Mary Hare Courses celebrates its Silver Anniversary

Twenty-five years ago Dr Ivan Tucker, Principal of Mary Hare until 2004, recognised that Mary Hare School presented a unique opportunity for those who want to work in the field of educating deaf  children. The School hosts the largest cohort of young deaf people in the UK and over 100 years of experience of educating young deaf people. The post-graduate courses were established on this solid foundation, offering students a unique opportunity to learn over residential weekends organised throughout the year, on the site of Mary Hare School.

During this time, Mary Hare is proud to be able to say that its MA/MSc Deaf Education Studies Programme (partnered first to Oxford Brookes University and now to University of Hertfordshire) has trained nearly 1000 professionals in the field - Educational Audiologists, Teachers of the Deaf and Early Years Interventionists. All teachers at Mary Hare School are qualified Teachers of the Deaf, or in the process of qualifying. The Head of Audiology is a qualified Educational Audiologist. All those studying for these qualifications do so at the School, thus benefitting from the practical experience of working with deaf children every day in an environment that optimises the learning experience for pupils and teachers alike.

Peter Gale, current Principal and CEO of Mary Hare said: “Deaf young people need, more than ever, a specialist education that is designed to meet their needs. At the heart of this are qualified professionals who understand the barriers presented by being deaf, who have the expertise to help young people overcome them. Mary Hare is proud to provide excellent training for Teachers of the Deaf and Educational Audiologists who support deaf children around the UK, in many different settings. We believe that the mandatory qualification of Teacher of the Deaf and the qualification of Educational Audiologist remain essential and fundamental resources available to deaf children in the UK. We look forward to offering these post-graduate courses for the next 25 years and beyond.”