Woodrush Training Consortium Biology (35CV)

Postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) with qualified teacher status (QTS)

• Accredited body: The University of Warwick
• Financial support: Bursaries and student finance are available if you’re eligible
• Qualification:
  PGCE with QTS

  A postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) with qualified teacher status (QTS) will allow you to teach in state schools in England and may allow you to teach in other parts of the UK.

  It may also allow you to teach overseas, though you should always check what qualifications are needed in the country you’d like to teach in.

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

• Age range: 11 to 18
• Course length: 1 year
• Date you can apply from: 11 October 2022
• Date course starts: August 2023
• Website: http://www.woodrushtc.co.uk

Contents

Course summary

Biology is the study of life on Earth and it is a subject which students love as they can easily see the science they study in their everyday surroundings. Teaching Biology requires a great passion for the subject and an ability to make the more abstract concepts of biology appear real. Biology is a science which is advancing rapidly with advances in healthcare and genetics, for example, continually being made and so a Biology teacher needs to keep up to date, to bring recent developments into their teaching to help inspire the next generation of nurses, doctors, and biologists. The ability to differentiate to challenge the most able and to simplify concepts for others so that they can slowly build up an image of how organisms are structured and how their structure relates to the biological functions is key and teachers need to be able to apply maths and practical skills to bring the subject to life.

Woodrush TC

School placements

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 TC partner with over twenty five schools in and across the Midlands and these can all be found at www.woodrushtc.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, however it is important to note this does not guarantee you will be placed at your preferred location. Throughout the year a schools staffing may change and therefore a school listed may become unavailable in your subject. However you can see from our placement options we have many options available.

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Locations

You can select one of the following locations when you apply.

Location	Vacancies
Ellowes Hall Sports College Stickley Lane, Dudley, DY3 2JH	Yes
Hanley Castle High School Church End, Hanley Castle, Worcester, WR8 0BL	Yes
Kinver High School Enville Rd, Kinver, Stourbridge, DY7 6AA	Yes
Leasowes High School Kent Rd, Halesowen, B62 8PJ	Yes
Nunnery Wood High School Spetchley Road, Worcester, WR5 2LT	Yes
Pedmore High School Grange Lane, Stourbridge, DY9 7HS	Yes
Q3 Academy Great Barr Wilderness Lane, Birmingham, B43 7SD	Yes
Q3 Academy Langley Moat Rd, Oldbury, B68 8ED	Yes
The Crestwood School Bromley Ln, Dudley, DY6 8QG	Yes
Trinity High School Easemore Road, Redditch, B98 8HB	Yes
Wombourne High School Ounsdale Rd, Wombourne, Wolverhampton, WV5 8BJ	Yes
Woodrush High School- Lead School Shawhurst Lane, Wythall, Birmingham, West Midlands, B47 5JW	Yes

Entry requirements

Qualifications needed

An undergraduate degree at class 2:2 or above, or equivalent.

Your degree subject should be in biology or a similar subject. Otherwise you’ll need to prove your subject knowledge in some other way.

Grade 4 (C) or above in English and maths, or equivalent qualification.

We’ll consider candidates with pending GCSEs.

We’ll consider candidates who need to take a GCSE equivalency test in English or maths.

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

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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.

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Fees and financial support

The course fees for 2023 to 2024 are as follows:

UK students	£9,250
International students	£24,630

About the training provider

Woodrush Training Consortium 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 consortium, 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 consortium.

Interview process

Application forms are considered by both the university and the individual schools involved with Woodrush Training Consortium. All successful applicants will have an interview and this will be conducted online. The University and Woodrush jointly design and manage the interview process with the school leading the process. Your interview will consist of a written task, a presentation and a formal interview.

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 TC

International candidates

You’ll need the right to study in the UK. You already have this if, for example, you:

• are an Irish citizen
• have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (you may still be able to apply)
• have indefinite leave to remain in the UK

If you do not already have the right to study in the UK for the duration of this course, you may need to apply for a Student visa.

To do this, you’ll need to be sponsored by your training provider.

Before you apply for this course, contact us to check Student visa sponsorship is available. If it is, and you get a place on this course, we’ll help you apply for your visa.

Alternatively, check if you’re eligible for a different type of visa, such as a Graduate or Family visa, that allows you to train to be a teacher without being sponsored.

Find out more about training to teach in England.

International qualifications

If your qualifications come from a non-UK institution, we may want to see a ‘statement of comparability’ from UK ENIC. This will show us how they compare to UK qualifications.

You can call Get Into Teaching on 0800 389 2500 for:

• guidance on the UK equivalents of your qualifications
• a free statement of comparability once you’ve submitted your application (if we ask you for this)

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 this training provider

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

Support and advice

You can speak to a teacher training adviser for free, dedicated advice. They are all experienced teachers who can give you one-to-one support with your application. They can also help you get school experience, and find events where you can speak to training providers and teachers.

Call Get Into Teaching free of charge on 0800 389 2500, or chat online Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.30pm (except public holidays).

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