Ferdi McDermott graduated from Edunburgh University 1995 with a Master of Arts degree in languages. He holds a PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate of Education) from the University of Buckingham and is currently completing a Masters in Education (Educational Leadership) from the same university.

He is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists and a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Arts and the College of Teachers.

Mr McDermott founded an independent publishing house, Saint Austin Press, in 1996 and the international Catholic review of culture StAR in 2001. He also published MENTOR: The Catholic Education Journal from 1996-2003. From 1998-2001 he operated a Catholic language school in London.

He continues to write articles for StAR and also has a personal blog.

With a group of like-minded young Catholics from the UK he founded Chavagnes International College in 2002, with the support of the local bishop, Monseigneur Michel Santier.

He has taught History, Religion, French, English and Latin. This academic year he is teaching English A-level, French GCSE and a Year 11 Economics option.