PE teacher
Physical education (PE) teachers work in schools and colleges, teaching sport and fitness to young people.
What you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
You will:
- plan lessons and coaching sessions
- teach a range of sports and physical activities to students of different ages and abilities
- motivate students to fulfil their potential
- set and mark assignments, and update school records
- talk to parents and carers about their children's progress
- work with other professionals like mentors, educational psychologists and social workers
- organise sports days, field trips and matches with other schools and colleges
Working environment
You could work at a school or at a college.
Your working environment may be outdoors in all weathers.
Career path and progression
With experience, you could become a leading practitioner, supporting teaching staff, particularly those relatively new to the profession. You might also gain promotion to head of department, deputy head or headteacher.
You could use your skills and experience to move into coaching, sports development or the fitness industry.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses
- be able to motivate and inspire pupils of all abilities to take part and learn new skills
- the ability to use your initiative
- the ability to work well with others
- excellent verbal communication skills
- leadership skills
- knowledge of English language
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
Restrictions and Requirements
You'll need to:
How to become
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
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're a career changer or want to specialise in teaching certain subjects.
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
More Information
You could get into this career through a Teacher Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship, if you have a degree.
This takes 12 months to complete and involves training while you work.
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
More Information
If you're a PE or sports graduate, you may be able to get into teaching by working as a sports coach in a school or college, then moving onto a teacher training programme.
You'll need coaching qualifications in your specialist sport to do this.
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.
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.
A driving licence would be useful, as you may be expected to drive a minibus to take teams to sporting fixtures and 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.
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External links
This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.