Recruitment starts for home-grown teachers

An information evening is being held for graduates interested in training on-Island to become secondary school teachers.

 

Potential applicants are invited to the Highlands College Restaurant at 6pm on Tuesday 5 February to find out more about the Jersey Graduate Teacher Training Programme (JGTTP), a one-year course run by the Department for Education Sport & Culture. There will be the opportunity to meet previous JGTTP graduates as well as current mentors and a representative from Student Finance.

 

 

The scheme was set up to cater for Jersey residents who are interested in the profession but would find it difficult to attend a UK university. Potential teachers for all subjects are considered, although priority is given to key areas of the curriculum such as maths, English and science, where recruiting residentially qualified teachers is more difficult.

 

The JGTTP is open to islanders who have a first degree and may include people who are currently working in schools as non-qualified teachers.

 

Helen Frost, who co-ordinates the programme, said "Trainees are involved in a structured programme and are supported by school-based mentors. This scheme has given some graduates an opportunity they would otherwise not have had to retrain for a new career. Since the training programme began in September 2005, 33 teachers have completed the course and most are now working in a range of local secondary schools.”

 

 

Lee Bell completed the course in July 2012. He is now working as a music and ICT teacher at Les Quennevais School. He said “After a 13-year career in banking and ICT, I decided to follow a dream and retrain as a teacher. At the age of 29, becoming a music teacher was my goal as I had been playing in various brass groups in Jersey since the age of 11.

 

"After re-sitting English and maths GCSEs, as well as completing the Access to HE course at Highlands, I completed four years at Keele University, gaining a BA(Hons) and MRES (Music Performance). 

 

“These qualifications enabled me to get on the JGTTP programme here in Jersey, where I finally reached my goal, as I am now a full time teacher of ICT and music at Les Quennevais School. The JGTTP course was a great learning experience, with fantastic support from the graduate training team. Training in school for me was much better than sitting in a lecture hall.”

 

Applications are being accepted now for the next intake, which starts in September 2013.