International opportunities with BEd Primary

All BEd Primary student teachers are eligible to apply for International School Experience, this is in addition to your formal teaching practices placed in UK schools. Students are carefully selected and will need to demonstrate independence as well as good teamwork skills and have a strong academic and school experience profile.

Up to 40 student teachers each year take advantage of these exciting and often life-changing international opportunities. All of the International School Experiences are fully supported by an academic exchange agreement and full University, tutor and school support throughout.
Each country provides you with different cultural and travel opportunities as well as their own unique challenges. Whilst on these experiences, you will be supervised by tutors from Plymouth and also a tutor from the host country, who have been trained here in Plymouth.

You will have the opportunity to spend at least three weeks attached to a Czech Primary school (Základní škola) and experience the Czech education system first hand. Based in the university city of Pilsen about an hour from the country's beautiful capital city of Prague, you stay in university halls or with host families and after the placement you can choose to extend your stay to make the most of the opportunities offered by being in Central Europe and within easy reach of many different cultures and fascinating capital cities.

You can apply for the opportunity to undertake a three week teaching experience in Jelling, Denmark, a small town in the region known as South Jutland. You will be registered with the host university (University College of Lillebaelt) and have access to all the services afforded to a local student. Accommodation last year was on the university campus in Jelling, close to transport links to the local town of Vejle and beyond.

As the partnership with University of Plymouth develops, the host university is planning to involve our students in their international course on campus, where the similarities and differences of our two systems will be explored. This development plus the strong support given by the Danish tutors, are the particular aspects that contribute to the uniqueness of this international experience.

You can take part in a school experience placement and cultural exchange to Rovaniemi or Oulu in Finland. This teaching experience placement will include sessions that allow students an understanding of Finland as a country, the large diversity of its culture and the education systems. By working in a Finnish school, you will gain a valuable insight into effective communication with children with Special Educational Needs and English as an Additional Language, in an education system where pupils are not required to start formal education until seven years of age.

Alternatively, you might want to be one of the carefully selected students to take undertake a teaching experience visit to Fredonia, USA, in association with the University of Buffalo, New York State. Students have the opportunity to see a range of schools, to compare and contrast teaching and learning approaches, then to teach alongside their American class teacher.

The Fredonia placement has been planned so that students observe and teach in school in Fredonia and also go into a number of other rich settings such as a Seneca Nation of Indian school to experience some of their history and community spirit. You then have the opportunity and the freedom to travel for up to six weeks in America after your placement has ended.

Or, if you choose to study on our Bed Primary or PGCE programmes, in your final year you have the opportunity to spend from three to six months teaching in schools in Santiago, Chile.

Teaching is predominantly done in English, but some Spanish language skills are an advantage. You will have the opportunity to teach for extended periods of time in new settings and work as part of a team in a large successful school in Santiago. There is also the opportunity to go out into less developed areas to teach and many new rich educational settings are explored. Mentored by experienced staff , your needs are carefully considered at all stages of your visit.