Woodrush Teaching School Alliance
Chemistry (2ZQ4)

PGCE with QTS full time

• Accredited body: University of Worcester
• 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.woodrushtsa.co.uk

Contents

About the course

Chemistry is the most fundamental of sciences and plays a vital role in everyday life through improving living standards. It is the study of the composition, properties and behaviour of matter and is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms. Teaching chemistry is a massive challenge that requires great talent, but the rewards are equally great.

Chemistry is one of the few subjects that allows scope for activities that inspire genuine awe and wonder in the classroom. The course will help you develop the skills to excel as a chemistry teacher, teach chemistry with differing degrees of complexity to a wide range of students, consider how best to provide an environment for effective teaching and learning, work at enhancing your own knowledge and understanding of chemistry, develop strategies for effectively communicating chemical concepts to students, prepare and critically evaluate resources for the teaching of chemistry.

On the Chemistry School Direct programme you will gain experience of teaching all three Science subjects, specifically Chemistry at A-level.

There are 4 assignments across the year which are assessed in a variety of ways. Assignments at Level 6: writing and acting on a series of Action Plans and a written assignment reflecting on first experiences in school. Assignments at Level 7: Creating, implementing and evaluating a resource used in the classroom, and, researching an aspect of teaching and learning and presenting the findings.

Woodrush TSA

Interview process

Application forms are considered by both the university and the individual schools involved with Woodrush Teaching School Alliance.

All successful applicants will have an interview at both Woodrush Teaching School Alliance and The University of Worcester. The University and Woodrush jointly design and manage the interview process. Your interview at Woodrush will consist of a written task, a session with students and a formal interview.

The second interview will be held at University of Worcester and will involve the following; Subject specific written task, group task and presentation to a small group and 1:1 interview with members of the University of Worcester team.

Applicants that demonstrate professionalism, commitment, a realistic understanding of the pressures of the course and the profession, an awareness of the school in which they are intending to train, creativity, organisational skills and a clear recognition of the need to synthesise practical and academic learning through refection are most likely to succeed.

Woodrush TSA

How school placements work

Your placement school will primarily be selected on where there are vacancies for your subject. We aim to place you at a school with the minimal travelling distance. You will have two placements at contrasting schools. For primary you will teach ages 3 to 11 and for secondary ages 11 to 18. Woodrush TSA partner with over twenty schools in and across the Midlands and these can all be found at www.woodrushtsa.co.uk.

We have listed the locations that our partner schools will be running placements for the next year. You should indicate your preference of location on your application, this does not guarantee you will be placed at your preferred location. Throughout the year a schools staffing may change and therefore a school not listed may become available in your subject.

Woodrush TSA

Fees

The course fees for 2020 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

In order to apply for a place on School Direct, you must have a UK undergraduate 2:2 degree or a recognised equivalent qualification. For secondary applicants this must be in, or closely related to, your proposed teaching subject.

A GCSE grade C/4 in English and Mathematics for those applying to teach secondary. A GCSE grade C/4 in a Science as well as English and Mathematics if you are applying to teach primary.

Woodrush TSA

Personal qualities

Successful School Direct students will be those that have a clear understanding of schools in England and of what good teaching involves

Recognise that the job of the teacher is first and foremost that of teaching and that the understanding of the pedagogy of teaching and learning is fundamentally essential

Have a solid knowledge of their subject(s) and are always committed to further developing this knowledge base

Are committed to the education of all children, whatever their need and background

Are able to reflect on their own experiences and apply learning to future actions

Woodrush TSA

Other requirements

If you studied outside the UK, you should visit the National Academic Recognition Centre (NARIC) website to find out whether your qualifications are of an equivalent level to UK GCSEs, A levels and an undergraduate degree.

Woodrush TSA

About the training provider

Woodrush Teaching School Alliance is an excellent place to start your teaching career. We aim to develop outstanding practitioners who are creative, highly effective and exceed the professional standards. Educational theory, innovative research and outstanding pedagogy are the foundations of our highly successful training programme.

Early career teachers regard highly the support that they receive from Woodrush. This was recognised by Ofsted in 2018 who said that early career teachers 'feel fully supported as they develop their skills in teaching and managing pupils’ behaviour. They value the quality of the training and the way in which leaders encourage them to be reflective practitioners. Through this support, newly qualified teachers are able to speak with passion and knowledge about a range of educational topics. All newly qualified teachers spoken to said that they are proud to work at the school'. ​ Woodrush High School, the lead in our alliance, is an 11-18 school on the border of Birmingham and Worcestershire. We place an emphasis on ensuring all of our students achieve the qualifications, and equally important the life skills, to be successful in the world we live in. We have hardworking and well qualified staff who are dedicated to delivering an ever-changing curriculum in a vibrant and exciting way. The curriculum we offer is broad, balanced and inspires students to learn. Staff at Woodrush work as a close and effective team, sharing good practice and providing support for each other. High quality coaching and mentoring is a strength across our alliance.

About the accredited body

Studying at Worcester provides an immersive and inspiring, school-centred training route into teaching. The innovative design and delivery of the course places the trainee at the heart of a thriving school community.

Substantial number of subject sessions delivered by specialist tutors. Opportunity to broaden your CV by undertaking enhancement activities to give additional experience in SEND, Citizenship, teaching pupils with EAL and Technology Enhanced Learning. You will benefit from their excellent partnerships with schools throughout the West Midlands.

University of Worcester

Graduates enjoy excellent employability prospects as the majority of their partner schools offer early career teaching posts to trainees.

Training with disabilities and other needs

We welcome our duties under the Equality Act 2010 to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations in relation to age (as appropriate), disability, race, gender reassignment (maternity and pregnancy), religion and belief, sex and sexual orientation.

Treating people equally does not necessarily involve treating them all the same. Our policies, procedures and activities must not discriminate but must nevertheless take account of differences of life-experience, outlook and background, and in the kinds of barrier and disadvantage which people may face,

Contact details

• Email: teachingschool@woodrush.org
• Telephone: 01564823777
• Website: http://www.woodrushtsa.co.uk
• Address: Shawhurst Lane; Wythall; Birmingham; West Midlands; B47 5JW

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
Ark St Alban's Academy Conybere Street, Highgate, Birmingham, B12 0YH	Yes	O
Ellowes Hall Sports College Stickley Lane, Dudley, DY3 2JH	Yes	T
Hanley Castle High School Church End, Hanley Castle, Worcester, WR8 0BL	Yes	J
Leasowes High School Kent Rd, Halesowen, B62 8PJ	Yes	V
Main Site Shawhurst Lane, Wythall, Birmingham, West Midlands, B47 5JW	Yes	-
Nunnery Wood High School Spetchley Road, Worcester, WR5 2LT	Yes	N
Pedmore Technology College and Community School Grange Lane, Stourbridge, DY9 7HS	Yes	B
Q3 Academy Langley Moat Rd, Oldbury, B68 8ED	Yes	Y
Trinity High School Easemore Road, Redditch, B98 8HB	Yes	C

Support and advice

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

Get support and advice about teaching

Register with Get into Teaching, the Department for Education’s free support and advice service, for personalised guidance from teaching experts. They can help you to prepare your application, book school experience, and access exclusive teaching events. You can also call them free of charge on 0800 389 2500, or speak to an adviser using their online chat service, from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday.

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