The Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) was a programme in England and Wales for graduates who want to gain Qualified Teacher Status while working. A person must work in a school as an unqualified teacher in order to participate in the programme, which can last from three months to a year. The Department for Education announced in mid-2012 that The Graduate Teacher Programme will no longer exist, and has now been replaced with a new scheme called School Direct. The last academic year the programme ran was 2012/2013.