Primary Teacher - Science GCSE

[andok38]

Hello,

I am a secondary science teacher with QTS. I am looking to make the transition into primary teaching however, to apply for a primary PGCE a GCSE grade of A-C is required in Maths, English and Science.

Although I currently teach GCSE and A-Level science, I do not have a GCSE A-C in science as this is not a requirement in secondary (my degree was science related).

I was wondering if anyone knows if GCSE science A-C would be a mandatory requirement to be a primary teacher? Even though I have already got QTS and teach science at a higher level. Or if the GCSE qualification is just to get on the PGCE course.

Thanks!

A.

I may be out of date, but I thought QTS was not phase related - you are already qualified to teach at Primary without doing a PGCE. Maybe it depends on the route you took to get QTS - are you overseas trained maybe?
As far as I know, the GCSE in Science is just the minimum requirement for teaching in Primary - your degree may be more than enough.

getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/ways-to-train

If you have QTS then FlemishHorse is quite correct, you don't need to do a primary PGCE to teach in Primary, you are qualified already. What you need to be able to do is convince a recruitment panel that you could teach a primary class, what is your knowledge of the primary curriculum like, how good is your phonics, what about primary maths and art and french and everything else taught, what experience do you have of KS2 SATS, wet knickers and 🤢- all of which you might come across! WHY do you want to teach primary and what experience do you have that will benefit the school. That's what you need!

You definitely can't train again and don't need to. You just need to apply :)

I was confused about the need to retrain, you definitely don’t need to. I know a few people who have swapped from primary to secondary and vice versa, once you have QTS you can teach any age 3-18. It would just be down to whether individual schools are willing to employ you, especially as primary is generally more competitive than secondary especially for science. Good luck! 😊