PGCE (Biology)
About the course
The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) is a one-year course that offers you the opportunity to train to teach the secondary age group in one of the leading educational establishments in the country.
Please note that the course fees and list of colleges that accept for this course were revised in mid-November 2024. Please consult the relevant sections of the page for up-to-date information.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023 places the University of Oxford’s PGCE as 1st in the UK for Degrees in Education for the eleventh year running. Over many years, it has consistently received the highest possible designation (Outstanding) from Ofsted in inspections. The University of Oxford’s Department of Education has a long history in initial teacher education, dating back to 1892.
The department works in partnership with over 37 secondary comprehensive schools in Oxfordshire and neighbouring counties, with most being within 30 miles of Oxford. The programme has been developed with colleagues from Oxfordshire partnership schools and covers the key professional skills of:
- lesson planning and preparation
- assessment, recording and reporting
- responding to individual learning needs
- classroom and behaviour management.
The course works on an internship model (the Oxford Internship Scheme) which recognises the different roles of university and schools in teacher education and the need for a truly collaborative partnership. Such collaboration involves joint responsibility within the partnership for the planning, delivery and assessment of the programme. Student teachers are known as interns during the PGCE course.
In addition to being awarded the PGCE qualification, successful interns are also recommended for Qualified Teacher Status, which indicates that they have met the requirements of the Government’s Teachers’ Standards.
The teaching of the sciences in state secondary schools is normally organised within a single Science department or faculty to which teachers from the different sciences contribute their respective expertise Such a structure is reflected in the Oxford Department which, while actively recruiting for trainee teachers of the separate sciences – biology, chemistry and physics – works as a co-ordinated team of scientists.
The course aims to produce high quality teachers of the sciences across the 11-19 age range who will not only become competent teachers but will quickly become innovative leaders in their field. Interns will gain expertise in the different strategies for teaching science, and will get insights into the way that pupils learn across the whole range of attainments, aptitudes and pupil differences.
Interns will learn how to turn their own subject knowledge into a form that can be appreciated by pupils and will think critically about the aims and practicalities of teaching science in schools. To attain these goals, interns work with each other, the University tutors and their mentors in schools as adult learners, motivated to take responsibility for their own learning. The learning is structured through workshops, seminars, discussions, focussed assignments, school-based activities and sympathetic, expert, supervision and support.
There are opportunities to prepare science lessons, in particular, by trying out practical work both here in the department as well as in school. Between them the science tutors cover such subjects as biology, chemistry, physics, earth and environmental sciences. All have extensive experience of teaching and are involved in curriculum developments and research in science education at national and international level.
Rather than attempt to train all interns to teach in a particular way, we aim to build on your existing strengths – as good scientists and as mature, autonomous, motivated personalities – to help you teach in the way most suited to you and your school pupils.
The course aims to help you to:
- develop as a professional;
- explore your pre-conceptions about science and teaching science, and draw on your teaching experiences in a positive and reflective way;
- have opportunities to use research and academic study to inform your thinking and practice;
- learn how you can plan and teach engaging lessons which build on pupils’ prior knowledge and support them to become confident learners of science;
- organise and manage school science lessons which are safe and secure learning environments; and
- contribute to pupils’ understanding of science in society, citizenship and development of literacy and mathematical skills.
Course structure
The course begins with an orientation experience in September in a primary school of your choice.
This is followed by the first week in the University of Oxford’s Department of Education. The rest of the autumn term is made up of ‘joint weeks’ with two days spent in the University and three days in school. You will be attached to the same state secondary school for the majority of the year, which makes it possible for you to get to know teachers and pupils in the school and to understand the school’s policies and practices.
The spring term consists primarily of school experience and for the summer term, interns move to a second school so that they have the opportunity to consolidate and extend their understanding and experience of learning and teaching.
This course structure reflects the internship model in that it is designed to:
- enable interns to become fully integrated into one school over a long period;
- enable interns to learn about their own teaching in the context of the wider school, rather than focusing initially on their own classroom and only later widening their view;
- allow schools to offer coherent and challenging professional development programmes over the course of the long placement, and in the short placement focus on preparation for continuing professional development;
- enable school-based mentors to see interns’ development from the start of the course to a position of competence; and
- offer interns the opportunity to encounter a new school context at a time of the course when they are ready to make critical comparisons.
Course components
There are two interrelated course components: curriculum subject work and the professional development programme.
Curriculum work includes a range of activities related to the teaching of a specific subject in the secondary school. These activities include seminars and workshops in the University, as well as collaborative teaching, solo teaching, observation and discussion in school. The activities are aimed at giving interns competence in teaching their subject, the opportunity to develop a range of teaching strategies, an understanding of wider issues affecting the teaching of those subjects within the whole school curriculum. The work in each subject is organised by the Curriculum Tutor and school mentor for that subject. Part of the work in each subject area is planned for all interns, and part develops from the progress of individual interns.
An experienced teacher (or mentor) co-ordinates the subject related classroom-based activities of the intern. The mentor provides guidance and support and, as the year goes by, judges when and how to increase an intern’s experience and responsibilities. The school-based mentor liaises with the Curriculum Tutor from the University to plan tasks and activities for the interns.
Interns complete two written assignments related to their subject teaching. These involve school-based investigation and the critical analysis of relevant research and professional literature.
The professional development programme (PDP) involves a range of activities related to important educational issues. These activities include lectures in the University, weekly seminars in school and a school-led project in the second placement, researching an aspect of the school’s provision. These activities are aimed at giving interns an understanding of whole-school and cross-curricular issues, and an appreciation of the contribution which they can make to developing these issues through teaching their own subjects.
The Professional Tutor responsible for interns at the school co-ordinates school-based activities related to general educational issues, called the school professional development programme.
Some aspects of the PDP are planned and organised for all interns by university tutors, who take responsibility for particular issues. The detailed programme for the interns in each school, however, is organised by the Professional Tutor and General Tutor for that school.
Attendance
The course is full-time and requires attendance in Oxford. Full-time students are subject to the University's Residence requirements.
This course will involve travel to your placement school, although most partnership schools do lie within the Oxfordshire county boundaries.
Resources to support your study
As a graduate student, you will have access to the University's wide range of world-class resources including libraries, museums, galleries, digital resources and IT services.
The Bodleian Libraries is the largest library system in the UK. It includes the main Bodleian Library and libraries across Oxford, including major research libraries and faculty, department and institute libraries. Together, the Libraries hold more than 13 million printed items, provide access to e-journals, and contain outstanding special collections including rare books and manuscripts, classical papyri, maps, music, art and printed ephemera.
The University's IT Services is available to all students to support with core university IT systems and tools, as well as many other services and facilities. IT Services also offers a range of IT learning courses for students, to support with learning and research.
The Bodleian Education Library, located at the centre of the Department of Education, specialises in material on Education and related fields. As well as a print collection of books and journals, the library provides access to a wide range of online resources. The library also houses a collection of teaching resources in support of subjects covered by the department's secondary PGCE courses. All main teaching rooms are equipped with a range of IT facilities and interns are able to practice teaching with interactive touch screens in some rooms.
Supervision
Interns are supported in their professional development as teachers by both a university curriculum tutor and a general tutor as well as by a mentor and a professional tutor in each school placement. Academic guidance for assignments is given by curriculum and general tutors.
Assessment
Assessment of your progress and achievements are jointly carried out by your schools and the university, and you take part in informal and formal discussions about this. Continuous assessment is used throughout the course and there are no examinations.
Interns’ developing practice as a teacher is reviewed at regular intervals, in three-way meetings between the curriculum tutor, mentor and intern, informed by a wide range of evidence. At the end of the course, interns’ professional knowledge, understanding, skills and personal attributes are assessed in relation to the standards for Qualified Teacher Status. Interns also complete two examined assignments, within which they are expected to examine practical issues of teaching and learning from different perspectives – drawing on their own teaching, classroom observation and school-based investigation alongside critical reading of research, policy and professional literature.
Successful completion of these written assignments at master's level carries 60 M-level credits, which may be built upon to achieve a full master's degree. All assignments must be passed at master's level for the award of the Postgraduate Certificate in Education with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), provided that your practice also meets QTS requirements. Those who pass the assignments at Honours level will be awarded a Professional Graduate Certificate in Education with QTS - provided, again, that your practice meets the required QTS standards.
Graduate destinations
The numbers of interns going into teaching at the end of the course is high with most interns having secured a teaching post in a state-maintained school. As of August 2024, 90% of our 2023-24 student cohort have accepted positions as teachers or are seeking teaching roles; of those who had specified their destination 85% are working as a teacher in the state sector and 40% are working in a partnership school.
Changes to this course and your supervision
The University will seek to deliver this course in accordance with the description set out in this course page. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. The safety of students, staff and visitors is paramount and major changes to delivery or services may have to be made if a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency occurs. In addition, in certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.
Your tutors/mentors are likely to change over the course of the year in line with your change of placements from school one to school two. It may also be necessary to assign new tutors/mentors during the course of study or before registration for reasons which might include illness, sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.
For further information please see our page on changes to courses and the provisions of the student contract regarding changes to courses.
Entry requirements for entry in 2025-26
Applications are welcomed from candidates who have not studied Biology, Chemistry or Physics but have completed a degree in a related area, such as Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Science, Materials or Zoology. Applications from those who may need to complete a Subject Knowledge Enhancement course are also welcome. If you are uncertain about the appropriateness of your degree then please contact the PGCE Office using the contact details provided under Course-related enquiries.
The full PGCE entry requirements can be found on the University's Department of Education website. Please read them carefully before applying.
Education
Oxford has been a major contributor to the field of education for over 100 years and today the University’s Department of Education has a world class reputation for research, for teacher education and for its graduate courses.
The department combines international standing as a research-intensive department with the highest quality teaching. It’s masters' courses are delivered by academics and research experts, the majority of whom are permanent staff engaged in their fields of research. The DPhil in Education has excellent facilities for the large number of full-time research students who are well integrated into the research of the department.
The department has an outstanding research profile. In the 2021 evaluation of research quality in UK universities, the Research Excellence Framework (REF), Oxford University’s Department of Education had the highest overall percentage of research judged to be 4* (ie world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour) in Education in the UK.
The department has ESRC recognition for its graduate training, and its teacher training was rated ‘outstanding’ by the Office for Standards in Education (OfSTED) in its most recent inspection in 2024. A wide range of funded research projects are based in the department and many of these projects have had a major impact on national policy.
Funding
The Department of Education website provides details about the funding opportunities for this course.
Costs
Annual fees for entry in 2025-26
Fee status | Annual Course fees |
| Home | £9,535 |
| Overseas | £38,410 |
Information about course fees
Course fees are payable each year, for the duration of your fee liability (your fee liability is the length of time for which you are required to pay course fees). For courses lasting longer than one year, please be aware that fees will usually increase annually. For details, please see our guidance on changes to fees and charges.
Course fees cover your teaching as well as other academic services and facilities provided to support your studies. Unless specified in the additional information section below, course fees do not cover your accommodation, residential costs or other living costs. They also don’t cover any additional costs and charges that are outlined in the additional information below.
Where can I find further information about fees?
The Fees and Funding section of this website provides further information about course fees, including information about fee status and eligibility and your length of fee liability.
Additional information
The course involves travelling to placement schools for approximately 120 days and reasonable school travel costs of around £1,048 should be budgeted.
Living costs
In addition to your course fees and any additional course-specific costs, you will need to ensure that you have adequate funds to support your living costs for the duration of your course.
Living costs for full-time study
For the 2025-26 academic year, the range of likely living costs for a single, full-time student is between £1,425 and £2,035 for each month spent in Oxford. We provide the cost per month so you can multiply up by the number of months you expect to live in Oxford. Depending on your circumstances, you may also need to budget for the costs of a student visa and immigration health surcharge and/or living costs for family members or other dependants that you plan to bring with you to Oxford (assuming that dependant visa eligibility criteria are met).
Further information about living costs
The current economic climate and high national rate of inflation make it very hard to estimate potential changes to the cost of living over the next few years. For study in Oxford beyond the 2025-26 academic year, it is suggested that you budget for potential increases in living expenses of around 4% each year – although this rate may vary depending on the national economic situation. For further information, please consult our more detailed information about living costs, which includes a breakdown of likely living costs in Oxford for items such as food, accommodation and study costs.
College preference
Students enrolled on this course will belong to both a department/faculty and a college. Please note that ‘college’ and ‘colleges’ refers to all 43 of the University’s colleges, including those designated as societies and permanent private halls (PPHs).
If you apply for a place on this course you will have the option to express a preference for one of the colleges listed below, or you can ask us to find a college for you. Before deciding, we suggest that you read our brief introduction to the college system at Oxford and our advice about expressing a college preference.
If you are a current Oxford student and you would like to remain at your current Oxford college, you should check whether it is listed below. If it is, you should indicate this preference when you apply. If not, you should contact your college office to ask whether they would be willing to make an exception. Further information about staying at your current college can be found in our Application Guide.
The following colleges accept students on the PGCE (Biology):
How to apply
Applications for all PGCE courses are made via the UK Government's GOV.UK website. You do not need to contact an academic member of staff in the department prior to submitting your application.