The PGCE Secondary Geography course at Cardiff Met offers a direct pathway to the award of Qualified Teacher Status and is available through English and Welsh medium. The course gives you a strong understanding of the importance of Geography in the curriculum and how to teach it in secondary schools.

Key Information

Available to study in English and Welsh

1 year full-time

For entry requirements, pre-entry tests and how to apply, visit the PGCE Secondary course page.

About PGCE Geography

This engaging course will give you the confidence to teach a host of contemporary Geography topics across the 11-18 age range. Teaching your subject specialism at secondary level, gives you the opportunity to share your enthusiasm and to use creative and engaging activities to inspire the next generation into a range of careers where Geography is highly valued. Further, you will have the opportunity to work closely with different subjects, such as those in the sciences, humanities and arts, in order to develop confidence in teaching cross-curricularly.

Working with our Cardiff Partnership schools requires excellent subject knowledge, a passion for the subject and a deep understanding of the pedagogies, that allow you to become an excellent practitioner. You will be a positive role model and support learners to develop an appreciation of Geography as an academic subject.

Reputation & Teaching Excellence

The PGCE Geography course tutor has extensive teaching experience in both English and Welsh medium secondary schools, in several roles, including Leader of Geography. University sessions are engaging, collaborative and supportive. Research and enquiry activities are embedded within the programme to deepen and expand your thinking and we work closely with all our Partnership Schools to provide our students with the best clinical practice experiences. Guest speakers from our Partnership Schools and external organisations enrich and enhance the taught provision.

Employability & Careers

The Geography PGCE aims to prepare student teachers to be highly skilled, confident, critically reflective, and innovative practitioners who are committed to life-long professional learning and the education of young people. At university, your specialist sessions will prepare you to teach your subject up to and including A level, whilst sessions as part of the Humanities wider Area of Learning will develop your confidence in teaching across a range of topics. During your clinical practice placements, you can expect to teach many aspects of Geography across the 11-18 age range.

What’s the best way to prepare for studying a PGCE in Geography?

Develop and refine your subject knowledge and your teaching philosophy. Think carefully about why you want to teach the subject and the relevance of Geography to twenty-first century schools. In the first instance, look to complete a selection of WJEC GCSE past papers. This will give you a clear insight to themes covered in the curriculum. Can you remember the location of your fieldwork trips at school? Can you remember how you were taught and the stages of the enquiry process? Complete some research online and explore topics and resources produced by organisations such as the Royal Geographical Society and the Geographical Association. Trial these before embarking on your exciting teaching journey!

Once you have satisfied yourself with Higher-Tier GCSE, make sure that you look both up and down the Geography continuum. How would you introduce a Year 12 student to strategies on how to mitigate and adapt to climate change? Equally importantly, would you know how to navigate a conversation with a Year 7 pupil who asks, “Why do migrants want to move to the UK”?

“My experience completing the PGCE at Cardiff Met was extremely positive. I enjoyed the structure of the course, where I spent time on placement teaching with the support of my mentor. I also had weekly sessions at university with my course tutor and peers to discuss our experiences in a collaborative and supportive environment. The provision of cross-curricular experiences, working with teachers of other subjects and age phases both within and outside of my own ‘Area of Learning Experience’ prepared me for my role as a teacher of all age groups in secondary school, and a range of subjects including Humanities, Geography and Wellbeing.”

Jessica Evans, PGCE Secondary (Geography)

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Contact Us

For further information about the programme please contact Rhian Crooks-Williams, PGCE Secondary Geography Programme Leader at recrooks-williams@cardiffmet.ac.uk.