PGCE vs. PGCert Secondary Education?

A PGCE used to be known as a Post Graduate Cert in Education - suggesting (wrongly) that it was a post-graduate level course. It was post graduate in time, but was is a professional course, and at Bachelor's degree level, and for that reason, some universities and colleges re-named it to a Professional (rather than a postgraduate) Graduate Cert in Education. The normal abbreviation was the simple PGCE.

However, more and more universities are now doing what you have described - awarding M level credits for the PCGE, so that you can later have a bit of a headstart for a Master's degree.

So, in effect, there is no difference - but you are now getting a better deal than you would have done a couple of years ago. It's possible that the Uni you've been accepted into also has an MA programme tied into your PGCE, and your NQT year. This is all part of the TDA agenda to encourage teachers to continue with their professional development after they qualify. With your course, you may be able to gain credit for up to 1/3 of a Masters in Education! Good news indeed :)

Hope this helps? If not - shout!

At my uni, the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) is taught at Masters level, though it isn't credit rated.

The most important bit here is the QTS status - that's what you need to get a job as a teacher in the UK.

The difference between the PGCE and PGCert is probably just the way they are taught. The PGCert may be more academically based, the PGCE more practical (more experience in schools).

I think the legal requirement is for 180 days spent on school experience, so as long as your course offers this and QTS, you essentially have the same qualification as someone doing a PGCE course, with the added bonus of prior credit should you choose to do a Masters later