Our University Partners

We work with a variety of university partners for the University Led PGCE with QTS courses. These Universities include:

The University of Warwick

We have a long standing and close relationship with Warwick University and the majority of our trainees come from this world-renowned provider.

Trainees begin their placements with us after three weeks in university where trainees gain the fundamentals of learning and teaching before spending four days a week in school and one in university. Trainees switch to a second school in the Spring Term and remain there until the end of their course in June.

From September 2024 we will become a Level 3 Delivery Partner for Warwick University. This means the Castle Phoenix Alliance will develop this working relationship even further, being involved in the delivery of curriculum elements and providing on-site workshops.

Birmingham City University (BCU)

BCU is the second university partner that we work closely with and has meant we have been able to recruit trainees from across the Birmingham area, thus expanding our bank of trainees.

BCU’s training programme differs from the University of Warwick with trainee’s spending more time with the university to learn academic and subject pedagogy before starting their placements with us in October. This allows trainees to come into schools and have a deeper understanding of the different ways in which they can teach through self-reflective learning and development. Trainees stay with us until February half term before embarking upon their second placement at another school.

NITE: Coventry University (CU)

Coventry University is our newest PGCE with QTS provider and we host a growing number of trainees who have chosen this provider.

Their programme is hugely flexible, with seminar content being delivered virtually for their programme of learning across the year. They have starting points at various points throughout the year meaning that trainees can begin their journey more flexibly. Trainees begin their school placements at the very beginning of term meaning that there is less time spent at the university and more time for trainee’s to listen, reflect and learn, both during study time and in the classroom. Trainees stay with their first placement for a term, before completing the second term at a complementary school and then returning to their first school for the summer term.  

University of Leicester.

Our partnership with The University of Leicester has meant we have been able to recruit trainees from across the Leicestershire area, thus expanding our bank of trainees.

Similar to BCU’s training, trainees from the University of Leicester spend more time with the university to learn academic and subject pedagogy before starting their placements with us in October. This allows trainees to come into schools and have a deeper understanding of the different ways in which they can teach through self-reflective learning and development. Trainees stay with us until Christmas before embarking upon their second placement at another school after February half term.