Teachers at Northampton Academy were proud to be presented with a ‘Drive for Five’ award to commemorate the school's five-year partnership with training provider Teach First, a leading provider of Initial Teacher Education in the UK.
In these times when teacher recruitment is not easy, this partnership, which is linked to Birmingham City University in this region, has provided top quality training and permanent recruitment of nineteen inspirational teachers to the Academy since it began five years ago.
Teach First currently works with 72 schools in the East Midlands and Northampton Academy were carefully selected for this award as one of the strongest partner schools. Last year the company placed 40 new teachers across Northants.
Tom Preston from Teach First said, “I am proud of the journey and impact this school has had, the phrase, ‘Disadvantage determines destiny’ is unacceptable, students deserve the great opportunities this school provides. We need robust partnerships with schools like this to produce great teachers. I am very excited about the opportunities forthcoming in the year ahead.”
Mr Parnell added, “Teach First is held in high regard at this school. The good quality partnership means that we obtain high-quality teachers through this programme. The two-year model is extremely beneficial and the participants and mentors are well supported. I would like to thank mentor teachers Mr Bowles and Mrs Ireland for all their hard work and valuable input.”
English Teacher Mr Gray said, “I have now been teaching for three years after completing the two-year programme last year. The supportive mentors and students at the Academy have given me an incredible start to my career in teaching. I originally went to Teach First as I thought it would be an ‘interesting experience’ before embarking on a legal career, however, I fell in love with teaching and decided it would be my career for life!”
Chemistry teacher Miss Duncan commented, “I’ve been with Teach First for one and a half years and I have really enjoyed the challenging nature of the course. The support has been second to none. I love the instant gratification of knowing I have made a difference when a student has a ‘light bulb moment’.”