Choose a teacher training programme

We offer two teacher training programmes. Find out which is best for you.

There are different ways to train to teach.

We offer two choices.

A fully funded two-year programme where you earn a salary – The Training Programme
You’ll teach in the schools that need you the most so you may need to relocate. The training is fully funded and you get a salary – you’ll be employed directly by the school.
An unsalaried one-year programme with tuition fees – School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT)
You can choose where in the country you train, with one of our training partners. You’ll pay fees, but can apply for funding to cover this.

Which programme’s right for you depends on your situation and what matters most to you.

Your teacher training options

Getting a teaching qualification

You get the same qualifications with both of our teacher training programmes:

qualified teacher status (QTS)
postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE)

You need QTS to teach in state schools in England.

Getting a PGCE as well:

gives you a better understanding of education practice and theory
means you can teach in other countries

Entry requirements

To train to teach, you must have at least:

grade C/4 or equivalent in GCSE maths
grade C/4 or equivalent in English language
for primary teaching, grade C/4 in one GCSE science subject as well

To train with us, you need an undergraduate degree too.

Fully funded programme entry requirements

To join our fully funded two-year programme, you’ll need a 2.1 or above to teach in a primary school, and a 2.2 or above to teach in a secondary school.

See eligibility criteria for our fully funded two-year programme.

Unsalaried programme entry requirements

To join our one-year unsalaried programme, you'll need an undergraduate degree (all grades considered).

See entry requirements for our one-year unsalaried programme.

How long it takes

We offer a two-year programme and a one-year programme.

With both programmes, you’ll get your qualified teacher status (QTS) and postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) after a year.

Fully funded programme length

Our fully funded programme is two years.

After the first year, you'll get your QTS and PGCE.

The second year focuses on leadership development, meeting your peers face to face and building important networks while working full time in a school.

See what happens on the fully funded two-year training programme.

Unsalaried programme length

If you do our unsalaried programme, you'll be qualified and ready to apply for teaching jobs in schools after one year.

Find out more about what happens on the one-year unsalaried programme.

Cost

We offer a fully funded teacher training programme and one where you pay fees.

Fully funded two-year programme

If you do our fully funded two-year teacher training programme there’s no cost to you.

And you earn a salary too. See what you could earn on the fully funded two-year training programme.

Unsalaried one-year programme

If you do our unsalaried one-year training programme, you’ll pay fees.

Currently the fees are £9,250 a year for UK students. International fees are £10,950.

You can apply for a student loan to cover your fees, even if you’ve had one before. This is subject to eligibility.

For some subjects, like maths and science, you can apply for a bursary or scholarship which you don’t have to pay back.

See costs and funding for our one-year unsalaried training.

Salary

With both programmes, you’ll be a qualified teacher after one year.

Fully funded programme salary

If you do our fully funded two-year programme, you'll earn a salary from day one in the classroom.

In year 2, your salary will go up.

See what you could earn on our fully funded teacher training programme.

Unsalaried programme

If you do our unsalaried one-year programme, you’ll finish your training in one year and can apply for qualified teaching jobs.

Salary prospects for teachers

Starting salaries for qualified teachers depend on where you’re based. They range from £30,000 (locations outside London) to £36,745 (inner London).

Normally, you’ll move up the pay range each year.

In five years, you could be earning between £41,333 (outside London) and £47,666 (inner London).

As you develop in your role, you can apply to move on to a higher pay scale. This is called the ‘upper pay range’ (UPR). If you’re on the upper pay range, you could earn up to £46,525 (outside London) or £56,959 (inner London).

You can achieve an even higher salary by progressing to a leadership role or becoming a headteacher.

Becoming a headteacher or school leader

If you want a leadership role in a school, our fully funded two-year training programme will help you get there more quickly.

Four years into teaching, half the people who've completed the programme are in middle leadership positions.

And our trainees are 12 times more likely to progress to senior leadership roles early in their career than those who train through a higher education institute.

Read more about how our trainees become leaders.

Who trains you

However you train to teach, you’ll spend most of your time in school, either teaching or observing lessons.

All teacher training programmes also have some theoretical learning.

With both our training routes, you get a high-quality initial teacher training curriculum developed by Teach First.

On both programmes, you’ll have ongoing support from a mentor in your school.

Who trains you on our fully funded two-year programme

For our fully funded two-year training programme, Teach First designed the training and trains you directly.

Who trains you on our unsalaried one-year training programme

For our unsalaried one-year training programme, Teach First designed the training. Our approved local partners train you.

What subject and level you'll teach

Your teacher training will equip you to teach either:

early primary (3–7)
primary (5–11)
a specific secondary school subject

You’ll need to show sufficient knowledge of the subject you want to teach.

Normally this means having a relevant degree or A-levels.

For certain subjects, professional experience will count too.

Fully funded programme subjects

If you do our fully funded two-year training programme, what subject you teach depends on demand.

You can say what subject you’d like to teach, but if you’re qualified to teach a more in-demand subject we may ask you to.

See what subjects you could teach on our fully funded two-year teacher training programme.

Unsalaried programme subjects

If you do our unsalaried one-year training programme, you can choose what subject to apply for.

You’ll need to choose a training partner offering your subject.

You can see subjects offered on our unsalaried one-year teacher training programme.

Why Teach First?

We’re not just another teacher training provider.

Bringing an end to educational inequality

We’re a charity that believes education is the most powerful tool to help a child fulfil their potential.

When you train with us, you’re joining a community, working within the classroom and beyond, to bring an end to educational inequality.

Since 2003, we’ve improved the life chances and choices of over two million pupils and trained over 16,000 teachers.

Outstanding teacher training that makes lasting change

Our teacher training is extremely high quality. Ofsted rated our teacher training programme as outstanding.

Our trainees make lasting change in their schools. Departments with Teach First trainees get significantly better GCSE results than similar departments or schools without Teach First trainees.