Why Choose Exeter for your PGCE?
With over 165 years of experience in education you can be assured that your teacher training at Exeter will be of outstanding quality. We are inspected regularly by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) and the School received Grade 1 Ofsted "short" reports for its Primary and Secondary PGCE programmes during 2007.
Exeter is also one of only two PGCE providers receiving top marks in all three Ofsted full inspection categories for Secondary PGCE (Management and Quality Assurance, Training, and Standards) as well as top marks for Management and Quality Assurance for Primary PGCE. The University of Cambridge is the only other PGCE provider to achieve this level of excellence.
The University's excellent approach to continuous improvement permeates all aspects of the provision and leads to high qualtiy action planning. The encouragement of innovation, that takes place within the well-defined framework, is a strong feature of the provision. Ofsted Inspection Report 2005
Ranked 5th in the UK for world leading and internationally excellent research
The strength of the PGCE Programmes is due in a large part to the School's ongoing research activities. The prestigious 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), a Governmental review of the research activities of UK institutions, ranked the School 5th in the UK for world leading and internationally excellent research*. This result builds on the School's outstanding success in the previous two RAEs.
The success of the School's research activities has a direct impact on the quality and nature of its PGCE programmes. The understanding and insight gained through this research is an essential element of the teacher training courses. Highly qualified PGCE lecturers and tutors, many of whom are directly involved in research, will impart valuable insight and experience into your training. It is this expertise that helps set Exeter apart from other leading teacher training providers.
*RAE 2008 based on percentage of research categorised as 4* and 3*