You will need an undergraduate degree at class 2:2 or above, or equivalent.
It is important that your degree is directly related to the PGCE subject you wish to teach.
For Modern Languages applicants, we expect you to be able to offer two Modern Languages (from Chinese (Mandarin), French, German and Spanish), and can provide a range of placements for various combinations of these languages. We may not be able to offer you an interview if we do not have school placement capacity in your preferred language combination. It is important that you have qualifications in both the languages that you wish to teach. For your main language, these qualifications should preferably be at university level, or it should be one of your first languages e.g. have spoken it from a young age. You will be expected to teach your main language up to and including A-level. For your second language, your qualifications should preferably be at A-level or equivalent (B2 CEFR level). You will be expected to teach your second language up to age 14 as a minimum.
We will also consider applications from candidates who have Third class Honours degrees if they also have extensive UK classroom experience (for example employment as a Teaching Assistant) or have a subsequent higher qualification e.g. a master’s.
If you need to improve your subject knowledge, you may be asked to complete a subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) course.
You will also need a Grade 4 (C) or above in English and maths, or equivalent qualification. We will consider candidates with pending GCSEs and candidates who need to take a GCSE equivalency test in English or maths.
International qualifications viewed as comparable to qualifications taken within the UK can be accepted to meet these conditions. In order for the University of Oxford to formally recognise any overseas qualification you must present a Statement of Comparability from ENIC. This can be obtained after application or interview and you may need to pay for this. Further information can be found on the Government’s Department for Education website.
If the Statement of Comparability concludes that your qualifications are not equivalent, then the PGCE Course Director will review your case and we may ask you to complete an equivalency test in English Language or Mathematics. It is likely you will have to pay for this. You will be able to select the provider and type of test, as long as the final result is provided by our deadlines and is a GCSE or a direct equivalent. These conversations will occur after you have accepted any offer, we will not review before an application or interview.