Secondary

Teaching Art & Design is much more than putting pencil (or paintbrush) to paper.

During your Red Kite course, you’ll learn to engage students with a range of materials and techniques to develop their art, craft and design skills, using digital and traditional media.

You’ll also learn to show students that inspiration for Art & Design can come from multiple sources, whether that’s a school trip, a favourite band, nature or even an emotion.

The creative process is as important as the final outcome. During school placements, specialist Art & Design teachers will give you the skills you need to help students explore and develop their ideas, giving them the confidence to express themselves.

You’ll learn how to teach balance, emphasis, proportion and rhythm – both in students’ own artwork and recognising it in other, acclaimed artists.

Leadership and behaviour management skills are essential for engaging a whole class. You’ll learn how to set a great climate for learning and put our tried and tested behaviour strategies into practice each day that you’re in the classroom. You’ll also learn how to monitor progress to ensure all students reach their full potential.

As a Biology teacher, you’ll inspire and nurture fascination in the living world, developing the well-rounded scientists of the future.

On the Red Kite Secondary Biology course, you’ll work in schools with exceptional teachers to develop your subject knowledge in everything from genetics to ecology and evolution. You’ll also spend time learning how to teach Chemistry and Physics to Key Stage 3, broadening your skill set to be able to teach secondary Science.

You’ll learn strategies which set the standard of work expected in the lesson and how to employ these in your placement schools, so you’re confident and ready for when you’re a NQT.

Short, medium and long-term learning plans are the key to great organisation, allowing you to focus on your students – you’ll learn how to develop these, plus what to include in lesson plans and the invaluable 5-minute lesson plan tool!

You’ll also enjoy spending a number of days dedicated to practising experiments that you’ll need to demonstrate in class.

By the end of the course, you will have worked in five different science departments, giving you access to a wide range of science specialists, and a fantastic opportunity to see the variety of schools that you may like to work in.

Business Studies is now closed for 2024 entry

At Red Kite, you’ll learn how to teach Business Studies in a way that motivates, embeds and helps to retain knowledge, helping young people to enjoy this academic and vocational subject. You will have a direct impact on how young people engage with finance, economics and other subjects relating to enterprise education. As Business Studies covers a range of courses at Key Stage 4 and 5, you will experience teaching and delivery modes across the 14-19 age range, including the opportunity to explore additional subjects such as Economics and Computing.

You’ll learn how to plan and sequence lessons across each key stage, understanding the importance of guiding students on the journey they will take in Business Studies through concepts that will help to shape their understanding of the modern local, national and global Business contexts.

You’ll also spend quality time observing expert Business Studies teachers, and teachers from other disciplines such as Economics, Computing and Enterprise, and exploring the strategies they use to manage behaviour and create an inclusive classroom environment that considers challenges students may encounter.

Our courses are comprehensive and multi-layered, involving:

• Red Kite professional development days
• School placements
• University lectures
• Twilight sessions
• Conferences, tutorials and mini-placements focussed on Barriers to Learning, Special Educational Needs, Adult Mental Health, Behaviour, English as an Additional Language and Employment.
• Reading, research and reflections

At the end of your time with us, you’ll have the unique opportunity to gain a PGCE from the University of Leeds, thanks to our exclusive partnership with their prestigious School of Education. This involves four days on campus four virtual days and three assignments – all of which are done by Easter so you can then relax and focus on teaching for the last part of course.

All Red Kite training both in out of school is led by practising teachers who are experts in their field, backed by a support network that is designed to let you focus on teaching make sure that on every step of your journey you feel challenged, supported and valued.

As a Chemistry teacher, you’ll inspire a love of the study of matter and the properties and reactions of substances, helping students to understand the world around us.

On the Red Kite Secondary Chemistry course, you’ll work in schools with exceptional teachers to develop your subject knowledge in everything from particle theory and atomic structure to chemical changes, reactions and analysis. You’ll also spend time learning how to teach Biology and Physics to Key Stage 3, broadening your skill set to be able to teach secondary Science.

You’ll learn strategies which set the standard of work expected in the lesson, so you’ll be confident and ready for when you’re a NQT.

Short, medium and long-term learning plans are the key to great organisation, allowing you to focus on your students – you’ll learn how to develop these, plus what to include in lesson plans and the invaluable 5-minute lesson plan tool!

You’ll also enjoy spending a number of days dedicated to practising experiments that you’ll need to demonstrate in class.

By the end of the course, you will have worked in five different science departments, giving you access to a wide range of science specialists, and a fantastic opportunity to see the variety of schools that you may like to work in.

The course covers curriculum design, development of teaching materials, planning classroom activities and classroom management. Trainees will work with tutors and fellow Trainees to develop innovative and exciting ways of delivering your knowledge of computing in the 11-16 context, with post-16 enhancements. 

The subject-specific sessions will extend subject knowledge and give Trainees the skills needed to teach computer science throughout the curriculum. 

There is a national shortage of teachers who can deliver post-16 computer science qualifications. One of the aims of this course is to introduce the programming paradigms required at A-level, in particular in the delivery of the NEA programming project.  

As well as the Red Kite Hub days, as a computing trainee you will have additional training from the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE). The local NCCE Computing Hub is based at Harrogate Grammar School (although most sessions will be delivered remotely) and their Computer Science GCSE Accelerator programme is integrated into the course. As well as receiving your QTS, you will obtain a professionally recognised training certificate, awarded by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.  

Instil your love of English in future generations.

At Red Kite, you’ll learn how to teach English in a way that motivates, embeds and helps to retain knowledge, helping children to enjoy the subject while developing their grammar, writing skills and reading strategies for each key stage through to GCSE and A’ Level.

Why is literacy so important? What is the best strategy for teaching Shakespeare? You’ll discuss questions like these alongside fellow trainees and with guidance from your specialist English teachers.

You’ll learn inspirational and innovative techniques for enthusing and engaging young people in a curriculum of rich texts and poetry, while teaching the skills to confidently analyse and compare different works.

You’ll also master lesson planning and learn how to manage a classroom using your voice, plus other valuable skills to create the right classroom culture.

As a Geography teacher, you’ll inspire curiosity in our world and its future.

During your course, you’ll understand how to teach students about the changing economic world; the Human Development Index; the Development Gap and the world’s distribution of income. We’ll explore and explain the world we live in, linking the human and physical world, and look at the role of fieldwork.

One of the key skills you’ll learn is how to encourage students to think and study like a geographer and how to apply their geographical knowledge. You’ll challenge them to discuss, analyse, evaluate and assess – all vital and transferable skills.

The course encourages dialogue with your students, showing them how to learn from their mistakes and take pride in their work, sharing learning goals to help them understand the standards they are striving to achieve. You’ll also learn how to closely monitor progress to ensure all students reach their full potential.

History has now been closed for 2023 entry

The History course aims to empower Trainees with the skills that they will need to become effective teachers of history in the secondary classroom. The course is school based from the very beginning of the autumn term and so our Trainees get to work with a range of outstanding history teachers across the partnership. Regular hub sessions focus on general teaching theory and skills whilst the subject days focus specifically on three areas.

The first is the development of history subject knowledge with the most common topics taught across the partnership being regularly referenced. Due to the wide range of differing topics that History Departments can offer, Trainees individually identify areas which they will have to deliver on placement where their knowledge is less secure and work to improve that knowledge, showcasing their work on the subject days.

The second focus is on general teaching pedagogy and how this can be utilised specifically in a history classroom and so allows the Trainees to see how what they have learnt in hub sessions, for example literacy, numeracy and differentiation, applies on a practical level to the subject of history. Within this the course also looks at progression from KS2 to KS3 in history, the structure and requirements of GCSE and the teaching of A level.

The final focus is on the teaching of history skills and key concepts within the classroom which looks both at the theory behind them and how they can be practically delivered though hands on activities. Trainees will explore chronology, the use of primary sources, historical interpretation, change and continuity, cause and consequence and historical significance.

When you love everything about Maths, you’re already well on your way to becoming an inspiring Maths teacher!

The Red Kite Secondary Maths course will build on your subject knowledge and give you the skills you need to teach Maths at GCSE and A’ Level.

Our specialist Maths teachers have years of experience and strategies to use in the classroom. They’ll work with you to plan your lessons to make sure you’re answering the BIG questions and using key words, so students become familiar with them and what is expected of them in response.

You’ll be able to look for evidence of learning, offer constructive feedback and use questioning for depth of understanding.

Misconceptions and errors can be golden opportunities - learn how to use them to your advantage!

As well as the Red Kite Hub Days, as a Maths Trainee you will also have extra days based at the regional Maths Hub at Harrogate Grammar School.

The Modern Foreign Languages courses we offer are as follows:

• French (closed for 2024 entry)
• Spanish
• French with Spanish (closed for 2024 entry)
• Spanish with French (closed for 2024 entry)
• French with German (closed for 2024 entry)
• German with French (closed for 2024 entry)
• Spanish with German 

Great teaching translates into any language.

As a Modern Foreign Languages teacher, you’ll show your students how languages fit into the bigger picture in an ever-changing European climate, demonstrating a clear purpose to their learning.

During your Red Kite training year, you’ll spend most of your time in your carefully-planned placement schools, enjoying a wide range of opportunities and experiences. You’ll develop your teaching skills in the classroom, enhancing your linguistic skills and knowledge of your country, its people and its culture.

You’ll learn what is assessed at each key stage; what to teach when in the curriculum and what to look for during MFL observations.

What influences behaviour? How do you give feedback using target language? How do you re-engage disengaged students? You’ll discuss questions like these with fellow trainees and your specialist language teachers.

Health and safety on MFL school trips will be explored in detail, so that you’re confident to accompany, and lead, a group of students during one of the highlights of their school life.

PE is now closed for 2024 entry

Sport and exercise in school is fun and important for students’ mental and physical health, yet there’s far more to teaching secondary PE.

During your Red Kite course, you’ll discuss the increasing use of technology in PE, considering the effects of using iPads in the classroom and how technology can be an effective tool for Assessment for Learning.

When increasing subject knowledge with your specialist PE teachers, you’ll plan for practical sessions, such as introducing contact in rugby. You’ll also plan for emergency scenarios where there may be no equipment available.

Behaviour management skills are essential for staying in control and engaging a whole class, and you’ll learn how to set a great climate for learning. You’ll also understand the differences between a starter, plenary, metacognition and recall, ensuring all students make excellent progress.

You can choose from our core PE course or our PE with EBACC course. The core route is for applicants who want to train exclusively in PE. The PE with EBACC route is for candidates with an A’ Level grade C or higher in Biology, Chemistry, English, French, Geography, History, Maths, Physics or Spanish. This provides opportunities to train and teach your EBACC subject, usually at KS3 level, in addition to PE across all age ranges.

As a Physics teacher, you’ll inspire curiosity in how things work, encouraging students to question the physical world around us, and experiment to find the answers.

On the Red Kite Secondary Physics course, you’ll work in schools with exceptional teachers to develop your subject knowledge in everything from temperature and changes of state to electricity, forces and magnetism. You’ll also spend time learning how to teach Biology and Chemistry to Key Stage 3, broadening your skill set to be able to teach secondary Science.

You’ll learn strategies which set the standard of work expected in the lesson and how to employ these in your placement schools, so you’re confident and ready for when you’re a NQT.

Short, medium and long-term learning plans are the key to great organisation, allowing you to focus on your students – you’ll learn how to develop these, plus what to include in lesson plans and the invaluable 5-minute lesson plan tool!

You’ll also enjoy spending a number of days dedicated to practising experiments that you’ll need to demonstrate in class.

By the end of the course, you will have worked in five different science departments, giving you access to a wide range of science specialists, and a fantastic opportunity to see the variety of schools that you may like to work in.

Teaching secondary Religious Education is learning about religion and, just as importantly, learning from religion. It extends beyond the acquisition of information and encourages students to learn something about themselves.

On the Red Kite Secondary RE course you’ll spend time in schools discussing the influence of religions and beliefs on people and the world around us; encouraging students to see the value of RE to their own development as individuals, helping them to make the most of their lives and to cope with life’s difficulties.

You’ll learn to show students to argue from a different point of view, then give the challenge to them, to develop their thinking skills and set the context for active learning.

Behaviour management skills are essential for engaging a whole class, and you’ll learn how to set a great climate for learning - you’ll put our tried and tested behaviour strategies into practice each day that you’re in the classroom.

You’ll also learn to master lesson planning and setting the scope of work; always considering what progress looks like and what you want students to achieve in the lesson.