Essential admission requirements

Meeting essential requirements for teacher training

Your personal statement is the key to securing an interview for a PGCE. Use our guide to PGCE personal statements to help you write yours. We're also running personal statement checks until early November.

To teach at both Primary and Secondary level you must have a standard equivalent to a Grade C in GCSE English and Mathematics.
To teach Primary/ Middle years, you must also have achieved a standard equivalent to a Grade C in a GCSE Science subject.
Most PGCE providers require you to have these qualifications before you apply for a place. Check with individual institutions before applying.
For Secondary teaching 50% of your degree subject should be directly relevant to the subject you wish to teach.
For Primary it is not essential, but useful, to have a degree in a National Curriculum subject.
Universities have to ensure that trainee teachers have the health and physical capacity to teach and will not put children and young people at risk. Before starting training all applicants have to complete a declaration of health questionnaire and be assessed by an occupational health adviser.
Many people with disabilities or long-term health conditions will have the health and physical capacity to teach. Contact Skill for help.
In addition all trainee teachers undergo a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check before starting school-based training.