PGCE Secondary Science with Physics
Upon successful completion of the course you will achieve Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) for teaching science at Key Stage 3 (ages 11-14) and Key Stage 4 (ages 14-16) and your physics specialism at Key Stage 4. London Metropolitan University's trainees have an excellent rate of gaining Qualified Teacher Status and finding teaching positions within six months of graduating. Our trainees have gone on to become physics teachers at schools such as Brentside High School in the London Borough of Ealing.
Funding is available for many postgraduate courses leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Depending on your teaching subject and degree classification, you may be eligible for a bursary or scholarship of up to £30,000 through the teacher training bursary.
The Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed that EU students who have settled or pre-settled status will still be eligible for Student Finance and Initial Teacher Training bursaries in 2021/22.
If you're an EU applicant living in the UK or entering the UK before 31 December 2020, it is therefore advised that you apply to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) as soon as possible. Read more guidance for EU students studying in the UK.
Please note, in addition to the tuition fee there may be additional costs for things like equipment, materials, printing, textbooks, trips or professional body fees.
Additionally, there may be other activities that are not formally part of your course and not required to complete your course, but which you may find helpful (for example, optional field trips). The costs of these are additional to your tuition fee and the fees set out above and will be notified when the activity is being arranged.
All teacher training courses, apart from the assessment only route, are searchable on the Department for Education’s “Find postgraduate teacher training” site.
Applications must be made through UCAS Teacher Training (UTT).
You can apply to London Met or one of our partner schools. To apply to London Met, please enter:
To apply through one of our partner schools, please enter the following provider and training programme codes:
Please note, whether you select London Met or one of our partner schools as the provider, your training will still take place at the University. Depending on availability, for your placement, you may be assigned to a school that is different to the one you entered the provider code for.
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:
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.
To find out when teaching for this degree will begin, as well as welcome week and any induction activities, view our academic term dates.