Where in England you could teach

We put you in schools across England where you can make the biggest difference to pupils living in disadvantaged communities.

Where will I be placed?

You can tell us where you’d like to work and what you want to teach on your application form.
We’ll take this into account. But we’ll always prioritise the needs of the schools and their pupils over your preferences, so it's important to be as flexible as possible.
If you have extenuating circumstances that mean you need to stay in a certain location, please speak to us as soon as you open your application.
You’ll be placed in one school for the whole two-year programme. We know how important consistency is to you, your school and your pupils.
Wherever you’re teaching, you’ll find that Teach First trainees form close-knit, supportive groups. Many choose to live together. You'll get advice on finding affordable housing and how to connect with other trainees looking for accommodation in the same area.

Will I have to relocate?

We find and train teachers to work in the schools that need them most. This means you may need to relocate within England.

This is particularly likely for our primary/early years places. If you want to teach primary or early years, you'll need to be completely flexible about location.

If you’d prefer stay in your local community, you can also train to teach in a school near you on our one-year unsalaried teacher training. Compare our teacher training options.

These are the regions we work in:

East Midlands

We work with schools across this region, with a particular focus on Northamptonshire.

Some of our schools are in rural areas such as Lincolnshire, and trainees often commute by car to reach these locations.

We also work with schools in Leicester and Nottingham, but locations tend to be on the outskirts of these cities.

Derby is an opportunity area, and we work with schools in the city and across the wider county.

Our East Midlands cohort includes lots of trainees who’ve relocated to the region to teach. They build strong networks while training, which means that many stay in the area long term.

East of England

Our main hubs in this region are Ipswich, Bedford and Luton, and this includes schools in rural areas.

Many of these schools serve smaller communities, which means that most trainees commute by car.

As one of our smaller cohorts, the teachers in the East of England form a tight knit and supportive group.

London

This region, which also covers parts of Essex, is home to our largest cohort.

Most of the schools we work with are in the areas of greatest need outside of central London.

These are mainly in zones 3 to 6 and commutable by public transport.

North East

This is a government opportunity area and our trainees have the potential to make a huge impact on the schools they work in and their pupils.

Working in schools across the region, our trainees have strong networks in Middlesborough, Hartlepool, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Durham.

Primary placements are more limited in the North East and suit candidates who can offer flexibility on location and, in some cases, can commute by car.

North West

This region covers a large geographic area, stretching from Cheshire to Carlisle.

Most of the schools we work with are in the North of the region, across Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Cumbria.

But we are building new partnerships so that our trainees can make an impact to Merseyside schools and their pupils.

The North West is one of our larger cohorts.

Primary placements are more limited than secondary so a trainee being flexible about where they work is important to ensure we support the schools who need us most.

Cumbria (priority area)

This area is of particular focus for our North West region.

We have strong relationships with secondary schools in Cumbria and we know that our trainees can have a huge impact on the many challenges they face.

Most trainees in this area have relocated to teach.

Our trainees are mostly based in Carlisle and on the west coast, so there’s a strong sense of community and an established local network to be a part of.

We expect to see more partner schools coming on board as we continue to focus on the area.

South East and South Coast

This region covers a large area, with school hubs concentrated in the South and East.

We work with schools across Ashford, Dover and Folkestone, and in cities along the coast including Southampton and Portsmouth.

The Isle of Wight is an area of focus for us, and Hastings is a government opportunity area where our trainees can have a huge impact.

Many of our school locations are in well-connected transport hubs but having a car can be helpful for trainees who want to live in a specific location.

We’ve worked in the region for a long time, and there’s a great network of teachers and ambassadors for new trainees to connect with.

South Central

In our newest region we focus on supporting schools in areas that we’ve worked with less in the past.

Trainees work in cities and towns, including Oxford, Milton Keynes and Basingstoke, as well as more rural areas across Buckinghamshire and North Hampshire.

It’s a small but growing cohort.

South West

A geographically diverse region, trainees work in schools in cities and larger towns, including Swindon and Gloucester, as well as in more rural areas, such as the Forest of Dean.

We’ve recently expanded into working in Cornwall and North Devon, which gives trainees a chance to work with new communities.

Placements in these areas are likely to be limited as we continue to grow our network here.

Making sure we support schools who need us most means that there are a limited number of placements in Bristol.

Trainees will likely be matched with a school in Somerset.

Many of the schools we work with are difficult to reach by public transport. So living locally or being able to drive to work will be required.

West Midlands

The cohort in this region is large and well established and focused in a geographically compact area.

Many of our trainees work in schools across the West Midlands conurbation, with school hubs in Birmingham, Dudley and Wolverhampton, amongst others.

We also work with schools in Coventry and have a focus on Stoke on Trent as a government opportunity area.

There’s a great community of Teach First ambassadors who have continued to teach in the region since completing the programme, giving anyone relocating to teach easy access to a supportive network.

Yorkshire and the Humber

Stretching from the Humber coast to the Pennines, this is one of our largest regions in terms of geographic area.

Most of our trainees are concentrated in West or South Yorkshire, or along the south east coast of the region –placements in North Yorkshire are very limited.

Trainees work in a diverse range of schools in cities including Leeds, Bradford and Hull, but also in smaller communities spread across the region.

Some of our school communities are in rural areas, which means that commuting by car will support us to find you the best possible school match.

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