Welcome to Primary PGCE

Starting Thursday 3rd September 2026

Your journey to becoming a primary teacher begins here

Start here

This page will guide you through the key things to do before your course begins. It will be updated regularly — so bookmark it and check back often.

Prepare for starting the course
Get familiar with expectations
Access key documents and guidance
Complete important processes - registration and enrolment
Begin thinking like a teacher

You will find information about important pre-course tasks, information about your route (campus led or school led, specialist route or part time) and FAQs.

📌 Important dates:

Induction is the 3rd and 4th September 2026 - please make sure you can attend as important information is shared across both days.
Subject knowledge sessions for campus-led trainees start on 7th September
The first professional module starts on the 8th September for all trainees

📚 Key information

Programme Specification & Course Overview Induction Information Placement Information Pre-course Tasks

🧭 What route am I?

Not sure which route you are on? Use the guide below to identify your pathway.

Campus-led General Route

Your place was offered by Marjon University after an interview on campus.

You are on the general 5–11 years pathway.

Click here for more information about course structure: Route page

Campus-led Specialist Route

Your place was offered by Marjon University after an interview on campus.

Your specialist pathway is either:

SEND
Early Years

Click here for more information about course structure: Route page

Campus-led Part-time Route

Your place was offered by Marjon University after an interview on campus.

You will complete the programme over two years.

You may also have a specialist pathway.

Click here for more information about course structure: Route page

School-led Route

Your place was offered by one of our lead partners after an interview in school.

This includes:

BTLA (Sir Robert Geffery's School)
PTSA (Plymouth Teachers and Schools Alliance)
CELT (Cornwall Education Learning Trust in St Austell)

Click here for more information about course structure: Route page

Still unsure? Don’t worry — get in touch with our Admission team on admissions@marjon.ac.uk or the Programme Leads Greg and Ruth gwalkerdine@marjon.ac.uk or rbenton@marjon.ac.uk

✔️ What to do next - for all trainees

Essential tasks

Look out for registration and online enrolment information coming from the Admissions team (see below for more detail).
Ensure you apply for DBS as soon as possible.
Complete your Fit to Teach assessment (you will hear about these from our Admissions team).
Fill in the placement information form:

Get prepared

Complete the pre-course tasks: click here to access
Explore the National Curriculum
Begin to consider gaps or weaknesses in your subject knowledge

Stay informed

Check this page regularly
Look out for email updates from our Admissions team
Note important dates

💻 Online Enrolment Information 2026 - for all trainees

In order to become a registered student at Marjon, you must be holding an Unconditional offer.

There are two remaining steps to becoming fully enrolled:

Step 1

Complete Online Enrolment

Opens from:
Monday 17th August 2026

Step 2

Complete Virtual Registration

This takes place on the day before your programme begins.

You will receive instructions explaining how to complete these steps once all offer conditions have been met.

This will not usually be before: Thursday 13th August 2026

Need help?

If you believe you have met all conditions of your offer but have not received enrolment instructions after 18 August, please contact Admissions:

📧 admissions@marjon.ac.uk

✅ Registration Information 2026 - for all trainees

On the day before your course starts, you will need to complete your final registration step.

Step 1

Log back into the Online Enrolment Portal.

Step 2

Click on the registration link provided.

Important

This final step must be completed even if you already have access to email or other university systems.

If you are not fully registered, the university cannot confirm your attendance to funding bodies such as Student Finance England.

Funding and maintenance loans

Attendance can only be confirmed once:

Your course has officially started
You have completed registration

Delays in registration may delay funding payments.

📘 Programme Specification - for all trainees

The Primary PGCE programme is designed to help you develop the knowledge, understanding and professional skills needed to become an effective and reflective primary teacher.

Course Structure

University-based learning combined with school placements across the academic year.

There are four modules. One has QTS attached to it.

The other 3 modules which gain 60 Masters level credits are:

How children learn and how teachers teach (30 credits)
Current issues in education (15 credits)
Inclusion and supporting individual needs (15 credits)

These have academic assignments attached to them. There are 4 assignments.

Qualified Teacher Status

The programme leads to recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education with 60 Masters Credits.

QTS is assessed through completion of an online portfolio of planning, tasks and reflections alongside your classroom practice.

Curriculum Focus

You will develop understanding across the full primary curriculum alongside pedagogy and professional studies. Our curriculum is organised around 3 overlapping themes: Venn diagram showing 3 curriculum themes:

🗓 Induction Information

Induction takes place on Thursday 3rd September and Friday 4th September 2026. Attendance across both days is important as key programme information, introductions and course preparation activities will take place.

School-led trainees - please contact your lead partners for route specific induction details

What to expect

Meet the teaching team
Introduction to the programme
Timetable and expectations
Getting started with Canvas

Before attending

Check you have registered and started the enrolment process
Bring note-taking materials and a charged laptop
Bring any documents that Admissions need to see

Further details

Room information, timings and schedules will be added here closer to the start of the course.

Meet the Marjon team

Greg Walkerdine

Joint Programme Lead & science Lecturer

Ruth Benton

Joint Programme Lead & history lecturer

Giles Freathy

Academic Director of Department

Jodie Greaves

Placement Leads & science lecturer

Michelle Batstone

Maths and Early Years lecturer

Scott Fisher

English lecturer

Scott Fisher

Anna Shillabeer

Maths lecturer

Ed Carr

Music and computing lecturer

Belinda Crowhurst

English and geography lecturer

Alannah Palmer

English and PSHE lecturer

Alex Parks

SEND Lead and PE lecturer

MarkAndrew Dearden

Art and DT lecturer

Katharine Pemberton

Science Lecturer

👉 Scroll sideways to meet everyone!

🏫 Placement Information - for campus led trainees only

Information about school placements, expectations and timelines will be added here later in the summer.

Start by filling in the placement information form:

Primary PGCE Trainee Information Form Placement A 2026-2027 – Fill in form

❓ Frequently asked questions - for all trainees

What should I do before starting?

Focus on getting organised, checking emails and engaging with this page. Begin to consider your own subject knowledge - where will you have to focus on developing? See the section on pre-course tasks on this page for guidance on how to do this.

Do I need to buy books?

No — we will guide you on recommended reading once the course begins.