All train-to-teach applications must be made through the Department for Education’s ‘Apply for Teacher Training’ service. Applications open in October and will close in July/August, depending on availability. We recommend applying early as applications are considered on a first-come, first-served basis.
The first two stages of your teaching career start here:
1. MSC Interview
- Submit your train to teach application via the Department for Education (DfE) Apply portal.
- If successful, you’ll be invited to an in-person interview with at the MSC. Prior to interview, you will receive an interview booklet to complete.
- Successful applicants are offered a conditional place on the course through DfE Apply.
- Next, join us for an MSC professional training taster morning (optional). Meet our current cohort, experience our teacher training first-hand, and explore our facilities.
2. Placement Match
- We will then use our expertise to match you with a potential training school, your ‘home school’ where you will spend the majority of your training placement. We consider your school preferences, your needs and experiences and the school’s capacity throughout our placement school matching process.
- Your home school will then conduct a placement interview with you, face-to-face, which will include a school tour, teaching exercise, and formal interview. This gives you the chance to ensure it is the right training school for you.
- After confirmation from both parties, the placement school is approved as a match (or the MSC searches for an alternative training school).
- Trainees are invited to Induction at both the MSC and their placement school; and the course starts on the 1st September.
Once you have accepted your MSC training offer through the DfE portal, you are officially enrolled on the course. We look forward to supporting your journey to great teaching!
Why apply to teach with the MSC?
Training to teach is a big decision and we work closely with you from your initial expression of interest, throughout the training year, and beyond. We pride ourselves in creating a supportive and highly professional environment where your individual needs are taken into consideration and adaptations made to ensure you meet your potential. Our most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023 noted that,
There is a culture of professional learning in which trainees engage with research and ideas in their specialist subject. Trainees build a repertoire of teaching approaches. They understand the evidence underpinning the pedagogies they learn about. Consequently, they are well prepared for their early careers as teachers. School leaders see this as a strength of the programme.
As a trainee, why work with us?
- Flexible school placements matched to your needs and location. You are part of the selection process for your main school placement.
- Different routes into teaching with fee-paying, salaried, apprenticeships and assessment only courses to fit your needs and situation.
- School-led from the outset of the course to immerse you in the culture of schools.
- Carefully sequenced and engaging training programme that builds your confidence and competence each week which supports your workload and develops resilience.
- Fortnightly core training at the MSC in Crispin School Academy, Street where you can share experiences with other trainees from other subjects.
- Fortnightly subject specific training with specialists in a school setting.
- Multiple layers of support from the MSC team, your placement school mentor and peers on the course.
- High potential for a career within the partnership. Employment rates are very high within the schools we work with, and our trainees are higher regarded and sought after within Somerset, North Somerset and North Dorset.
Course codes
On the DfE application portal, the MSC accepts applications under the providers ‘MSC’ and ‘SAST’. SAST covers the schools in the Sherborne Area Schools Trust and applicants may wish to apply via this provider if they desire a placement school within the SAST. Applicants can apply to both the MSC and SAST. The course is delivered in the same way by the MSC for both SAST and MSC applicants. Salaried routes (Apprenticeships and School Salary Direct) can be arranged in any subject but have different DfE codes, please contact us if you would like to discuss opening a course via this route.
| Subject (fee-paying) | Provider | DfE Publish Code | SLC Course Code |
| Art and Design | SAST | 2NBT | 868580 |
| Art and Design | MSC | 2PPY | 951768 |
| Biology | SAST | 2S2P | 925543 |
| Biology | MSC | 2225 | 868568 |
| Business Studies | MSC | Z515 | 1024932 |
| Chemistry | SAST | 2S2G | 951792 |
| Chemistry | MSC | F2X1 | 951793 |
| Computing | SAST | 2S2D | 920379 |
| Computing | MSC | IX99 | 933131 |
| Design and Technology | SAST | 2YFP | 878997 |
| Design and Technology | MSC | 28RL | 892393 |
| Drama | SAST | 3CL7 | 934726 |
| Drama | MSC | W4X1 | 896676 |
| English | SAST | 2S5 | 868581 |
| English | MSC | QXXX | 884667 |
| Geography | SAST | 2S2H | 951791 |
| Geography | MSC | 2224 | 891800 |
| History | SAST | 2S2N | 868583 |
| History | MSC | 2226 | 893834 |
| Maths | SAST | 25C7 | 868577 |
| Maths | MSC | GX11 | 951769 |
| MFL | SAST | R115 | 133465 |
| MFL | MSC | M315 | 133466 |
| Music | SAST | 3CL6 | 133467 |
| Music | MSC | W3X1 | 133468 |
| PE | MSC | Y393 | 133470 |
| Physics | SAST | 2WKQ | 868584 |
| Physics | MSC | F3XX | 951771 |
| RE | SAST | K068 | 133472 |
| RE | MSC | R669 | 133473 |
| Primary | MSC | X290 | 1001349 |
Why teach?
Working with young people brings with it rich rewards and a surprising variety of experiences into each working day. Teaching can be challenging but, it is also a rewarding, exciting and uplifting profession where you can see that you are having a positive impact on the lives of others. You need to be a good communicator, want to work as part of a team and have a commitment to your own learning and development.
As a teacher you are a valued member of a school community where you have a position of responsibility and respect. Your contributions both inside and outside of the classroom will be remembered by pupils for the rest of their lives. As a secondary teacher you will be able to pass on your passion and enthusiasm for your subject to others and positively influence their life choices.
Teaching can lead to a range of opportunities and different career paths within schools to match your interests and strengths, from pastoral roles to subject specific roles.