Bishop Challoner Teaching School Alliance
Chemistry (E414)

PGCE with QTS full time

• Accredited body: Birmingham City University
• Financial support: Scholarship, bursary or student finance if you’re eligible
• Qualification:
  PGCE with QTS

  A postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) with qualified teacher status (QTS) allows you to teach in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It’s also recognised internationally.

  Many PGCE courses include credits that count toward a Master’s degree.

• Course length: 1 year
• Date you can apply from: 8 October 2019
• Date course starts: September 2020
• Website: http://www.bctsa.org/Apply-For-School-Direct

Contents

About the course

If you are passionate about communicating the marvels of chemistry to young people then we are keen to develop your skills and knowledge in chemistry to inspire young minds and meet the rising demand for GCSE and A Level Chemistry.

Our aim is to help you become a committed, confident and creative teacher so we will help equip you with the essential tools you need to kick-start your career in education. We will train you to teach across the years, covering topics from learning how to introduce students to atoms, elements and particles, to thermodynamics and inorganic chemistry.

You will also learn how to demonstrate impressive chemical reactions safely!

As you progress, you will increase your ability to handle the ever-evolving teaching environment, and by the time your course is complete, you will be in a position to continue developing your understanding, knowledge and skills throughout your professional life.

Your course will feature a range of modules and the opportunity to get plenty of hands-on practice in local schools with support from colleagues in our Teaching School Alliance and experienced University tutors. So while the School Direct PGCE is an academic qualification, the emphasis is very much on practical experience, with around two thirds of the course spent in school.

Bishop Challoner Catholic College is the Lead School for the Central Midlands Science Learning Partnership, allowing schools to access the high quality materials and courses provided.

Interview process

You will be required to attend one interview. Interviews include:

• exploration of curriculum knowledge
• discussions about relevant experiences
• a presentation or small teaching exercise
• written task

We also look for:

• good communication skills
• potential / suitability to be a good teacher
• robustness to cope with the demands of the course

How school placements work

The main placement school for an applicant is discussed at interview, so that individual requirements can be taken into account. With most of our schools being located in or near the Birmingham area, travel time is not usually a problem.

You will be based at your main placement school for the whole of the programme except for a second complementary school placement which will take place in the first half of the Spring Term. The second placement school will be discussed with you and your school mentor before any decisions are made.

Fees

The course fees for 2020 – 2021 are as follows:

UK students	£9,250
EU students	£9,250

Financial support

You could be eligible for either:

• a scholarship of £28,000
• a bursary of £26,000

With a scholarship or bursary, you’ll also get early career payments of £2,000 in your second, third and fourth years of teaching (£3,000 in some areas of England).

To qualify for a scholarship you’ll need a degree of 2:1 or above in Chemistry or a related subject. For a bursary you’ll need a 2:2 or above in any subject.

You can’t claim both a bursary and a scholarship - you can only claim one.

Find out how to apply for a scholarship. You don’t need to apply for a bursary - if you’re eligible, you’ll automatically start receiving it once you begin your course. Find out how you’ll be paid.

You may also be eligible for a loan while you study – note that you’ll have to apply for undergraduate student finance.

Find out about financial support if you’re from outside the UK.

Requirements

Qualifications

An undergraduate Honours degree at 2:2 or above from a UK higher education institution, or a recognised equivalent, in a relevant subject.

GCSEs at grade C/4 or above (or its equivalent) in English language and mathematics at the point of enrolment.

Personal qualities

Personal qualities we are looking for include:

• energetic
• good communicator
• able to inspire and enthuse
• good organiser
• imaginative and creative
• confident and resilient.

Other requirements

Applicants must meet the Department for Education’s Initial Teacher Training criteria, which means being medically fit and successfully completing an enhanced disclosure via the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and satisfying any other safeguarding checks required for this course.

While not essential, you may wish to gain some school experience before attending interview.

If you are a graduate and wish to train as a teacher but your degree did not provide enough subject specific content for you to gain automatic entry, you may be required to complete a Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) course.

About the training provider

Bishop Challoner Teaching School Alliance (BCTSA) consists of over 60 schools, including 30 primaries, mainly located across the Birmingham area with some schools situated in the surrounding areas of Solihull, Dudley, Walsall and Worcestershire.

Being a large TSA, with a long and proven track record of training teachers, we can offer a large number of subjects and primary places all through the School Direct PGCE route. Every year we have large numbers of trainees who successfully pass the programme with Good or Outstanding grades. Having a large Alliance also means that the majority of trainees are employed in Alliance schools after completing their training year. Over the last few years we have had a 100% employment record after the training year.

There are experienced mentors in Alliance schools who will support you. They undertake training for their role every year with the University and with BCTSA. We have an ITT Support Team, which consists of experienced mentors from Alliance Schools who visit schools/trainees at least 3 times a year. This is in addition to the support provided by the University.

To teach within our Alliance means that you will have a unique opportunity of an individualised leadership development programme throughout your career, from trainee to senior leadership and beyond.

Come and train to teach with us and ‘Inspire : Teach : Excel’

(http://www.bctsa.org/Apply-For-School-Direct)

Training with disabilities and other needs

Within our Alliance of schools, BCTSA hopes to be able to provide a welcoming, accessible route into teaching for candidates with disabilities and other needs. The caring, nurturing focus of our mentors and trainers aims to look after those who are keen to progress through the programme and become classroom teachers. The University also provides a range of academic and professional support.

Previously we have supported trainees with a range of physical impairments, including timetabling of lessons to ground floor classrooms for those who cannot use the stairs; extra preparation time for those with dyslexia and autism, and extra support for those with mental health conditions.

By seeing our trainees as individuals, no two types of support are the same. By encouraging a caring and supporting ethos within our partner schools, we work with individuals to work out the best way to help them gain the most from their School Direct year and to start their teaching careers confident and ready to teach.

Contact details

• Email: c.taylor@bishopchalloner.bham.sch.uk
• Telephone: 01214416175
• Website: http://www.bctsa.org/Apply-For-School-Direct
• Address: Bishop Challoner Catholic College; Institute Road; Kings Heath; Birmingham; B14 7EG

Apply

Choose a training location

You’ll also need to choose a training location – select the relevant location name on the application form.

Location	Vacancies	Code
Main Site Institute Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham, B14 7EG	Yes	-

Support and advice

For questions about this course you should contact the training provider using the contact details above.

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