Routes into teaching
We offer a range of postgraduate teacher training routes designed to suit different circumstances, career goals and levels of experience. Whether you’re a recent graduate, completing your degree, or looking for a career change, there’s a pathway that can help you become a qualified teacher.
PGCE: the traditional route into teaching
If you already have an undergraduate degree and want to gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), a PGCE is the most common route into the profession.
You’ll combine university-based learning with extensive school or college placements, allowing you to develop your teaching skills in real classroom environments while benefiting from academic and pastoral support from University of Brighton tutors. We offer PGCE routes into primary, secondary and further education teaching.
School Connect PGCE and School Direct Salaried
If you’d like a more school-led experience, our School Connect and School Direct Salaried routes allow you to undertake much of your training within a partner school while still gaining a University of Brighton qualification.
These routes are ideal for those who want to immerse themselves in school life from the start and learn alongside experienced teaching professionals. School Direct Salaried is designed for candidates who are employed by a school while they train.
Teacher Apprenticeship
The Teacher Apprenticeship route allows you to earn a salary while working towards qualified teacher status.
As an employee of a school, you’ll gain hands-on classroom experience from day one while studying alongside your work. This route may be particularly attractive if you’re already working in education or looking for an employment-based route into teaching.
Find out which route is right for you at one of our teaching events.
School-based learning
School-based learning is at the heart of teacher training at Brighton. Throughout your course, you’ll spend significant time in schools, colleges or other education settings, putting theory into practice and developing your confidence as a teacher.
Working alongside experienced teachers and mentors, you’ll gradually take on greater responsibility for planning, teaching and assessing lessons while gaining first-hand experience of classroom life. Placements take place across our network of more than 600 partner schools, and colleges, giving you the opportunity to experience a range of educational environments
School-based learning helps you:
- develop practical classroom teaching skills.
- apply educational theory in real-world settings.
- learn from experienced teachers and mentors.
- build confidence managing classes and supporting learners.
- develop the professional experience employers value.
The combination of university study and extensive placement experience ensures you graduate ready to begin your teaching career.
Funding
Financial support is available to many trainee teachers.
Depending on your course and subject specialism, you may be eligible for:
- tax-free teacher training bursaries
- scholarships
- student finance support for tuition fees and living costs.
Eligible trainees on selected subjects may receive funding of up to £31,000.
Our admissions and student finance teams can help you understand what support may be available to you and guide you through the process.
Find out more about funding for teacher training.
Specialist facilities
At Brighton, you’ll learn in professional teaching environments that help you develop both your subject knowledge and classroom practice.
Our Falmer campus is home to a range of specialist facilities, giving you access to the resources, spaces and equipment used to support teaching across different phases and subjects.
Alongside your school placements, these facilities will help you build the confidence and practical skills needed for a successful career in education.
Specialist facilities include:
- Curriculum Centre with 30,000+ teaching resources
- specialist classrooms, laboratories and creative learning spaces
- sports hall, swimming pool and outdoor pitches for PE teaching
- performance and presentation spaces.
Take a virtual tour and explore our teaching
Career success
Teaching is a profession where you can make a lasting impact every day.
Alongside the opportunity to inspire future generations, teaching offers:
- a respected professional qualification
- clear progression opportunities
- ongoing professional development
- strong employment prospects
- opportunities to specialise and move into leadership.
Our graduates consistently achieve employment rates above the sector average, and we continue to support many trainees through the early stages of their teaching careers.
University of Brighton trained teachers are highly sought after by our partnership schools and are known for their creative and innovative approaches to teaching.
Many graduates secure teaching jobs with the schools where they spent their placement, take on mentoring and leadership roles or opt for specialist roles such as special education needs.
We will continue to support you after you qualify through our Early Career Teachers support programme, so you won’t have to start your career on your own. This ranges from offering advice to providing materials to support you in the classroom.