Geographical Association

To be fully qualified as a geography teacher, you need to have QTS: Qualified Teacher Status. This can be gained in several different ways:

• An undergraduate course (mainly focused on teaching in primary schools)
  
• An Initial Teacher Training course based at a Higher Education Institution (both primary and secondary). This is a PGCE - Post Graduate Certificate in Education
  
• An Initial Teacher Training course based at a school or consortium of schools
  
• The Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP)
  
• Teach First

One way to achieve Qualified Teacher Status is to follow an undergraduate course that includes initial teacher training. All but one of the QTS undergraduate courses focusing on geography prepares students to teach in primary schools.

Three year courses include 24 weeks of school-based training and a four year course includes 32 weeks of school-based training. The qualification at the end of the course is a BEd, BA or BSc with QTS.

Details of the institutions offering these courses can be found on the UCAS website. Look under 'QTS' in the A-Z list.

You can also use the UCAS website to find out about access programmes. These courses are specially designed to prepare students for entry into higher education and provide the underpinning knowledge and skills needed to progress to a degree or diploma course at a university or college.

The most common route into teaching is through a PGCE course organised by a university in partnership with schools. You will need a degree or equivalent, or be engaged in a degree course to be eligible for this route. Most of these courses are 36 weeks in length which includes 24 weeks spent in schools but there are a few flexible courses which can be followed part time over a longer period. It is possible to gain Masters Credits from the majority of Higher Education Institution (HEI) PGCE courses.

Primary PGCE courses prepare you to teach pupils aged 3-11 and geography is part of the curriculum in 94% of these. To find out whether any staff at a particular institution specialise in geography look at the institution's website.

Details of primary PGCE courses can be found at on the GTTR website.

Download Professor Simon Catling's PowerPoint Presentation entitled 'The State of Geography in Primary ITT: A Perspective Drawn from Primary PGCE Courses' which summarises his research in Primary Education courses. The information used in this presentation is based on research undertaken in the academic year 2004-5. Since then there have not been many changes in the primary PGCE courses. The main difference is that all such courses have to include an element of Geography because it is a primary National Curriculum subject.

Middle Years PGCE courses prepare you to teach students aged 7-14. Only one of these courses focuses on geography, that at Canterbury Christchurch University.

Secondary PGCE courses prepare you to teach students aged either 11-16 or 11-18. Details of all secondary geography PGCE courses can be found on the GTTR website.

Applications to HEI based PGCE courses are made through the Graduate Teacher Training Registry.

The website has sections on:

• Closing dates for applications to PGCE courses
• How to apply
• A course search facility (by age range, subject, region and town)
• Frequently asked questions

SCITT (School Centred Initial Teacher Training) PGCE courses are designed and run by groups of schools with qualifications validated by institutes of higher education. These courses run for one year full time with students spending the majority of the time in schools.

Applications to SCITT based PGCE courses are made through the Graduate Teacher Training Registry

The website has sections on:

• Closing dates for applications to PGCE courses
  
• How to apply
  
• A course search facility (by age range, subject, region and town)
  
• Frequently asked questions

The GTP is a programme of on the job training allowing graduates to qualify as a teacher while they work in a school. Whilst there you will earn a salary as an unqualified teacher. Most courses are for one year.

To take part in GTP you need to respond to an advertisement or contact a GTP provider through EBITT (Employment Based Initial Teacher Training) details of which can be found on the TDA website. The website also enables you to search for opportunities and contact details by region.

Teach First selects top graduates, without Qualified Teacher Status, and places them to work in challenging schools supported by teachers and by a tutor from Higher Education. Teach First requires a two year commitment. At the end of the first year successful teachers gain QTS and in their second year they work as an NQT (Newly Qualified Teachers)

Details of the scheme can be found on the Teach First website.

The website includes:

• Further information about Teach First
  
• Details of local authorities which operate the scheme