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St Mary's, Strawberry Hill has been recognised as one of the highest quality providers of training for primary and secondary teachers in the country.

Our Primary and Secondary Initial Education courses have been judged by Ofsted, the government department that regulates teacher training, to be ‘outstanding’ - the highest grade attainable in an Ofsted inspection.

Find out more

For futher information about studying a teacher training at St Mary's, please email the relevant team:

Bursaries for Secondary PGCE courses

Get into teaching presentation

In a rush?

if you don't have time to watch the whole presentation now, here's the key takeaways:

Relocation could be daunting if you are not prepared.

  • Education system is different
  • If it is possible to get into a London school before you start, it might help. Get a better idea of the exam system, the pastoral system and your subject content in the curriculum. Ask St Mary’s to help with this.
  • Start networking. This will come easy when the course starts but it might be nice to have ‘others’.
  • Initially, you may only be looking at this as a three-year project. Be prepared you might want to stay a little longer
  • Liaise with the St Mary’s Admissions team early
  • Have you lived out of the UK for any period of six months (or longer) within the last five years?
  • Start collecting Garda Vetting from various countries they have resided in as soon as possible!
  • UK bank account
  • Proof of address
  • This takes planning an organisation, the process can take a while
  • Register with Teaching Council (RoI)
  • See document: PPQA-01 from the Teaching Council of Ireland
  • Complete your Masters + any other requirements
  • History of Irish Education
  • Subject-based modules
  • Knew of close Irish connection through those who previously completed their PGCE here
  • Very community base which was clear from the interview process
  • Opportunity to teach in an exciting multicultural city with a range of schools
  • Good Irish community in this area
  • My father & aunt were Principals in Ireland and they recommended St Marys to me. 
  • The course itself was rated ‘outstanding’ by OFSTED
  • I loved the campus and the idea of being a student on campus again.
  • The location was very convenient with the train line (Strawberry Hill & Twickenham).
  • Money - To become a maths teacher in Ireland it would have taken me 3 years and cost me approximately €6000. By studying in St Mary’s it took me 9 months and I received a bursary for studying to become a maths teacher.
  • Excellent reputation that St Marys holds - teachers that study at St Mary’s are recognised as having trained at an exceptionally high level.
  • I had no issues in participating in the course.
  • I made great friends, and everyone was incredibly nice I remember
  • I can’t impress enough how supportive and helpful my subject tutors were throughout the course. 

GCSE requirements

Every subject passed at Ordinary/Standard level, where grades of O1-O4 (or A-C/A1-C3 up to and including 2016) have been achieved, may be considered comparable to GCSE A*-C/9-4 standard.

Grades O5-O6 (or D/D1-D3 up to and including 2016) at Ordinary/Standard level compare to GCSE grades D-G/3-1 standard.

Every subject passed at Higher/Honours level, where grades of H1-H7 (or A-D/A1-D3 up to and including 2016) have been achieved, may be considered at least comparable to GCSE A*-C/9-4 standard.

Student stories

leigh-anne-deeganLeigh-Anne Deegan

"Moving away from Ireland was a very difficult decision and not one I made lightly, and at times it is still difficult being away from home, but the support I receive at St Mary’s has made that process so much easier..."
 Read Leigh-Anne's story...

georgina-maloneGeorgina Malone

"To any Irish candidates who are considering studying with St Mary’s, it is a brilliant route to take and I am incredibly glad that I have done so. Although it is a new country, it is like a home away from home!"
 Read Georgia's story...

Meet us in Ireland

Interviews

We often hold PGCE Primary, PGCE Secondary and BA Primary Education interviews in Ireland. We will publish details here when future interview dates are scheduled.

Applicant support sessions

We host events in Ireland throughout the year, inlcuding Q&As, training to teach presentations and one-to-ones. As well as applicants, these sessions are also open to parents, headteachers and teachers.

Find out more 

For further information please email susan.taylor@stmarys.ac.uk.

Discover more

5 reasons to train to teach

Five reasons why training to teach is a great career move; one you will never regret!

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PGCE courses

Our Primary and Secondary Initial Teacher Education courses have been judged by OfSTED to be ‘outstanding’

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Applying for a PGCE

Applications for PGCE courses are made through www.ucas.com

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