St Mary’s College
Vantage North Humber Teacher Training is coordinated by St Mary’s College - a large co-educational 11-19 Catholic comprehensive school in Hull. The school is part of St Cuthbert’s RC Academy Trust which brings together all the Catholic schools in the region from Hull to Scarborough. St Mary's is also the Teaching School Hub for East Yorkshire and plays a leading role in supporting teachers' professional development as they progress throughout their careers.
St Mary’s College is proud to be:
- Rated outstanding by Ofsted since 2010 to the present (latest inspection, December 2023)
- Top of local league tables for pupil progress (2023)
- Designated as a Teaching School Hub, National Support School, International School and World Class school
- Named 'Comprehensive school of the Year' by the Sunday Times Schools Guide 2024
St Mary’s has a long history of delivering high quality Initial Teacher Training (ITT) programmes and provides many of the professional tutors and subject leads for VNHTT. The college is one of the largest in the region with around 2500 students, including over 700 in the Sixth Form.
As the only Catholic secondary in East Yorkshire, students attend from across the region, although the majority come from Hull itself. Although there is no requirement for trainee teachers with placements at St Mary’s College to have any particular religious faith, they benefit from the nurturing and reflective environment that the school’s Catholic ethos and underpinning values provide.
The college is ethnically diverse and over a quarter of the students have English as an Additional Language (EAL). The college is non-selective and caters for the full ability range, including a significant number of students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). This makes St Mary’s College an ideal placement school for trainee teachers who, guided by expert colleagues, can learn how to teach lessons that meet the differing individual needs of a wide range of pupils.
The college holds regular School Experience Days and information sessions for potential ITT applicants. For more information, and to reserve a place, please get in touch.
For more information on St Mary’s College, please visit
