YOUR APPLICATION
PARTNER LED 'PGCE with QTS'
We will close to new applications in:
Mid-June 2025
Our ‘Partner Led’ PGCE with QTS courses are our most popular route into teaching, and will provide you with the best support in both school and university so that you can become an excellent, fully qualified teacher after a 1 year (full -time) period.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AT A GLANCE
- Fee paying, 1 year PGCE with QTS.
- Specialise in Primary (5-11), Early Years (3-7) or a range of Secondary Subjects (11-18).
- Apply on DFE Apply – YOU choose your university provider AND your delivery partner (The Lion Alliance).
- Entry requirements: minimum 2.2 degree, grade 4 in English, Maths (and Science for Primary).
- The Lion Alliance offers additional support and guidance including Intensive Training and Practice Sessions (ITaPs); access to ‘Meet the Expert’ training; organising your second placement (with your requests considered); recruitment opportunities & membership to our Lion Alliance alumni.
There is a wealth of information about teacher training and more on the ‘Get Into Teaching’ website.
You can also speak with your own Teacher Training Advisor (TTA) to help guide you through the process.
SEARCH OUR COURSES
Once you are confident you have satisfied the entry requirements for our courses, you can start working on your application. Below you will find some helpful links and information to consider which well help you apply.
Please note our provider details are: 1K1 – The Lion Alliance
You can view the full range of courses that we offer, and our current vacancies, on the GOV.UK ‘Find Teacher Training’ website by using the provider details above.
HOW TO APPLY
We accept applications through the governments ‘DfE Apply’ service.
Introduced in 2020 to replace UCAS Teacher Training (UTT), the ‘DfE Apply’ portal aims to simplify the application process and provide you with an improved, central service for getting into teaching.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS - UK APPLICANTS
The Lion Alliance aligns all of its entry requirements with each of our university partners. This means they may differ slightly depending on which university provider ratifies the course you’re interested in.
SECONDARY – MINIMUM ENTRY REQUIREMENTS FOR TRAINING TO TEACH:
- 2:2 UK Honours or above in your first degree (or equivalent qualifications) in the stated subject you’re applying for*
- Grade 4 / C Grade UK GCSE or above in English Language and Mathematics (or equivalent qualifications)
*Please note: usually a significant proportion of your degree must be in the chosen subject, however if your degree is not in the stated subject but you have significant modules related to it this may still be accepted. In this case we may ask to see a transcript of your degree modules to determine eligibility. If your degree does not have any links to the subject you have applied to you may still be eligible if you have an A level in the subject. We would look for this to be a B grade or higher and you may need to complete a SKE (Subject Knowledge Enhancement) course to supplement your knowledge.
PRIMARY – MINIMUM ENTRY REQUIREMENTS FOR TRAINING TO TEACH:
- 2:2 UK Honours or above in your first degree (or equivalent qualifications).
- Grade 4 / C Grade UK GCSE or above in English Language, Mathematics and Science (or equivalent qualifications).
THINGS TO BE AWARE OF
– Other qualifications may be deemed as equivalent by our university partners; this will not be determined by us and if you hold a different qualification we can check this with them on your behalf.
– We do not accept ‘Functional Skills’ qualifications and these will not be accepted in place of a UK GCSE.
– Upon application we would expect you to hold the above qualifications, with the exception of a degree as we understand that applicants may be on a university degree course when applying. We can consider applicants where there is a pending GCSE grade, if you’re currently retaking this and have a planned date for your exam.
– If your application to us is successful, when we meet with you in person you will be expected to present physical copies of your qualification certificates. These are your proof of attainment and if you do not have copies of these you risk not being admitted to the course.
Please note: as part of the interview process you will also be required to complete Professional Skills tests in literacy and numeracy. This is nothing to be worried about and is only used by the Lion Alliance to determine if you need any additional support in these areas during the course. Further details will be provided at that time.
If you’re concerned about how well you know the subject you want to teach, do not worry – you may be able to do a ‘subject knowledge enhancement’ (SKE) course. Completing a course may be a condition of your offer to train to teach with us, and are typically offered in subjects where there is a particular demand for teachers.
SKE courses can help when you have:
– a different but related degree to the subject you want to teach
– an A level but not a degree in the subject
– an unrelated degree but relevant professional experience
– a languages degree but need to improve your knowledge of a language you’ll teach
– not used your subject knowledge for a while
IF YOU HAVE A RECENT, RELATED DEGREE TO THE SUBJECT YOU HAVE APPLIED FOR
If you have a recent, related degree to the subject you have applied to at Secondary phase (less than 5 years), you will not be recommended for a SKE course if we offer a place to you to train to teach.
There are no SKE courses available for those applying for Primary teacher training with us.
IF YOU RECEIVED YOUR RELATED DEGREE OVER 5 YEARS AGO
If you have a degree in the subject that you are applying to train to teach in, but you received it over 5 years ago, you may be required to complete a SKE Course (if available in your subject) to supplement your subject knowledge as part of any offer to train to teach with us.
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A RELATED DEGREE BUT DO HAVE A RELATED A LEVEL
If you do not have a relevant related degree in the subject you are applying to train to teach in, but do have an A Level in the subject, you will be required to complete a SKE course (if available in your subject) as part of any offer to train with us.
SKE courses can range from 8 weeks to 28 weeks, so we do advise that you apply as soon as possible as this will need to be completed before you start your PGCE course. The length of the course will be determined by the qualifications you hold.
Further information on Subject Knowledge Enhancement courses can be found on the ‘Get Into Teaching’ and ‘GOV.UK’ websites.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS - INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS
If you are an overseas student or hold international qualifications, you will need to meet the requirements in the section above – ‘Entry Requirements & Eligibility – UK Applicants’ and hold qualifications that are deemed equivalent to these.
Each of our partner universities deem different international qualifications to be eligible and we thoroughly advise that if you are unsure about your qualifications that you contact your chosen ratifying university directly to confirm this before applying, or alternatively contact the Lion Alliance. You can also request an ‘ENIC Statement of Comparability’ which can help determine the UK comparable level of your international qualifications. Discover more more details about this below.
Our partner universities may also offer GCSE equivalency tests in English and Mathematics for international applicants (PGCE with QTS Secondary only) who are unable to show evidence of equivalent qualifications gained outside of the UK. These are to satisfy the requirements at UK GCSE level for English and Maths.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS:
To help the Lion Alliance and our university partners determine your eligibility for our courses, we ask all of our applicants that hold international qualifications to provide an ENIC Statement of Comparability alongside original scans and translated transcripts of their qualifications.
You can check your eligibility (and get a free ‘Statement of Comparability’ once you’ve applied) by speaking to a Get Into Teaching; Teacher Training Advisor.
You can also request this from UK ENIC directly here: www.enic.org.uk/Qualifications/SOC/Default.aspx (fees may apply).
If English is a second language you will be required to complete an IELTS. You can find out more information in the ‘IELTS’ section below.
Course providers in the UK are unable to deem any high school level international qualifications in English as equivalent to a UK GCSE. This will also be highlighted on the ENIC Statement of Comparability. You would also need to complete a English GCSE Equivalency test which you can find out more about in the ‘GCSE Equivalency Test’ section below.
If you hold English, Maths and/or Science international qualifications that are not considered equivalent to a UK GCSE, you will be required to take a GCSE equivalency test in these subjects.
For us to accept an equivalency test, you must be able to show that you have a a background/similar high level qualifications in the subject first that arent deemed equivalent to a UK GCSE. This will also be highlighted on the ENIC Statement of Comparability.
Each of our university providers will only accept specific equivalency test providers:
UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK (ACCEPTS TESTS IN ENGLISH, MATHS and SCIENCE)
– Equivalency Testing – www.equivalencytesting.com
– A Star Equivalency – www.astarequivalency.co.uk
Applicants should contact cte.admissions@warwick.ac.uk for any available discount codes.
BIRMINGHAM CITY UNIVERSITY
– We work with the University on a case by case basis.
COVENTRY UNIVERSITY (ACCEPTS TESTS IN ENGLISH and MATHS)
– Equivalency Testing – www.equivalencytesting.com
– A Star Equivalency – www.astarequivalency.co.uk
If English is a second language you will need to complete an IELTS and achieve the below scoring. Please note the requirements can differ between our university partners.
You can find more information about the IELTS here: www.ielts.org
UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK
– You can find further information about the IELTS requirement here: www.warwick.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/english/
– You would need to refer to and achieve the ‘Band B’ scoring:
Overall IELTS (Academic, UKVI or Online) score of 7.0 and minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.
BIRMINGHAM CITY UNIVERSITY
– We work with the University on a case by case basis
COVENTRY UNIVERSITY
– You can find further information about the IELTS requirement here:
www.coventry.ac.uk/international-students-hub/new-students/find-your-region/regional-entry-requirements
– You would need to achieve the following scoring:
Students are required to have a UKVI IELTS score of at least 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each skill.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WHEN APPLYING
Ensure you include all qualification information on your application, including:
– GCSE English Language, Literature, Maths and Science (If applying for a Primary course).
– A level Qualifications
– Degree and Module Information
It is important that there are no breaks in your employment history. As much time as possible must be accounted for otherwise this may delay your application being processed.
Provide professional references from previous teaching or work based roles/experience, or from educational contacts where possible. These are really useful to help us see your personal motivation and personality through the eyes of others.
Within any personal statements it is important to include information about:
YOUR THOUGHTS AND PASSION
– Why do you want to teach?
– Why is working with young people important to you?
– Why is the ‘partner-led’ route into teaching your preferred choice?
YOUR QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
– How do your qualifications and their content link to your chosen curriculum subject and its teaching?
– What experience do you have teaching in a school or other environment and what you have learned from this? (consider the school you are applying to; what relevance does your experience have in their context?)
– What other relevant experience do you have that demonstrates your skills (don’t forget that information about any wider experience working with young people such as sports coaching, uniformed organisations, youth work or mentoring is just as valuable)
YOUR STRENGTHS AND AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
– What are your personal strengths that will support you in teaching? (Make sure you give examples of where you have demonstrated these strengths).
– What areas of improvement have you identified about yourself?
WHAT YOU ARE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE
– How would you be able to contribute to your chosen school?
ONE FINAL NOTE
Ensure you carefully proof read your application to check for any errors in spelling or punctuation.