The Training College

As firm believers in the concepts of “learning for life” and “the learning community” we have established a very successful programme for initial teacher training (ITT). We welcome student teachers following a variety of routes to qualified Teacher Status (QTS), including PGCE students who do their teaching practice with us whilst remaining attached to a university, graduates who train full time with us for a year under the Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) and Open University students undertaking the flexible PGCE.

The College benefits from this partnership in a number of ways:

Staff involved in mentoring/supporting student teachers are able to reflect on their own practice in teaching and learning, classroom management, planning and other aspects of teaching.

Many GTP students have come from other careers and offer a wealth of experience to our community.

The presence of trainees amongst us raises debate on the national education agenda.

We have been able to recruit a significant number of our student teachers, allowing for a smooth induction process.

Our own students observe that the learning process is not confined to the compulsory school years.