The Open University has resumed offering teacher training courses after a gap of three years. The first students have enrolled on a flexible PGCE course which has 12 different starting dates.
Places have been specifically allocated to tackle the shortage of secondary school teachers in six subjects: mathematics, science, modern foreign languages (French, German and Spanish), music, geography and design and technology.
The university has 170 trainee teachers taking the PGCE course in the six shortage subject areas, but hopes to have 1,000 by next July.
The course began in April, and was the first PGCE intake at the OU since 1999 because staff have been busy drawing up the new course. It is available, online, on CD-Rom, and through books.
Frank Banks, director of the PGCE programme, said: “We can offer 500 places a year on these courses and we have already had 1,700 applicants. The level of interest has been wonderful.”
The average age of PGCE applicants for the OU is 33: more than half are women, and 20 per cent are from ethnic minorities, that last figure rising to 60 per cent in London.
Ralph Tabberer, chief executive of the Teacher Training Agency, says: “We need to offer routes into teaching which are attractive to people whatever their background and personal circumstances.”
The PGCE course can be studied full or part-time, and must be completed within three years. It is designed to give students more flexibility when training, enabling them to combine study with other commitments.
The length and content of the training will be customised to take into account each individual’s knowledge and previous experience.
For more information about OU PGCE courses, click on to http:www.open.ac.ukeducation-and-languages
