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Teach First's Chief Executive wins Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2007 at national finalBrett Wigdortz, Teach First's Chief Executive has been named Social Entrepreneur of the Year at the national final of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2007. This win follows Brett's triumph in the same category for the London round of the awards.
The Award recognises Brett as the vision and driving force behind Teach First, which has now placed over 1000 top graduates as teachers in the UK's most challenging schools. The programme aims build a body of outstanding leaders in all sectors of society with the skills, resources, networks and knowledge to substantially reduce educational inequalities and their root causes.
The judges at the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) Awards, which are backed by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Institute of Directors noted how successful an enterprise Teach First has proved to be in the five years since its inception.
Teach First was founded in 2002 following McKinsey Consulting study which examined how business could help improve pupil performance in London. The team found that the number of excellent teachers in a school was one of the strongest predictors of improved pupil performance, and the framework for Teach First was born. Brett, part of the original McKinsey team, left his lucrative consulting career in order to make Teach First happen. Celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, the programme is active in London, Greater Manchester and the Midlands and ranked 14th in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers.
Teach First is sponsored by the Canary Wharf Group and based at Heron Quay. Other Canary Wharf corporates are amongst its list of key supporters including Lehman Brothers, HSBC, Citigroup, and .Clifford Chance.
Delighted with his win, Brett Wigdortz said:
"I am really pleased to have won this award, and that our success as a social enterprise has been recognised by such an established awards programme. Teach First has come a long way in five years and we aim to continue building on our achievements going forward."
ENDS
Teach First - Press notes
- Teach First's mission is to address educational disadvantage by transforming exceptional graduates into effective, inspirational teachers and leaders in all fields. Teach First targets high calibre students who would not normally consider a career in teaching and places them in challenged secondary schools where more than a third of pupils are eligible for free school meals for the course of the two year placement.
- Teach First recruits, trains and supports its recruits as teachers and long-term leaders. Recruits to the programme began their intensive training with a three week programme run by universities in their respective location (London, the North West and the Midlands). The recruits then all join up together for a further three weeks at Canterbury Christ Church University, which is one of the country's most successful teacher education providers. This sets them on the path to achieving the award of Qualified Teacher Status by the end of the first year.
- All teachers complete leadership training, including a short course at the Tanaka Business School at Imperial College. School placements last two years, at which point participants can continue teaching or pursue another career.
- Teach First is an independent charity Reg. No. 1098294 that is supported by all the main political parties, the National Union of Teachers, graduate organisations and over eighty leading employers. Teach First is ranked 14th in the Times Top 100 Graduate Employers.
For more information please contact Suzi Clark: sclark@teachfirst.org.uk or telephone 020 7517 6413. |
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