Am I eligible to apply?

Yes, you can continue to make an application.  If successful at shortlisting and interview, a conditional offer will be made, subject to you gaining the necessary GCSE or equivalent prior to 31st August.

If you do not have these GCSE qualifications, there are two options:

• If you are not confident with your abilities in the subject, you can take classes at a local AEI (Adult Education Institute) over the course of a year, and then sit a GCSE examination at the end of the programme
• If you are confident that, with current knowledge and/or private revision/tutoring of your own, you would be able to pass a one-off equivalency test (an officially recognised exam, prepared and externally assessed by a freelance equivalency testing service) then you can book into one of these services.

No, for entry to an initial teacher training (ITT) programme level 2 is not considered equivalent.

We recognise that not everyone achieves GCSE qualifications when they first leave school.

If you do not have the required GCSEs for the course you are interested in, we accept GCSE equivalency tests.

We accept exams from Equivalency Testing.  Equivalency Testing offer two options:

1. a 12 week home study course culminating in the test
2. a straightforward one-off exam

Results are provided within 48 hours for maths and science and within 3-4 days for English.

Please note the result of these tests may be considered by some institutions as non-transferable. It is not the same as a GCSE paper but is considered equivalent for the purpose of teacher training applications.

Yes, you can continue to make an application and if successful at shortlisting and interview a conditional offer will be made subject to you gaining the necessary degree outcome prior to 31st August.

Yes

Yes, you may be able to train to teach a different subject to your degree if:

• you have an A level in the subject
• your degree is related to but not in the subject – for example, your degree is in engineering but you’d like to teach physics
• you have an unrelated degree but relevant professional experience

If you would like to discuss your qualifications/experience to clarify if you are eligible, please give the secondary team a call.

If successful at shortlisting and interview you may be made a conditional offer.  This may require you to complete a subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) course.

We may advise you to complete a subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) programme and this may be a condition of your offer.  This will be likely when:

• you do not have a degree in the subject you’re training to teach
• you completed your degree more than 5 years ago

Overseas qualifications may be considered equivalent to UK GCSE and degrees.  You will need to contact UK ENIC to get a comparison report

Yes, there is no requirement to have school experience in order to apply.

For tuition fee trainees there is no need to have links with schools.  We will look for suitable schools to host your two placements.  These take into account your programme, subject (if secondary), your location and any other specific needs. If you already work with, or have links with a specific school, we can discuss your preferences at interview.

For those applying for salaried/apprenticeship programmes, you will need to either:

• if working in a school - confirm they have the capacity and are able to sponsor an employment based trainee

or for those without a confirmed placement

• check our apprenticeship vacancies page for current opportunities