Secondary Teaching Studies
Secondary teaching studies with a specialism in English is a degree designed for students who are certain about their professional direction: to become secondary school English teachers. Rather than following a traditional single-subject degree followed by a separate teacher training qualification, this two-year full-time programme integrates subject knowledge, educational theory and classroom experience from the outset, giving you a direct and efficient route into secondary teaching. The English specialism ensures you develop deep knowledge of the literature, language and literacy demands of the secondary curriculum alongside the pedagogical skills needed to teach it effectively.
At the University of Hull, this innovative degree develops your subject knowledge in English, covering literature, language, grammar, creative writing and media, alongside a serious engagement with how young people learn, what motivates them as readers and writers, and how English teachers can build the skills of the full range of students they encounter in secondary classrooms. Educational theory, inclusion, assessment and professional practice run through the programme, preparing you for the realities of teaching in diverse school contexts. The degree is designed to lead naturally into initial teacher training, whether through a postgraduate route such as a PGCE or through school-based employment routes.
Typical entry is around 120 UCAS tariff points.
Graduation from this degree positions you very directly for entry to English teacher training, and many graduates move straight into PGCE or School Direct programmes, qualifying as secondary English teachers within the year following their degree. Others use the degree as a foundation for careers in education beyond secondary teaching, including educational publishing, tutoring, literacy support, community education and school leadership. The combination of subject expertise and pedagogical grounding developed in this degree is a direct asset in any career concerned with language, literacy and young people's learning.