Forget Cambridge and Oxford, Essex is out in front for teacher trainer (From Echo)

Forget Cambridge and Oxford, Essex is out in front for teacher trainer

12:00pm Wednesday 17th August 2011 in Education

OXFORD and Cambridge may be considered the top universities in the country, but Essex leads the way when it comes to teacher training.

Billericay Educational Consortium, which trains teachers at schools in Basildon, Billericay, Wickford and South Woodham Ferrers, is the best place for teacher training in England, according to an annual report.

It beat Oxford University and Cambridge University to the top spot in the Good Teacher Training Guide 2011.

The grading is based on the entry qualifications it requires of its trainees, Ofsted ratings and the numbers of trainees who take up teaching jobs.

The top ten centres for teacher training also include Suffolk and Norfolk Primary SCITT, in ninth place.

Billericay Educational Consortium school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) is made up of a group of Essex primary schools working together to train up to 25 teachers a year, who gain a post-graduate certificate of education from the Open University.

Report author Professor Alan Smithers, of Buckingham University’s Centre for Education and Employment Research, said: “The Billericay Educational Consortium has particularly high entry qualifications because there is so much competition to get in.

“I think it also has perfect Ofsted ratings and a very good employment record.

“When you put all that together, it nudges it ahead of Oxford.”

In total, 227 teacher training providers were assessed.