Education Minister, Catriona Ruane, received a warm welcome at St Mary's University College on Thursday morning where she presented certificates in Bilingual Education to student teachers who have just completed their course of training.
The event was unique in that it celebrated the achievements of all Irish-Medium student teachers graduating in the north this year. St Mary's students who took a year long PGCE (Primary) course and those who took the 4 year BEd route were joined by PGCE (Post-Primary) students from Queen's and the University of Ulster. The post-primary students receive training in Irish Medium and Immersion education at St Mary's through a partnership agreement.
Speaking at the event, St Mary's Principal, Professor Peter Finn, welcomed the Minister and praised both her commitment to equality of opportunity and the steps which her Department is taking to bridge the achievement gap in the local education system. On the matter of Irish-Medium Education Professor Finn said:
"St Mary's values Irish-Medium Education highly and our students receive an excellent quality of teacher education here. Our provision is underpinned by the production of excellent learning materials in our Áisaonad, by a commitment to high levels of linguistic competence in the Irish language as well as exceptional levels of student support."