Mayor Boris Johnson launches £24m fund to 'turbocharge' London's teachers

 
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PA
Maxine Frith11 February 2013

A £24 million fund to “turbocharge” London’s teachers and drive up school standards was announced by Boris Johnson today.

The Mayor said the London Schools Excellence Fund would focus on teacher training and improve quality in core “crunchy” subjects such as literacy, numeracy and science.

Mr Johnson claimed the best schools in the capital were ones where children were taught classical history and languages as well as English grammar.

The Department of Education has contributed £20 million to the fund, in addition to £4.25 million coming from the Mayor’s office.

State primaries and secondaries will be encouraged to collaborate with private schools, universities and businesses to bid for funds and learn from each other, spreading good practice. One pilot scheme is the offer of residential programmes for teachers to improve their knowledge of subjects.

Mr Johnson said: “Many schools in London are doing tremendous work, and have high expectations of their students. They are not afraid of teaching the ‘crunchy subjects’ like maths, languages and sciences, or putting their children on a meaty diet of reading the classics or learning grammar.

“As a result, these children will grow up with the confidence and intellectual muscle to compete with the best talent and get into top jobs and universities. I want this level of ambition in all state schools in the capital. Supporting teachers’ professional development is vital.

“The fund is going to turbocharge good ideas, empty out pockets of underachievement, and ensure that outstanding teaching is the norm.”

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