Annual Salary
£32,000 to £49,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
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Physical education (PE) teachers work in schools and colleges, teaching sport and fitness to young people.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings / weekends; attending events or appointments
There will be
4.3% more PE teacher jobs in 2027.
You will:
You could work at a school or at a college.
Your working environment may be outdoors in all weathers.
You can get into this job through:
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.
You'll usually need:
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.
You'll usually need:
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.
You'll need to:
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.
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.
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.
You'll need: