Who's an English Secondary Teacher?

Question

Hi there guys, I am interested in becoming a secondary teacher specialising in English, I have looked up many routes into becoming a teacher and as it follows there are two main paths for me. One is to take a BA followed by QTS or B.Ed, which will take three years and the other option is to have a standalone degree in English then carry out a PGCE, which will take four years. I feel that if i take a BA (QTS) or B.Ed, I will start getting into teaching straightaway whereas if I do a degree first and then do a PGCE, then I will find myself in the deep end.

The only secondary English B.Ed I have found is in Edge Hill University which is up north near Liverpool I believe. Im wondering are there any other degree like a BA (QTS) or B.Ed in secondary English down south, possibly near London?

Second of all, for those who are teaching right now could you give some details of how you got into teaching English secondary and whether you like it or not?

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

Hi there. I'm a qualified English teacher. Whilst I was at Homerton (in cambridge) a lot of my fellow students were doing B.Eds - they all enjoyed the course and all found employment easily afterwards. I did it the other way - I got a BA in English and Education Studies (Homerton still do this course if you live near Cambridge - it is very good) and then went on to take a PGCE 3 years later.

I personally felt that taking a BA was a better route as it is less specific to the realm of education, which helps if you think there is any chance you might not stick at teaching. Everyone on my PGCE course had no problem getting employment - it is a very viable route.

The other route you could look into is taking a GTP after your degree. It is the 'in school' training route, you get paid a basic salary and get trained on the job. It is very popular, but you have to be over 25 I think. The obvious perk is that you are still earning.

Teaching English is good fun if you like the subject. Just be warned, at times the curriculum can be quite constraining and the marking I think is one of the most time-consuming of all the subject areas. The nice thing about English is you can organise a lot of creative activities around it and students generally respond very well to that.  

Answer 2

I did an English degree then PGCE.  I would recommend this as if you change your mind about teaching at least you have an English degree that can be of use to you in another career.  

I have been teaching for 5 years and I love it.  I didn't really like my first job but now I've found a great school.  It's hard sometimes as there is lots of pressure on English- sats, more focus on English and Maths at GCSE (i.e. the way results are reported now- 5A*-C including English and Maths) but it can be really rewarding as well.  There seem to be plenty of jobs available as well.  

Good luck!

Answer 3

Hiya,

I'm a secondary English teacher in the North West and we have taken student teachers from Edge Hill regularly.  From what I've heard it's a really good place.

I'm sure that some people will disagree, but I believe that to teach secondary pupils (any subject) your subject knowledge has to be excellent, and this can only be developed by doing a degree in that subject, because you could, potentially, be teaching A-Level students.  

I did a BA Hons in English and then 6 years later (following marriage and other things!) I did a PGCE in Secondary English.

In terms of course length, you're only studying for an extra year, and the PGCE year is totally different to the BA years.

If I you've decided that you want to teach English then I'm assuming you enjoy English, so a three year degree wouldn't be torture!

I do still enjoy teaching but there are many aspects of the job which are hard (all the repetitive and seemingly pointless paperwork) and demoralising (think recent SATS marking furore).

If you need to know anything else let me know!