Press Release
Leaders to raise awareness of educational disadvantage nationwide in biggest Teach First Week
1 February 2010
To observe or report on any of the lessons, please contact Natalie Whitty, nwhitty@teachfirst.org.uk; 020 7517 4821; 07737 989672
Due to space restrictions, places will be allocated on a first come first served basis, subject to approval from host schools.
Teach First's annual bid to persuade leaders from business, politics and journalism into the classroom to experience life as teachers in challenging urban schools will run 1st – 5th February 2010.
Teach First, an independent charity, aims to address educational disadvantage by recruiting the brightest graduates to teach specifically in England's most challenging urban schools. In the UK today, the best indicator of a child's academic performance remains the wealth of their parents. Evidence shows that teacher quality is integral to raising the achievement of the poorest pupils.
485 exceptional graduates entered the teaching profession through Teach First in 2009. However, the charity estimates that there is demand from schools and graduates to place as many as 1000 teachers per year by 2013.
Throughout the week, more than 30 high profile figures who have reached the top of their respective fields will be going back to school to see if their teaching skills can stand up to the scrutiny of a classroom full of schoolchildren.
Taking part in Teach First Week this year:
In London
- Rt. Hon. Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families
- Justin Webb, Today Programme
- Samira Ahmed, Channel Four News
- Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Channel Four News
- Huw Edwards, BBC Ten O'clock News
- Vivienne Westwood, celebrated fashion designer
- Tim Campbell, Entrepreneur, Bright Ideas Trust
- Matthew Taylor, CEO, RSA
- Lord Robin Janvrin, Deputy Chairman, HSBC Private Bank
- Rt. Hon. James Purnell, MP for Stalybridge and Hyde
- Dawn Butler, MP for Brent South
- Wendy Kopp, Founder and CEO, Teach for America, CEO Teach for All
- Nigel Fine, CEO, Institution of Engineering and Technology
- Richard Hardie, Vice Chair of UBS, Chair of
- David Thomlinson, Managing Director UK & Ireland, Accenture
- Caroline Waters OBE, Group Director of People and Policy, BT
- Jayne Cullen, Head of Graduate Solutions, TNP Worldwide
- Paul Sissons, CEO, GTI
In the North West
- Lucy Meacock, ITV Granada
- Simon Blake, Head of Interiors, Bentley
- Steve Garnett, Chairman and Co-President,Salesforce.com
- Tony Lloyd, MP for Manchester Central
In the West Midlands
- Satnam Rana, BBC Midlands Today
- Sion Simon, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Creative Industries, MP for Birmingham Erdington
- Adrian Bailey, MP for West Bromwich West
In Yorkshire
- Diana Johnson, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, MP for Hull North
- Rt. Hon. David Blunkett, MP for Sheffield Brightside
In the East Midlands
- Charlotte Hogg, Managing Director, Experian
- Rt Hon. Patricia Hewitt, MP for Leicester West
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