Primary Education with QTS with Foundation Year

Train for a challenging and rewarding career as a primary school teacher in an ‘outstanding’ (Ofsted, 2019) department.

Study our primary education degree with a professional qualification (QTS) to prepare for a fulfilling career in the classroom, inspiring future generations.

We will train you to teach five to 11-year-olds in both secular and religious schools. We offer special provision for those intending to teach in Roman Catholic schools.

School Experience in every year of your course

You will spend at least seven weeks each year in a primary school working alongside expert colleagues in a range of year groups. You will start working with small groups and will progress to planning for and teaching whole classes.

We will organise these school placements for you in one of our partnership schools to ensure you receive the appropriate levels of support.

Learn from devoted tutors in a supportive environment

Our students praise St Mary’s for the quality of our teaching, and the support you receive from staff on the programme: “The passionate lecturers are a constant reminder of why teaching is my chosen profession, and I became genuinely excited to go into school and put everything that I have learnt into practice.” (NSS, 2021)

Another student explained, "I felt valued and respected by all staff from the outset of my course. I have enjoyed my experience and thanks to all the staff on my course, I feel I have the skills and enthusiasm after their support, teaching and advice to embark on my new career as a teacher."

Ofsted graded St Mary’s ‘Outstanding’ in all areas of teacher training in 2019. We achieved 92% teaching satisfaction rate in the 2022 National Student Survey.

You can also study our programme in North Wales. We are partnered with Wrexham Glyndŵr, who offer teaching placements in both English and Welsh schools.

About the Foundation Year

Our four-year degree programmes (including a foundation year) provide an alternative route to undergraduate study at university if you do not have the grades to access higher education in the traditional way.

This programme gives you the opportunity to study on a foundation year as a route toward Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

The Foundation Year will help you to become a confident presenter, improve your written and numerical skills and give you a broad understanding of the sociological perspectives of Education.

Please note: you will need to pass an interview process and obtain a DBS and fitness to teach check in order to progress on to the full undergraduate programme.