Most institutions in England and Wales charge around £9,250 for the PGCE year for UK and EU students. For students from outside of the EU costs can be around £16,500 up to £25,200 for the PGCE year the University of Cambridge. In Scotland the fees for the PGCE (known in Scotland as a PGDE) year are charged at the undergraduate rate of £1,820 for Scottish and EU students, £9,250 for students from the rest of the UK and £16,200 for international students.
PGCE COURSE COSTS
Attending your PGCE course will have additional costs as will attending your teaching placements. You should budget for around £100 each semester for additional expenses like books and other materials for your course but this will depend on you and on your institution. Many institutions arrange travel to and from your placements, but do ask about this so you can budget for it if you need to. Other costs might be supplies that you wish to use, but the school you are working in should be able to help with these. Other costs could include lunches away from home.
POSTGRADUATE LIVING COSTS
If you are attending a course away from home, then you are going to have a few extra settling in costs. Rent in the UK can vary depending on what you want to rent, and where you want to rent it. If you don’t mind sharing with others costs can be from between around £300 to £800 per month for standard student accommodation. Don’t forget about daily commuting to and from your course as well as that all-important socialising and relaxing outside of your course. The costs of feeding yourself can vary from a cheap £30 per week upwards as it really depends on your lifestyle and diet. If you are leaving a career to retrain as a teacher, then you need to think about how your lifestyle might need to change over the hectic PGCE year to keep living costs down.