Colyton Grammar School has been acknowledged as a centre of excellence for teacher training.
The school is one of 87 nationally that have been awarded the status of ‘teaching school hub’ by the Department for Education – an accolade granted to schools with a track record of exceptional pupil performance and leading training in other schools.
The new Colyton teaching school hub will receive funding –£170,000 a year for three years – to become a centre of excellence for teacher training and development, covering 194 schools in the four Devon districts of East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon and Torridge. The funding will be used to deliver national and local training programmes.
In doing this, the school says it will draw on its strengths in curriculum, leadership and the STEM subjects: science, technology, engineering and maths). It also aims to work in a partnership of schools, trusts and training providers, including Kingsbridge Community College, which leads the adjacent hub area.
The school said this was “a significant partnership to improve the educational experience and outcomes for students in the South West as we will be able to attract, retain and develop the very best teachers”.
Headteacher Tim Harris said: “Colyton’s new status as a ‘teaching school hub’ puts us at the heart of supporting all schools and all pupils in Devon. If our March 2020 Ofsted report showed that we are an ‘exceptional’ school, this now gives us the opportunity to share our successes on a wider scale, support improvement for all pupils, and continue to develop as a school alongside the partners we work with.”
This news comes after a national schools rating index recently recognised Colyton as the top co-educational grammar school in the country.
The Fairer Schools Index takes into account a range of key pupil factors such as gender, age, ethnicity, special educational needs, free school meal eligibility, and whether English is a first language.
As well as identifying Colyton Grammar School as the top co-educational grammar school in the country, it also ranks the school top in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and West Dorset. Overall, the school ranks 28th out of 3,195 schools nationwide.
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