PGCE Secondary Religious Education

University of East London

Course Summary

This course leads to the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) for the 11-to-16 age range, which qualifies you to be a teacher in secondary schools in England and Wales. Where possible, we also give you the chance to gain experience in the 11-to-18 age range.

Religious Education (RE) helps build young people’s understanding and appreciation of different beliefs, practices and religions, and how these relate to the modern world. Training to teach RE in London offers you the chance to tackle challenging, thought-provoking topics with young people. You can use your creativity and passion for the subject to develop lessons that help your pupils discuss and answer the most fundamental questions – from belief in God to the meaning and purpose of life. By training as a religious education teacher, you can help your pupils become compassionate young adults, respectful of religious and cultural differences.

We are proud of our longstanding practice of supporting non-traditional students. Although many of our students will have a degree in religious studies, we welcome applications from those with a degree in other disciplines, provided applicants can demonstrate a genuine passion for understanding the religious world, and sound subject knowledge of religious and secular traditions.

Your Future Career

The Secondary PGCE course at the University of East London was designed in 2001 in conjunction with the local authorities to address the secondary education teacher shortage in east London. The partnership works with input and support from the London Boroughs of Barking & Dagenham, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Waltham Forest and Redbridge. It means that our graduates are represented in virtually every secondary school in east London. Some are now deputy heads or in senior management roles in schools that are taking our current trainees for their placements. Across all subjects, from maths to modern languages, our teacher training graduates are acting as mentors to those following in their footsteps.

The partnership means that you have a head start when it comes to securing a teaching post in east London at the end of your training. You may also decide to undertake further study at the University of East London, either at the end of your course or after gaining teaching experience, perhaps specialising in Special Educational Needs or taking our MA Leadership in Education.