How do I become a private school teacher in South Africa? You may follow one of two routes in becoming a teacher, namely: a four-year Bachelor of Education degree (B.Ed.); a three-or four-year Bachelor’s degree, followed by a one-year Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). Once completed, both routes lead to classification as a professionally qualified teacher.Upon qualifying, you will be required to register with the South African Council for Educators (SACE). Choose the phase (level of schooling) you wish to specialise in You will need to consider the age range that you would like to teach. The age ranges are clustered into phases. Please note that the age ranges indicated below only serve as a guideline. There will be instances where a slightly younger/older child forms part of a particular phase. The phase specialisations are as follows: Foundation Phase: (±5 – 9-year-olds): Grades R – 3 Intermediate Phase: (±10 – 12-year-olds): Grades 4 – 6 Senior Phase: (±13 – 15-year-olds): Grades 7 – 9 Further Education and Training (FET) Phase: (±16 – 18-year-olds): Grades 10 – 12 Some higher education institutions (HEIs) allow for a combination of phase specialisation. In these instances, you could specialise in two consecutive phases. For the Intermediate, Senior and FET Phases, you will be given the opportunity to choose the subjects that you wish to specialise in, which include fields in languages, mathematics, the sciences, technology, business and management, and the humanities. Many teachers want to teach in private schools because they feel that their value is greater to a private school where quality teaching is expected and appreciated. They may also want to avoid the rules and procedures that govern public schools and the never-ending bureaucracy that is guaranteed to affect their careers in that setting. Teachers who are attracted to private school teaching want to be free to teach and provide their students with in-depth knowledge in creative ways. There are a number of steps that you’ll be taking first to become a teacher, and then to work in a private school. Let’s look at them below. Private School Teachers: Licensing As you may already know, teachers need to get a license in order to practice. To become a teacher in any setting, including private schools, first you need to decide what subject you want to teach. You’ll also need to think about where you want to teach because different states have different requirements to obtain your teacher’s license and certification. Make sure you also think about things like what grade level you want to teach and whether you want to be involved in specialty teaching, like teaching special education. The way you will go about getting your license depends on what and where you will be teaching, so these initial decisions are extra important. Many teachers want to teach in private schools because they feel that their value is greater to a private school where quality teaching is expected and appreciated. They may also want to avoid the rules and procedures that govern public schools and the never-ending bureaucracy that is guaranteed to affect their careers in that setting. Teachers who are attracted to private school teaching want to be free to teach and provide their students with in-depth knowledge in creative ways. There are a number of steps that you’ll be taking first to become a teacher, and then to work in a private school. Let’s look at them below. Private School Teachers: Licensing As you may already know, teachers need to get a license in order to practice. To become a teacher in any setting, including private schools, first you need to decide what subject you want to teach. You’ll also need to think about where you want to teach because different states have different requirements to obtain your teacher’s license and certification. Make sure you also think about things like what grade level you want to teach and whether you want to be involved in specialty teaching, teaching special education . The way you will go about getting your license depends on what and where you will be teaching, so these initial decisions are extra important.