(Secondary) Physical Education PGCE

Top reasons to choose this course

• You'll train to teach with an Ofsted ‘outstanding’ provider.
• 2nd in the UK for education courses  – Guardian University Guide 2025.
• Placements opportunities with schools in large, small, urban and rural settings.
• Enrichment opportunities to teach age 16–18.
• Learn in our specialist classrooms that replicate those used in schools and our curriculum centre with its 30,000 resources for student teachers.
• Brighton has an expert team who have their own successful experience as education practitioners.
• Our teaching graduates benefit from excellent employment rates that are consistently above the sector average.
• We have a dedicated team to help you after you qualify, through our Early Teacher Career support programme.

Plus our student physical education teachers benefit from:

• excellent on site facilities including grass football pitches, netball and tennis courts, and a swimming pool.
• organising activities such as disability sport and transition days for secondary school pupils
• learning how to teach non-traditional team games, alongside the usual competitive team games
• visiting guest speakers
• being able to gain the FA Teachers Award
• having opportunities to visit additional schools and colleges as part of the Peer Observation programme.

Course structure

Teaching will take place on the Falmer campus where we have extensive sport facilities. The Falmer campus is currently being redesigned. 

When studying with us at the university, you’ll experience and learn how to teach practical physical education through The A-list of physical activities. These include physical activities considered to be less conventional compared to more established types of activities. The A-list includes the following non-conventional physical activities: 

• Alternative – Physical activities that depart from or challenge traditional norms and are considered to be non-traditional in a UK context such as tchoukball, kin-ball and korfball.
• Adapted – Physical activities suited to pupils with additional learning needs but that can also be practiced by all pupils within secondary schools such as boccia, goalball and new age kurling.
• Artistic – Physical activities related to cultural and artistic forms of dance.
• Aesthetic – Physical activities that are creative and involve a combination of movements requiring precision, fluency and control such as urban gymnastics, cheerleading and trampolining.
• Aquatic – Physical activities that take place in or on the water such as swimming, synchronised swimming, water aerobic dancing, water polo, life-saving and personal survival.
• Athletic – Physical activities that require physical skill, agility and stamina such as street surfing.
• Adventurous – Physical activities that require precise problem-solving and decision making skills such as orienteering and climbing.
• Aerobic – Physical activities that are sustained and require low to high intensity such as jogging, rowing and cycling.
• Anaerobic – Physical activities that are non-endurance activities involving speed strength and power such as sprinting, jumping, and throwing.

The university works in partnership with schools and colleges to provide a high quality programme of support, ensuring a sound relationship between theory and practice. You will benefit from undertaking two placements in two schools or colleges, spending two-thirds of your year teaching, under supervision. You'll also have the opportunity to visit additional schools or colleges as part of the Peer Observation programme.

Our tutors and mentors will advise and support you throughout each placement. You will receive comprehensive feedback during this time, enabling you to see what you are doing well and where you might need to improve.

You will have the opportunity to organise group activities which reflect contemporary expectations of physical education teachers and the individual needs of pupils from diverse backgrounds. 

The campus is excellently equipped with multimedia training materials, giving you the opportunity to develop your confidence and competence in the use of ICT. Our multimedia suites are regularly updated to keep up with technological advancements in classroom teaching provision. 

Activities which you may take part in or organise yourself include:

• Disability Sports such as Boccia, New Age Kurling, Goalball, Sitting Volleyball and Wheelchair Basketball.
• Year 7 transition day with a local secondary school.
• Year 10 V-Cert revision day with a local secondary school.

You'll also hear from a range of guest speakers and have an opportunity to gain the FA Teachers Award. 

Areas of study

This course covers the national curriculum range of content for physical education. You'll experience practical and theoretical modules that are based upon research-informed practice by the route leader, Dr Gary Stidder, who is an established academic and active researcher in the field of physical education.

The course also includes health-related exercise, the use of new and emerging technologies in physical education, thematic teaching and learning in physical education, inclusive practice in physical education and the teaching of accredited courses in physical education.

There are four strands to this course: subject study/subject education, education and professional studies, school placements and professional practice.

Course content is kept up to date with changes in local and national initiatives and legislation, so you can be confident that your working knowledge is based on current theory and practice.

The education and professional studies strand gives you a thorough understanding of the learning process itself, including an appreciation of individual differences. The study of the principles and practices of learning and teaching is through both school and university settings, allowing you to develop practical competency supported by analytical skills. By the end of the course you will:

• refine your understanding of pedagogy, including an appreciation of current and emerging educational theories and debate
• understand how to use and adapt teaching, learning, management and assessment strategies in order to meet the varying needs of learners
• understand how the progress and wellbeing of learners is affected by different influences and know how to take account of the principles of equality, inclusion and diversity.

The subject study/subject education strand builds upon your existing expertise in your specialist subject and provides you with the opportunity to develop skills, knowledge and understanding of the subject in the secondary school context. You will consider the learning and teaching strategies that are relevant to physical education. 

The subject education module is specifically related to teaching PE in school, while the subject study module enables you to take your subject specialist studies to an increased depth. 

The school placements/professional practice strand is intrinsically linked to all key strands of the course and is designed to enable you to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive as creative, informed and critical professionals.

You will engage in target setting and action planning, and reflect upon your learning in order to make improvements as you progress through the emerging, embedding and enhancing phases of trainee teacher development towards meeting the Teachers’ Standards and the award of Qualified Teacher Status at the end of the course.

School-based training

Ofsted identify our approach to training in schools as a key strength of this course, with an excellent balance between university tuition and school-based training.

You will spend a minimum of 120 days on school-based activities, with your training shared between the university and the partner school. 

Your school-based training will include observing teachers, working with individual pupils and groups of pupils, team teaching and independent teaching. Your training will also entail completing specific subject tasks and developing your knowledge of school policy and effective practices.

You will maintain a professional training portfolio and be supported to review your work critically and analytically as well as to set appropriately challenging targets. We will also develop an action plan with you to identify strengths, development needs and actions, so that your practice is continually developing.

Key aims of the school-based training

• Advance the development of your professional attributes, skills, knowledge and understanding.
• Provide practical and specific experiences that enable you to critically analyse your professional practice and take responsibility for your own professional development.
• Enable you to work collaboratively with colleagues in order to develop an understanding of the ways in which the attainment, development and wellbeing of all learners can be achieved with a unified support and teaching system.
• Provide opportunities that enable you to adopt a creative and constructively critical approach towards your practice, supported by appropriate reading and research.

During your school-based training, university tutors, school mentors and teachers will support you and take shared responsibility for your professional development.

Your progress will be observed and assessed throughout your placement by university and school staff, followed by feedback sessions to discuss your development. Your e-portfolio will also be evaluated as part of the overall assessment.

Organising your school-based training
Our Partnership Office will organise the school-based training for you. Each year we organise over 2,500 placements for our students. We work hard to ensure that you have placement opportunities that will give you valuable and varied experiences in the area of education in which you are interested.

How it works
We will ask you to complete a placement information form when you start your course, and will use this information to match you to a suitable placement. We will consider your previous experience, travelling distance, the age ranges you wish to teach and your current needs.

Once we have matched you with a placement, the team in the Partnership Office will confirm the placement as quickly as possible with the school or organisation. They will then contact you with the placement details. Almost all of our placements will be with partner schools or organisations in south-east England, most of them in East and West Sussex.

Meet the course leader

Dr Gary Stidder

Principal lecturer and route leader: Physical Education (Secondary)

Dr Gary Stidder has been the PGCE Route Leader for Physical Education since 2005.

Gary graduated from Brunel University in 1986 with a Batchelor of Education (Honours) Degree with Qualified Teacher Status in Physical Education and English. Gary is a former secondary school physical education teacher and was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to the USA during 1990-1991. Gary completed his Master’s Degree in Education in 1998 and went on to complete his PhD in 2008 both at the University of Brighton. Gary is co-editor (with Sid Hayes) of ‘The Really Useful Physical Education Book: Learning and Teaching Across the 7–14 Age Range’ (2010) and the first and second editions of ‘Equity and Inclusion in Physical Education and Sport’ (2003; 2012) published by Routledge. Gary’s single authored publication ‘Becoming a Physical Education Teacher’ was published in 2015 by Routledge. In 2016 Gary co-edited (with Sid Hayes) ‘The Really Useful Physical Education Book; Teaching and Learning Across the 11 – 16 Age Range’. In 2022, Gary published ‘Teaching Physical Education: Contemporary Issues for Teachers, Educators and Students’ which addressed the impact of the Post 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics era on the teaching of Physical Education in Schools and particularly the impact of Covid-19 pandemic. 

Gary holds the University award for teaching excellence and is the co-founder and Deputy Director of the University of Brighton’s pioneering ‘Football 4 Peace International Project’ in Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Northern Ireland, The Republic of Ireland, South Korea, South Africa, Colombia and The Gambia (www.football4peace.eu) which has been operating since 2001. In July 2008 Gary was presented with a national award from the Association for Physical Education (AfPE) for his contribution to research and scholarship in the field of Physical Education. In 2013 Gary was awarded the University of Brighton’s award for Staff Excellence in Community Engagement in recognition of his contribution to widening participation and social engagement. In 2018 Gary was awarded the Honoured Members Award by the Association for Physical Education for making a difference at National and International level over a lengthy and sustained period of time. Gary received the highest accolade that the Association can bestow on a single individual at the AfPE National conference held at St Georgie’s Park in Nottinghamshire (National Training Centre of the English Football Association) on July 3^rd 2018. His award was in recognition for his outstanding and distinguished long service during which he has contributed significantly to the National and International development of physical education.

Selected publications and Conference Presentations:

• Stidder G (2022) Teaching Physical Education: Contemporary Issues for Teachers, Educators and Students. London, Routledge
• Stidder G (2021) ‘Football 4 Peace International: Celebrating 20 years – A Personal Review’ Physical Education Matters, (15), 2: 46 - 50
• Stidder G, Green S, Smart W (2020) ‘Physical Education, Pedagogy and Participation in Secondary Schools During Pandemic Times’, Physical Education Matters, (14), 4: 56 - 59

Read Gary's full profile.

Ofsted 'outstanding'

Graded 'outstanding' by Ofsted for primary and secondary in our 2024 Initial Teacher Education inspection.

Ofsted commended us on many aspects of our courses saying:

• Trainees shine at Brighton’s long-established and highly impressive teacher training programmes.
• The care and dedication shown by staff towards trainees is superb.
• Trainees are at the heart of everything. They are valued and expertly supported throughout the course.
• The curriculum skilfully equips trainees in safeguarding, behaviour management and supporting pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Trainees impress the placement settings they work in because of their professionalism and aptitude to apply what they have learned.

Sport at Brighton

Sport Brighton

Sport Brighton brings together our sport and recreation services. As a Brighton student you’ll have use of sport and fitness facilities across all our campuses and there are opportunities to play for fun, fitness or take part in serious competition. 

Find out more about Sport Brighton.

Sports Scholarships

Our sports scholarship scheme is designed to help students develop their full sporting potential to train and compete at the highest level. We offer scholarships for elite athletes, elite disabled athletes and talented sports performers.

Find out more about Sport Scholarships.

Facilities

You'll have access to excellent sport and fitness facilities on site which include:

• dance and spin studios
• five outdoor grass football pitches
• floodlit full-size synthetic turf pitch
• floodlit non-slip netball and tennis courts
• indoor swimming pool
• large fitness suite
• outdoor grass rugby pitch
• sports hall with netball, volleyball, basketball and badminton courts, and cricket nets
• strength and conditioning suite
• tennis and badminton courts.

You will also have access to our curriculum centre which contains more than 30,000 specialist resources for trainee teachers including books, DVDs, games and an online catalogue.

School Connect PGCE and School Direct Salaried

School Connect PGCE and School Direct Salaried are alternative routes to gaining Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). The University of Brighton works with a number of schools to deliver this programme across a range of secondary subjects as well as in the primary phase. 

To train as a teacher through the School Connect PGCE or the School Direct Salaried programme you need to apply directly to a school for a training place. Schools advertise their vacancies on the Department for Educations 'Find Postgraduate training courses' website. 

Find out more about School Connect PGCE and School Direct Salaried.

Course fees

As a postgraduate trainee teacher there is a range of funding available which you could be eligible to receive whilst you are studying:

• Tax-free bursaries and scholarships – these depend on the subject you are training to teach and your highest relevant academic award. 

On our website you will find information about other funding including:

• the student finance package from Student Finance England – tuition fee loans and maintenance loans
• Parents’ Learning Allowance
• Childcare Grant
• Care leaver’s bursary
• Disabled Students’ Allowance.

If you're not a UK citizen, you are unlikely to get help funding your training unless you have permission to live permanently in the UK.

Fee information for this course for 2025 entry will be updated here no later than December 2024.

The fees listed here are for the first year of full-time study if you start your course in the academic year 2024–25.

You will pay fees for each year of your course. Some fees may increase each year.

UK undergraduate and some postgraduate fees are regulated by the UK government and increases will not be more than the maximum amount allowed. Course fees that are not regulated may increase each year by up to 5% or RPI (whichever is higher).

If you are studying part-time your fee will usually be calculated based on the number of modules that you take.

Find out more

• Fees, bursaries, scholarships and government funding info for UK and international postgraduate students
• Student finance and budgeting while studying
• About the university’s fees by checking our student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

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Accommodation

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Support and wellbeing

Sport at Brighton