‘We have a very middle-class teaching profession here’

It now takes up to six years to qualify as a second-level teacher, and with few financial supports, candidates who don’t have independent means are finding it hard to get a foot in the door. Jess Casey, Education Correspondent, reports

The path to becoming a secondary school teacher can be six years, when the two-year master's is added to a primary degree.

"I am constantly worried about being in huge debt after the professional master's in education (PME) and whether I will be able to pay it back. Having to take out such a big loan is financially crippling." 

That's how one student described to researchers the financial stress of teacher training.