Education Secondary and English Literature (with Professional Placement Year)

Combine your specialist subject with a degree in secondary education, which offers the ideal preparation for further study (PGCE Secondary).

• Gain the classroom experience that employers are looking for through placements in schools during each year of your studies.

• Join our long-standing and highly respected School of Education and benefit from strong partnerships with schools.

• On successful completion of the Secondary Education degree, you'll qualify for a guaranteed interview for our PGCE Secondary.

This secondary education degree is designed to enable you to gain real teaching experience before you embark on your PGCE. You'll study Education – in the broader contexts of professional practice, policy, teaching and learning – alongside English Literature.

In teaching, subject expertise and enthusiasm isn't enough to give you the edge. This degree gives you the practical experience of working in schools with young people that employers are looking for.

The course offers a guaranteed interview for our PGCE Secondary, and is flexible; we'll support you in achieving your aspirations as a professional educator – however they develop during the degree. You'll benefit from our tutors' wealth of research and practice-informed expertise when you join this community of learning and practice.

More about the Professional Placement Year
A Professional Placement Year (PPY), traditionally known as a sandwich year, is where a student undertakes a period of work with an external organisation for between 9-13 months. The placement occurs between the students' second and third years of undergraduate study. Students can engage in up to 3 placements to make up the total time and are required to source the placement(s) themselves with support from the Careers and Employability Team.

You’ll explore education from many theoretical and ideological perspectives in your core modules. This in-depth knowledge of the education industry, combined with your specialist subject knowledge, gives you that all-important edge when you embark on your professional education career. Please check our website for more detailed information.

Coursework may include essays, group presentations, research-based reports, portfolio-based work, journals, short critical pieces, projects and dissertations, or special assignments such as seminar presentations, collaborative magazines, and web-based essays. Some modules may include seen and unseen exams. We’ll provide you with prompt feedback and give you regular guidance on how to improve your skills, knowledge and understanding.

To work as a teacher at a state school in England or Wales, you will need to achieve qualified teacher status (QTS). This is offered on this course for the following level:

• Course does not award QTS