On October 18th and 31st, two more cohorts of students graduated from Hibernia College with Higher Diplomas in Arts in Primary Education. This brings to over 1,000 the number of qualified primary school teachers who have graduated from the college since the online Higher Diploma programme began in October 2003.

All students entering the programme must already have a primary degree and this year’s graduates come from a variety of backgrounds including film production, political science, psychology and computing. The President of Hibernia College, Dr. Seán Rowland, believes that their diverse backgrounds and experiences add to the high quality of the college’s graduates. Dr. Rowland commented:

“When our graduates stand in front of a classroom for the first time, they already have a wealth of professional and personal experience behind them. This puts them in a perfect position to deal with the variety of challenges that today’s teachers are faced with. We are very proud of all our graduates and are confident that they will make a valuable contribution to the Irish primary school landscape”.

Also awarded for the first time on October 18th was the Hibernia College Archbishop of Armagh Medal for First Place in Religious Studies. The medal was presented by Rev. Prof. Dr. Vincent Twomey of Maynooth College to the inaugural recipient, Colm Gallagher of Co. Donegal.

For photos from the two graduation ceremonies, click here.