Best in class: Teach First named third sector organisation of the year

11 June 2010

Education charity Teach First was named ‘Third Sector Organisation of the Year’ at the London Education Partnership (LEP) Awards, held this week at the Institute of Education. 

The award, given to Teach First for its innovative work mentoring gifted students from challenging schools, through the university application process, was presented by Oona King, broadcaster, campaigner, ex-MP and London Mayoral candidate.  It was among nine pioneering projects that work towards raising the aspirations of young people and adults in London.

Teach First was presented its award in the ‘Reaching Out’ category for its work in improving pupil progression from challenging schools into some of the country’s leading universities. Its pioneering Higher Education Access Programme for Schools (HEAPS) is a Government-funded initiative which has reached over 4,000 pupils nationwide by leveraging the commitment and experience of Teach First Ambassadors, or alumni, who have been through the Teach First teacher-training route.

In response to receiving the award Brett Wigdortz, chief executive of Teach First said: “Our Sixth Form mentoring programme has gone from strength to strength working with over 460 gifted and talented students in 45 schools across London.  This award is testament to the high level of engagement by so many of our alumni and the hard work the HEAPS team have put in since we launched in 2008.” 

In stressing the value of the awards, judging panel chair Professor David Woods, said:

“We cannot afford to lose the talents of those whom we know could succeed, given the right environment and encouragement. One of the clearest messages coming from many of this year’s excellent finalists is how important it is to enthuse children and young people with the idea of higher education, making it possible for them to achieve their ambitions. We were also struck by the energy and drive of so many of the people and projects we looked at.”

NOTES FOR EDITORS

For media enquiries please contact Anie Keshishian, Press Officer, Teach First, tel: 07786 038306 and email akeshishian@teachfirst.org.uk.

London Education Partnership Awards
For more information about the London Education Partnership Awards visit www.lepawards.org.uk.

Teach First
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 graduates who would not normally consider a career in teaching and places them in challenging schools – where:

1. More than 50% of their pupils from deprived backgrounds according to the respected IDACI index of childhood deprivation, thereby more accurately prioritising those schools with higher levels of deprivation.
   
   And/or
   
2. Schools with the lowest levels of attainment in regards to the 5+ A*-C measure – i.e. schools whose results fall in the lowest third of the national distribution.

In 2009, Teach First placed close to 500 graduates in teaching positions, making it the 5th largest recruiter of graduates in the UK. It hopes to place over 650 graduates in 2010 and as many as 850 by 2012.

Since launching in 2002, Teach First has placed increasing numbers of participants in schools each year – 560 entered the programme in June 2010, more than double the  265 in 2005 – and has developed an ambassador community (alumni) of over 1,200, working to improve educational, and life, outcomes for hundreds of thousands of children today.

Teach First is raising the quality and profile of the teaching profession and has made teaching in a challenging school one of the most prestigious options for top graduates. Teach First is now rated number seven in the Times Top 100 Graduate Recruiters and interest in the programme continues to grow amongst top graduates, with the number of applicants rising from 3,000 in 2009 (with 22% of applicants accepted to the programme) to around 5,000 this year (with 15% accepted

In 2009, Teach First gained 8th place on the coveted league of Times Top 100 Graduate Employers.

For more information, visit www.teachfirst.org.uk

HEAPS
Falling under the Gifted and Talented strand of the Government's Raising Attainment and City Challenge initiatives, HEAPS has reached over 4,000 children nationwide through a number of activities designed to broaden students’ awareness of higher education, including:

• A mentoring scheme supporting  gifted Year 12 students through the university application process
• Exclusive university visits including a 4-day residential at Cambridge University
• Career evenings, debating training and other skills sessions
• Training and support for all Teach First teachers in working with gifted pupils
• For more information, visit www.teachfirst.org.uk