Secondary

OTT SCITT courses are carefully crafted to give you the best of in-school experience alongside theory, pedagogy and subject knowledge training at one of our training hubs. Our Associate Teachers (what we call our trainees) thrive on both our full-time and part-time courses and this is reflected in our exceptional post-training employment rates, as Headteachers recognise the high-quality training and preparation we offer.

For the secondary age range, we offer courses across most secondary subject options. The majority of courses are designated as 11-16, and for these courses that is the age range that most of your training will cover, however for all of these courses you will also be able to develop your understanding and teaching experience of A-level teaching too, should you wish to. Other courses are designated specifically as 14-19 as they are subjects which do not generally have teaching at Key Stage 3 (ages 11-14), but again you will also have opportunities to experience teaching within your school departments at this age range.

For all courses you have the option of completing QTS only (Qualified Teacher Status) or QTS and PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education):

• Qualified Teacher Status is the professional award that schools are looking for when employing teachers. As an accredited provider, we make the recommendations for the award of QTS upon completion of your course, and this is then formally awarded by the Department for Education (DfE).
• A PGCE is a postgraduate academic award that can only be awarded by Universities, all Associate Teachers training with OTT SCITT have the option to complete a PGCE alongside their QTS training. We work with the University of Buckingham to award the L7 PGCE.  There are no additional lectures for the PGCE and you are not required to attend anything in-person at the University, as all the training you complete for QTS will support your PGCE, but you will need to submit a number of formal assignments. This does mean that you need to be prepared to be committed and self motivated to complete the PGCE  in your own time, however we do run optional online sessions to support you.

• course runs from 1 September 2026 – 1 July 2027
• attendance is Monday-Friday and you will need to plan for timings of 8am-4pm in school and 9.30am-4pm for training days (exact timings may vary depending on school hours)
• pre-course training and induction days on Wednesday 8, Thursday 9 and Friday 10 July 2026
• start in your main placement school in September, attending INSET days with your colleagues
• intensive ‘front loaded’ course, with 2 days a week of curriculum training sessions and 3 days in placement in September and October, moving to 1 day a week of training sessions and 4 days a week in placement from November
• a block first and second placement structure i.e. an ‘A – B’ pattern, with almost equal length of time in each
• develop skills through a carefully crafted and sequenced curriculum, complemented by structured classroom experience, to take on whole class teaching at a gradual pace
• ongoing central and subject specialist training throughout the year
• exceptional support from placement schools and central SCITT team
• tuition fees for the full-time courses are £8,435 for QTS, or £9,535 for QTS and PGCE (i.e. additional PGCE cost of £1,100 should you choose this option)
• most applicants will be eligible to take out a student loan through Student Finance England to cover the tuition fees (regardless of prior loans and study) and maintenance loans are also available for most applicants and in some cases you may be eligible for further support grants from SFE, such as childcare grants if you are a parent
• some subjects also attract a national bursary or scholarship more details can be found below and on our FAQ page
• we would strongly advise that you check your eligibility and use the SFE calculator to estimate the loans/ grants available to you in advance of submitting your application

• course runs from 1 September 2026 – 17 December 2027, i.e. a full academic year in year 1, then September-December in year 2, enabling you to take up a qualified teacher post from the January after your second year
• regular attendance of 3 days per week, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday throughout the year and you will need to plan for timings of 8am-4pm in school and 9.30-4pm for training days (exact timings may vary depending on school hours)
• pre-course training and induction days on Wednesday 8, Thursday 9 and Friday 10 July 2026
• start in your main placement school in September, attending INSET days with your colleagues
• intensive ‘front loaded’ course, with 2 days a week of curriculum training sessions and 1 day in placement in September and October, moving to 1 day a week of training sessions and 2 days a week in placement from November for the rest of year 1, in year 2 you will be almost entirely in your second placement
• a block first and second placement structure i.e. an ‘A – B’ pattern
• develop skills and take on whole class teaching at a gradual pace
• ongoing central and subject specialist training throughout the 16 month course
• exceptional support from placement schools and central SCITT team
• tuition fees for the part-time courses are £10,585 for QTS, or £11,685 for QTS and PGCE (i.e. additional PGCE cost of £1,100 should you choose this option), for the part-time route you pay £7, 145 in year one and the remainder in year two
• most applicants will be eligible to take out a student loan through Student Finance England to cover the tuition fees (regardless of prior loans and study) and maintenance loans are also available for most applicants and in some cases you may be eligible for further support grants from SFE, such as childcare grants if you are a parent
• some subjects also attract a national bursary or scholarship more details can be found below and on our FAQ page
• we would strongly advise that you check your eligibility and use the SFE calculator to estimate the loans/ grants available to you in advance of submitting your application

You are able to apply for more than one course/ route in your application, so you may want to choose a variety options or to decide from the outset which route will be best for you. When we invite you to interview we will ask you what your current preferred choice is, and we can discuss your options and suitability individually if needed.

Please click on the course name in the table below to see further detail about each specific, available course.

Bursaries and Scholarships are available to some Associate Teachers whilst you train with us for QTS (Qualified Teacher Status).

You may be may be eligible for a bursary if you have a 1st, 2:1, 2:2 or master’s degree or a PhD in the following subjects:

• £29,000 in chemistry, computing, mathematics and physics
• £20,000 in design and technology and languages (including ancient languages)
• £5,000 in biology and geography

You will also need to be entitled to student finance

However, if you are on one of our languages or physics courses, you will not need to be eligible for student finance to be eligible for either a bursary or scholarship.

Scholarships are usually available to applicants with a 1st, 2:1 or master’s degree or a PhD, though, in exceptional circumstances, they may be awarded to a graduate with a 2:2 and significant relevant experience, in the following subjects: