Postgraduate Certificate in Education: Primary Education PGCE

Aberystwyth and Bangor Universities have joined forces to provide Initial Teacher Education for North and Mid-Wales. The North and Mid-Wales centre of Teacher Education, one of three national centres, trains primary and secondary teachers. The centre is managed jointly by both institutions and works with primary and secondary schools across the regions. This collaboration is set in the context of a wider strategic partnership between Aberystwyth and Bangor Universities regarding Research and Enterprise. PGCE Course Overview The PGCE Primary programme has been designed to provide trainees with a variety of challenging experiences with a continuum of university and school work, in order to prepare trainees to become primary teachers and to enable them to meet the standards for Qualified Teacher Status. Trainees can opt to follow either the Foundation Phase or Key Stage 2. Course Content The university based sessions include either experience in the Areas of Learning outlined in the Foundation Phase or the subjects outlined in the National Curriculum orders. All trainees also learn Welsh as part of the university based programme. The School based component of the programme comprises block school experiences in partnership schools. The trainees are assessed on their school experience according to a set of criteria. Successful completion enables trainees to receive the qualification of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), awarded by the General Teaching Council for Wales (GTCW).