Can I teach a specific subject area?
Are you passionate about a subject and keen to inspire young people? If so, teaching could provide a great opportunity to share your interest and enthusiasm for a specific subject.
We've put together a how to guide to help you explore your options for starting a career in a subject you are passionate about.
Read on to find out more about specialising in a primary, secondary and further education setting.
Primary teaching
Teachers at primary level are responsible for teaching a broad range of subjects in the curriculum. Teacher training will help equip you with the skills and confidence to teach them effectively.
However, there is the option to specialise in select subjects, such as PE and maths, alongside teaching the broader curriculum. In doing so, you could be involved not only in teaching lessons but also in helping develop how your specialist subject is taught in the school.
If you are interested in learning more about teaching primary with a specialism, take a look at the Department for Education's get into teaching website.
Secondary teaching
If you are unsure about what education settings to teach, you may want to think about specialising in a particular subject area. Teaching at secondary level allows you to focus on set areas including drama, physics and history, rather than a broad range of subjects as at primary level.
Subjects including chemistry and maths are priority areas for schools, with extra funding available that includes scholarships and bursaries for trainee teachers in these areas. Explore what options are available to you on the get into teaching website.Teaching secondary gives you the opportunity to delve deeper into a specific subject and ignite a passion in that area...I chose secondary because I love my subject and I was incredibly keen to help others love it too - especially when they least expected it!
Abigail Abrahams, secondary school teacher
Further education teaching
Further education settings such as colleges provide a range of education after secondary level, including apprenticeships and A-levels. They offer a very broad variety of courses and provide an opportunity to teach a specific subject to students aged 14 and over.
Find out more about the different routes into teaching in further education and the qualifications you'll need on the get into teaching website.Subject-specific financial support
Financial support in the form of bursaries or scholarships may be available to support you through teacher training, depending on the subject you wish to teach. Read our recent article outlining the Department for Education's teacher training bursaries and scholarships announced for 2021/22 to find out more.
Start something new today
To help get your journey into teaching underway, why not use our handy route finder to explore the initial teacher training courses on offer in Portsmouth? Simply answer a few questions, select the subject(s) you're interested in, and you'll be provided with a list of available courses in your subject area.
Justine Streeton