Undergraduate degree

You can do an undergraduate degree that leads to qualified teacher status (QTS), for example:

• Bachelor of Education (BEd)
• Bachelor of Arts (BA) with QTS
• Bachelor of Science (BSc) with QTS

Postgraduate certificate

If you already have a bachelor's degree without qualified teacher status, you can complete a postgraduate qualification like a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) to get QTS. This can be done at university or through a training programme based in a school.

You need QTS to teach in most primary and secondary schools in England but you do not need a PGCE to teach.

Find out more about QTS from Get Into Teaching.

You do not always need to have a degree in the subject you'd like to teach. Your teacher training organisation will decide whether you have the required skills and knowledge to teach the subject.

If your training organisation thinks you need to improve your subject knowledge, they will ask you to do a subject knowledge enhancement course.

Change careers to teaching

Find out about the support available if you want to change to a career in teaching.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths
• 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
• a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course

You may be able to apply to do an Undergraduate or Postgraduate Teacher Level 6 Apprenticeship.

The undergraduate option takes up to 4 years to complete. The postgraduate route takes around 1 year, with both leading to qualified teacher status (QTS).

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) in English and maths

• a degree for a postgraduate teaching apprenticeship

You could start as a teaching assistant or learning mentor and do a part-time degree or an undergraduate teaching apprenticeship to gain qualified teacher status (QTS).

You might find it helpful to get some experience of working with young people.

You could volunteer at a school, do youth work or work on a holiday scheme.

You'll need:

• knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses
• the ability to create the best conditions for learning or teaching new things
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• leadership skills
• to be flexible and open to change
• excellent verbal communication skills
• maths knowledge
• administration skills
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently

You'll need to:

• pass enhanced background checks

As a secondary school teacher, you could:

• prepare teaching materials, set up the classroom and organise displays
• plan and teach lessons and work with small groups of students
• mark work and talk to parents and carers about their children's progress
• manage the work of teaching assistants
• follow safeguarding procedures
• work with careers advisers, counsellors, education psychologists and social workers
• organise trips, after school clubs or exam revision classes
• work and attend meetings and training outside of usual working hours

You could work at a school, in a sixth form college, at a pupil referral unit or at a special needs school.

Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding.