Teacher Training Pathways
Teaching is a highly-rewarding career with various pathways available when it comes to getting qualified. The University of Winchester is graded Outstanding by Ofsted for its teacher training and offers a range of training programmes.
Choosing to become a teacher is one of the most rewarding career moves you can make. Not only will you shape lives from day one but you’ll enter a field with plenty of room to grow, both in terms of skillset and salary.
All qualified teachers get a minimum starting salary of £32.9k a year.
From becoming a fully qualified teacher, to progressing to a leading practitioner or head teacher, this is an industry which offers huge opportunities to move up the chain, whilst doing a job you love.
We’ve held our reputation as an Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ Primary Initial Teacher Education provider for two decades. Our dedication to excellence was recognised by Ofsted, who praised our students for their exceptional preparedness for teaching careers.
At Winchester, we offer courses for Primary teaching, ages 3-7, 5-11 and Secondary teaching, ages 11-16.
Make sure to check what events we have coming up so you can visit our campus, talk to staff and start your journey into teaching.
Consistently rated Ofsted Outstanding since 2005
Top 6 in the UK for graduate prospects (Education subject rankings)
Complete University Guide 2026
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Working closely with over 400 schools in the region.
Undergraduate programmes
Is your ambition to become a primary school teacher?
See our BA Primary Education with QTS programme. You get to learn about every National Curriculum subject, child development, and the professional identity of teachers, including your own! You will have school-based placements in each year of study and enrichment modules on curriculum subjects, SEND or Early Years.
If you don’t want to be a teacher, but you are passionate about early years practice:
Our BA Early Years programme may be for you! This programme includes placements in early childhood settings (0-8 age range) in each year of study, as well as a rich theoretical base in educational theory, early years, and SEND. There is also an exciting career option to gain the Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Status at Level 6 (professional qualification) alongside your degree.
Looking for other routes into making that unique and significant contribution to education and society?
Our BA Education programme allows you to explore education in the broadest sense of the word, through the domains of psychology, philosophy, politics, sociology, and other theoretical lenses. You can also specialise in Early Childhood theory or Special & Inclusive Education. With this degree, you could progress to a PGCE to gain QTS and then become a teacher, if that’s right for you. You could also consider alternative career routes in education, such as safeguarding, policymaking, social work, pastoral care, adult learning, and more.
Postgraduate programmes
Are you a graduate who wants to be a secondary school teacher?
See our PGCE Secondary Humanities combinations, where you can choose two humanities subjects from Geography, History and RE. You will also learn how to support learners to be successful, explore your evolving identity as a teacher, and apply education theory.
Are you a graduate who wants to be a primary school teacher?
See our PGCE Primary programme, which allows you to specialise in 5-11 years PE, Maths, SEND, or 3-7 years. On these programmes, you will learn about every national curriculum subject, additional needs and the application of education theory to your practice. The routes provide insights into working with particular groups of children or focusing on particular subjects.
Do you already have an undergraduate degree or QTS?
Our MA Education programme provides flexible approaches to advance your understanding of education and research, with online asynchronous study, live online seminars, and one-to-one tutor support. Specialist strands in Early Childhood, Leadership, SEND, Philosophy, or Practitioner Research allow you to align your studies with your professional expertise and areas of interest.
Continuing professional development
We also provide NPQ qualifications in Leadership: Headship, Senior Leadership and SENCO, and specialist NPQs in leading teacher development, leading teaching, leading behaviour and culture, leading literacy and the new EmpowerED Leaders New Middle Leadership Programme.
Find out more about the Institute of Education
- Keep up-to-date with our activities on Instagram: UoW_Teaching, @Edstudies_UoW and @UoW_ResourceBase
- Find out more about (CREATE), the Centre of Research for Educational Action and Theory Exchange
- Find out more about the Centre for Real World Learning
"Staff’s expert support focuses on professional behaviours, managing workload and trainees’ wellbeing. By the time trainees leave, they are exceedingly well prepared to teach in a variety of contexts”
Funding your training
Tuition Fees
Thanks to government loans, if you’re a UK applicant you don’t need to pay tuition fees up-front and you only start repaying when you earn above a certain amount. If you’re eligible for a loan, this will be paid directly to the University. The loan is not means tested, so you won’t need to give evidence of income to be eligible. Check your eligibility for a tuition fee/maintenance loan.
Maintenance Loan
You may also be eligible for a maintenance loan to help during your studies. This could be for rent, food, books, travel and other living costs. If you’re eligible, this loan is paid directly to your bank account in three instalments across the year.
The maximum amount you may be eligible to borrow is:
· £9,118 if you live at home with your parents
· £10,830 if you live away from home and are studying outside of London
· £14,135 if you live away from home and are studying in London
· £4,582 if you’re 60 years or over on the first day of the first academic year of your course
Check your eligibility for a tuition fee/maintenance loan.
Student Finance Calculator and discounts
The government’s student finance calculator can give you an estimate of the funding you might be eligible for.
Student Discounts
As a student (and later, as a teacher) you will be eligible for various discounts. These include:
- Totum Student Discounts
- Blue Light Card (for Teachers)
- The MoneySavingExpert website is also a useful source of information around discounts for teachers.
Career Change
It’s never too late to become a teacher. Whether it’s something you’ve kept on the back burner whilst you’ve studied your undergraduate degree or you’ve got years of experience in a totally different profession, you can always pivot your career and become a teacher. .
Learn MoreWork ready
Our professional and dedicated team support students and graduates of the University of Winchester wherever they are on their career journey. We are proud to offer Careers Advice for life, so are here whenever you need us!.
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