How to become a PE teacher
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
University
You can do a sport or physical education degree with qualified teacher status (QTS).
You can also complete a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE), if you have a first degree without QTS. This can be done at university or on a school-based training programme.
There are more training options if you are a career changer or want to specialise in teaching certain subjects.
For information and advice see:
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths
- GCSE science at grade 9 to 4 (A* to C) for primary school teaching
- 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
- a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study
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Apprenticeship
You can get into this career through a postgraduate teaching apprenticeship, if you have a degree.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths
- GCSE science at grade 9 to 4 (A* to C) for primary school teaching
- a degree for a teaching apprenticeship
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Work
You may be able to get into teaching, if you're a PE or sports graduate, by working as a sports coach in a school, then moving onto a teacher training programme.
You'll need coaching qualifications in your specialist sport to do this.
Volunteering
You'll find it helpful to get some experience of working with young people though this is not essential. You can do this through paid work or by volunteering at a school, doing youth work or coaching at a sports club.
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Registration
- you'll usually need qualified teacher status (QTS) to teach in a state school in England
Career tips
You can attend teacher training events before you apply to get advice about the profession, the different training routes and funding. You can attend events in person and online.
Learning to drive is useful, as you may be expected to drive a minibus to take teams of pupils to sports events.
Further information
You can find out more about how to become a teacher from Get Into Teaching.
You can also search for jobs through the Teaching Vacancies service.