Which route do I take? PGCE or QTS?
With PGCE being the qualification (Post Graduate Certificate in Education) and QTS being the license (Qualified Teacher Status), it doesn't matter which route you take within the UK, as the QTS is a direct recognition of the work you've done. The use of the PGCE is viewed more so for if you work overseas, as the QTS is done within a British setting, the PGCE helps in showing your greater understanding of education on a general level, as to apply it to different contexts. A PGCE comes with more studying within a University environment. You will learn about your subject in a more in-depth approach, as well as education and topics surrounding it.
A QTS route offers more practical time within the school setting and offers you a more hands-on approach to learning about how to be a teacher.
It is always recommended to someone planning to teach overseas to have a PGCE (which comes with a QTS anyways) rather than just going through a QTS approach. If you're in the UK, it really doesn't matter. The PGCE will show to overseas employers that you are recognised as a teacher in the UK, as well as having extensive and further knowledge about education, in order to apply it to their context of teaching and you may have the ability to work within different situations from that of what you were specifically taught in. A QTS however, may raise some questions as to whether you would be best suited towards a different environment, and perhaps with experience, would be seen as more suited.












