About this course
Secondary education covers a crucial period in pupils’ development. They learn about themselves and the world around them, gaining knowledge and skills that set them up for their adult lives. The role of a secondary teacher is to develop specialised subject knowledge, and to support the intellectual and personal development of their pupils. With a significant demand for new secondary teachers, you can be certain that you’ll make a positive impact on society.
This three-year course will deepen your knowledge of English and how to teach the subject, fast-tracking you to beginning your career as a secondary teacher. Studying at NTU, you’ll develop your own knowledge of English and a holistic and inclusive approach to teaching. You’ll be taught by English experts and by former secondary teachers with an enthusiasm for their subject. Plus, you’ll spend plenty of time in the classroom, putting what you’ve learned into practice. Throughout the course, you’ll develop your passion for English and for professional teaching practice.
During the first two years of the course you will be taught at our City Campus. During your third year you will be taught at our Clifton Campus.
You’ll graduate ready to start your career as a confident and effective teacher with the skills, knowledge and experience required in the modern classroom. You’ll be committed to shaping the lives of all our young people – sharing your passion for English and inspiring theirs.
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Our three-year degree programme fast-tracks you to a career in teaching with recommendation to the Department for Education for Qualified Teacher Status. -
Placement opportunities are in a variety of educational settings through our extensive partnerships with local schools, colleges and organisations. -
You’ll be taught by former secondary teachers with a wealth of experience and a passion for teaching. -
You’ll develop your subject knowledge and understanding of English.
of Teacher Training students are positive about the teaching on their course (National Student Survey 2023)
of Teacher Training graduates were in work and/or further study 15 months after completing their studies (Graduate Outcomes Survey, 2020/21)
What you’ll study
During the first two years of the course, you will focus on the study of English, developing your knowledge and skills as an English specialist. During your third year you will develop the necessary pedagogical and professional skills required of an English teacher.
In Year One, the course focuses on English. The modules you will study are:
- The Book Group (20 credit points)
- Reading the Future (20 credit points)
- Literary Past, Present and Future (20 credit points)
- Writing in a UNESCO City of Literature (20 credit points)
- Global Narrative in English (20 credit points)
- Ways of Reading (20 credit points)
- Foundational Aspects of Teaching: ITAP1 (non-credit bearing education module)
Core
As you continue to develop your in-depth subject knowledge in Year Two, you will also study a year-long education module which includes a work-based placement. The modules you will study are:
- Literary Practices: Writing, Editing, Publishing (20 credit points)
- Digital Storytelling (20 credit points)
- Rebel Literatures (20 credit points)
- Shakespeare and Co (20 credit points)
- Learning English: Pedagogy, Progression and Practice (20 credit points)
- this module includes a placement in a school or other setting
- Foundational Aspects of Teaching: ITAP2 (non-credit bearing education module)
Optional
You will also choose one of the following optional modules:
- Women’s writing and Literary Marketplace (20 credit points)
- Bodies and Minds: Medicine and Psychoanalysis (20 credit points)
- Ethnicity in American Writing (20 credit points)
- Black Writing in Britain (20 credit points)
- Romantic Revolutions (20 credit points)
- Contemporary Working-Class Writing (20 credit points)
- Imagining the Sustainable World (20 credit points)
- Writing Refugees: The politics of representation (20 credit points)
In the final year of your study, the modules focus on developing your in-depth knowledge of pedagogical skills, experience in educational environments, knowledge of the secondary English curriculum and self-reflection required to be a successful ECT. The modules you will study are:
- Learning to Teach (20 credit points)
This module focuses on the ‘self’ and will cover knowledge of the learner, their characteristics and knowledge of educational purposes, values and philosophies.
- Learning to Teach a Subject One (20 credit points)
This module focuses on the ‘curriculum’ and will cover subject knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge.
- Learning to Teach a Subject Two (20 credit points)
This module also focuses on the ‘curriculum’ and will cover subject knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge.
- Learning to be a Teacher (60 credit points)
This module focuses on the ‘learner’ and will cover pedagogical and curriculum knowledge and knowledge of educational contexts. This module includes work-based placement elements.
- Professional Practice
This module comprises of DfE requirements for QTS recommendation.
We regularly review and update our course content based on student and employer feedback, ensuring that all of our courses remain current and relevant. This may result in changes to module content or module availability in future years.
Don’t just take our word for it, hear from our students themselves
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How you're taught
Learning from experts
Subject specific modules in Year One and Year Two, will be delivered by expert English lecturers.
Education modules in Year Two and Year Three will be delivered by the secondary education team – former secondary teachers who have a wealth of experience and a passion for teaching. Our lecturers are highly respected within their fields of education, working with national associations and partnership schools.
How will I study?
You’ll experience both university-based training and secondary professional practice. The courses consist of a range of teaching and learning activities to support you with appropriate opportunities to succeed. Course tutors recognise their responsibility to provide timely, relevant, engaging and appropriate content and resources to support this.
Throughout, personalisation of the course and independent student learning are encouraged through:
- opportunities to apply and develop the knowledge taught
- interaction with other students through work in small groups
- presentation of ideas and findings to peers and tutors
- placement experiences
- intensive teacher training and practice experiences
- directed independent learning and project work
- the use of electronic resources
- workshop sessions.
To ensure your progress, inclusive teaching and learning approaches are used which involve staff in providing teaching which meets individual needs. Over the three years, we expect you to move towards more independent learning, to set your own development targets, and to draw on others’ expertise to support you in meeting these targets.
Placement
You’ll be well-prepared for a future in teaching with placements in Year Two and Year Three in a secondary education setting through our extensive network of partner schools and institutions.
During the placement element of the Learning English: Pedagogy, Progression and Practice module, you will not only develop your teaching skills but also gain an awareness of the professional attributes required of a qualified teacher. This will prepare you to enter the final year of study, where you will be required to take on the role of a professional teacher during two further placements.
Our close relationships with partnership schools enable you to gain a wide experience of teaching your subject. By the end of your study, we aim to have offered you experience in a range of educational settings that could usually encompasses inner-city, suburban and rural areas.
Placements support both your professional and personal development so that you develop key skills that will make you more employable. They help you to understand your subject and its application in real work, enhancing your cultural awareness of learning and teaching.
How you're assessed
A range of different assessment tasks across the modules provides you with the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding and skills, qualities and attributes.
Assessment methods for English modules include coursework, while modules with an educational focus will be assessed through assignments, presentations and a portfolio.
Assessment of practical teaching is based on your performance while on placement. You will receive regular feedback from your school mentor and visiting university tutors and are also encouraged to self-assess regularly in relation to the Teachers’ Standards.
Contact hours
In your first and second year you will have around 10 – 12 hours per week of contact time (lectures, seminars and workshops) with our teaching staff which is around 30% of a full-time week. Approximately 90% of our teaching is in-person. The remaining 70% of your time will be devoted to independent study.
During your final year of study at university, you will generally attend university one day a week, with the rest of your time spent at your placement school, however the exact split may vary from time to time and for a small number of weeks, you will attend university every day. Your exact timetable will be confirmed to you at the start of your final year.
Careers and employability
Your career development
What skills will I develop?
The course is specifically designed for the training of secondary English teachers developing specific skills relating to both subject specific and educational issues. However, you’ll also gain skills that are useful in a variety of job sectors:
- communication skills - presenting effective oral and written argument
- IT skill
- research and analytical skill
- interpersonal skills with the ability to work collaboratively as part of a tea
- problem-solving skill
- organisation and time management skills - prioritising your academic/part-time workload
- reflecting on and improving personal practice.
QTS – Qualified Teacher Status
Successful completion of this course will lead to recommendation to the DfE for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Once you start your employment as an Early Career Teacher, you will be supported through the Early Career Framework (ECF), a two-year period of professional induction, which will ensure that your teaching career is built on a firm foundation.
Your future career
Upon successful completion of the course, many graduates enter jobs teaching children or young people. Other roles in an educational setting, including supporting, but with less direct contact with children or young people are also available. There are also posts available in other public sector organisations such as local government, the NHS and the civil service.
If you’d like to know more about NTU’s groundbreaking Employability Promise, and the support you’ll receive both during and after your course, visit our Careers and Employability page.
Campus and facilities
You’ll mainly be studying in the Ada Byron King building, with access to facilities including our mock classrooms.
Our self-contained, community-focused Clifton Campus has been designed to keep our students busy between lectures. Catch-up with your coursemates in the Pavilion’s barista café and Refectory; brainstorm group presentations in chic and stylish study spaces; enjoy some proper R&R in The Point, home of our Students’ Union. The campus also hosts the multimillion-pound Clifton Sports Hub, offering great options for everyone — whatever your interests, and however competitive you’d like to get!
You’re also right next to the bright lights of Nottingham — one of Britain’s top 10 student cities, and one of Europe’s top 25. All through termtime, a dedicated on-campus bus service will get you to the heart of the action (and back) in under 25 minutes. You’ll find a city stuffed with history, culture, and well-kept secrets to discover at your leisure: enjoy lush green spaces, galleries, hidden cinemas and vintage shopping by day, and an acclaimed food, drink and social scene by night.
Take our virtual tour to get a real feel for the campus.
Entry requirements
UK students
Standard offer: 112 UCAS Tariff points from up to four qualifications
Contextual offer: 104 UCAS Tariff points from up to four qualifications.
Other requirements: An interview and GCSE English and Mathematics at grade C / 4 or equivalent, as this is a statutory requirement for anyone intending to enter the teaching profession. We accept the GCSE equivalency taken via equivalencytesting.com or astarequivalency.co.uk.
To find out what qualifications have tariff points, please use our tariff calculator.
Additional requirements for UK students
An enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check, and any other safeguarding checks that may be necessary.
Contextual offers
If you don’t quite meet our entry requirements, we might be able to make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (such as where you live and the school or college you attended), your experiences and your individual circumstances (you may have been in care, for example). This is called a contextual offer, and we get data from UCAS to help make these decisions. We do this because we believe everyone with the potential to succeed at NTU should have the opportunity to do so, no matter what barriers you may face.
Meeting our entry requirements
Hundreds of qualifications in the UK have UCAS Tariff points attached to specific grades, including A-levels, BTECs, T Levels and many more. You can use your grades and points from up to four different qualifications to meet our criteria. Enter your predicted or achieved grades into our Tariff calculator to find out how many points your qualifications are worth.
Other qualifications and experience
NTU welcomes applications from students with non-standard qualifications and learning backgrounds, either for year one entry or for advanced standing beyond the start of a course into year 2 or beyond.
We consider study and/or credit achieved from a similar course at another institution (otherwise known as credit transfer), vocational and professional qualifications, and broader work or life experience.
Our Recognition of Prior Learning and Credit Transfer Policy outlines the process and options available for this route. If you wish to apply via Recognition of Prior Learning, please contact the central Admissions and Enquiries Team who will be able to support you through the process.
Getting in touch
If you need more help or information, get in touch through our enquiry form.
International students
Academic entry requirements: 112 UCAS Tariff points from up to four A levels. We accept equivalent qualifications from all over the world. Please check your international entry requirements by country.
Other requirements: An interview and GCSE English and Mathematics at grade C / 4 or equivalent, as this is a statutory requirement for anyone intending to enter the teaching profession. We accept the GCSE equivalency taken via equivalencytesting.com or astarequivalency.co.uk.
English language requirements: See our English language requirements page for requirements for your subject and information on alternative tests and Pre-sessional English.
Additional requirements for international students
An enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check, and any other safeguarding checks that may be necessary.
English language requirements
View our English language requirements for all courses, including alternative English language tests and country qualifications accepted by the University.
If you need help achieving the language requirements, we offer a Pre-Sessional English for Academic Purposes course on our City campus which is an intensive preparation course for academic study at NTU.
Other qualifications and experience
If you have the right level of qualifications, you may be able to start your Bachelors degree at NTU in year 2 or year 3. This is called ‘advanced standing’ entry and is decided on a case-by case basis after our assessment of your qualifications and experience.
You can view our Recognition of Prior Learning and Credit Transfer Policy which outlines the process and options available, such as recognising experiential learning and credit transfer.
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Getting in touch
If you need advice about studying at NTU as an international student or how to apply, our international webpages are a great place to start. If you have any questions about your study options, your international qualifications, experience, grades or other results, please get in touch through our enquiry form. Our international teams are highly experienced in answering queries from students all over the world.
Policies
We strive to make our admissions procedures as fair and clear as possible. To find out more about how we make offers, visit our admissions policies page.
