School Direct Primary Education ,PGCE

University of Leicester

United Kingdom, Leicester

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Home/United Kingdom/Leicester /University of Leicester/School Direct Primary Education ,PGCE

University of Leicester

United Kingdom , Leicester

Key Facts

Program Level

Graduate Certificate

Study Type

Full Time

Delivery

On Campus

Campuses

MainSite

Program Language

English

Start & Deadlines

Next Intake DeadlinesSeptember-2026

Apply to this program

Go to the official application for the university

Duration 1 year(s)

Tuition Fee

GBP 19,400 / year

Next Intake September-2026

School Direct Primary Education ,PGCE

About

Lead Partners was introduced in 2012 and allows schools to directly recruit students onto teacher education courses run in collaboration with universities. To make sure you have a range of placement opportunities, schools work together in Teaching Alliances.

This course is made up of both campus-based sessions - which will give you a grounding in the principles of good teaching practice - and school-based placements giving you the chance to apply your knowledge and experience a wide range of classroom situations. These placements will be in contrasting schools to give you a broad range of experience - they could be in city, suburban or rural schools, in the independent or state sector.

The Lead Partners PGCE Primary course will prepare you to teach across the full range of the Primary Curriculum. We will introduce you to the wider context of teaching, including responding to diversity in school and the inclusion of Special Needs Education, as well as equipping you with classroom management and planning skills.

By the end of the course you will meet the required professional standards for Qualified Teachers Status (QTS), and will be awarded a University of Leicester PGCE. Our strong ethos of reflective practice will prepare you will for your future career in teaching.

The Lead Partners Primary PGCE is run in partnership with a range of Lead Partners partner schools. You can choose which Lead Partners Provider you would like to apply for and then submit your application through UCAS.

Each Lead Partners Provider will offer its own unique range of placement experiences and opportunities but will still share most, if not all, of the Primary PGCE taught strands with the University of Leicester Primary PGCE students, giving you a great opportunity to share experience and practice with other students.

The following schools are our Lead Partners Primary Providers:

If you have any queries regarding the Lead Partners courses, please the lead school directly and they will be happy to help. Please use the contact details provided on our Lead Partners pages.

Not sure which PGCE route is right for you? Have a look at our Routes into Teaching pages to find out more about PGCE, Lead Partners and SCITT routes, including the dates of regular events we hold.

Requirements

Entry Requirements

2:1 degree (or above)
GCSE grade C or above in English Language, Maths and Science.
A pass in the Professional Skills Tests in Literacy and Numeracy.
Although not essential, you may find it useful to have recent experience working with children and/or observing teaching in a school setting, ideally relating to the age range/subject you wish to teach. When writing your application you should try to reflect on your experience and tell us what you learnt.
Please consult our Education at Leicester website to find detailed explanations of our recruitment and selection processes and criteria.

Additional requirements

Admission to the course is subject to a satisfactory medical report. The University will provide more information about this should you be offered a place.

All offers are subject to a satisfactory enhanced DBS disclosure. Education at Leicester will provide instructions regarding the DBS application process once you have accepted an offer of a place on the course.

Application Process

The application process for a PGCE is different from other postgraduate courses so please see our information on how to apply.

English Language Requirements

You must have a GCSE Grade C in English Language. Please see our entry requirements (left) for more information.

International Qualifications

Find your country in this list to check equivalent qualifications, scholarships and additional requirements.

Countries list

English Program Requirements

You must have a GCSE Grade C in English Language. Please see our entry requirements (left) for more information.

Career

Careers and employability

Many Lead Partners students secure their first teaching post within one of their Alliance's schools. We will support you in applying for teaching posts by guiding and supporting you through the whole process including workshops run by head teachers and recruitment specialists. The workshop content includes writing letters of application; interview techniques; teaching sample lessons and one-to-one coaching and mock interviews. We know that this approach is highly successful every year and, and Ofsted noted, 'Former trainees from this provider are highly prized locally and demand often outstrips the number of NQT positions available'.

We foster your continued relationship with Education at Leicester once you become an NQT by supporting your career development in a number of ways, including running a successful NQT Conference each spring.

Our PhD opportunities are very popular with those wishing to pursue a particular research interest at doctoral level. We are committed to training excellent teachers during the PGCE and beyond, and we are proud that so many of our students return to Education at Leicester for further study once qualified.

During your NQT year you will be invited to attend an NQT conference which includes keynote speakers, a variety of workshops and networking opportunities. Previous attendees have said:

"It made me think a lot about my ethos in the classroom. Humorous and insightful, put the year into perspective."
"Fantastic and inspiring."
"Lots of ideas to put in place tomorrow!"

Our Career Development Service is here to support you, with advice on interviews, CVs, work experience, volunteering and more. From Freshers’ Week to Graduation and beyond, they are here to help you reach your professional goals.