Initial Teacher Training (ITT)

The two Lead Schools are both accredited Training Schools and you will need to apply through UCAS to be considered for a training placement.

George Abbot SCITT

Looking to become a teacher?

Blenheim High School are part of Teach Surrey, an alliance of Outstanding teaching schools and their associated partner schools based in and around Surrey. We work with George Abbot SCITT, a highly respected and well-established provider of school-based Initial Teacher Training to offer School Direct teacher training placements. 

Teach Surrey offers full and part-time and salaried and unsalaried training placements in a wide range of subjects as well as offering primary teacher training.

George Abbot SCITT has over 16 years’ experience leading School Centred Initial Teacher Training and has trained over 300 teachers, the vast majority of whom went on to work in Surrey schools with many now in positions of responsibility.  Both Ofsted and our past trainees have rated George Abbot “Outstanding” as a Provider.

School Direct training with Teach Surrey leads to the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and trainees have the option to study for a PGCE at Masters level as well as the option of specialising in Special Educational Needs.

For more information, please visit the George Abbot SCITT website

Glenthorne High School

Why train at Glenthorne High School?

As a consortium of High Schools in Sutton, they are looking for high quality graduates to become teachers. They work in conjunction with Blenheim High School as part of the School Direct Programme and Blenheim can offer placements in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English, Maths, MFL, History, Drama, PE, Music and Design Technology. 

Glenthorne will consider related degrees for certain subjects and offer paid subject enhancement courses for outstanding candidates. Please see Glenthorne's website for full entry criteria.

Glenthorne High School, the lead school, is an outstanding school with a national reputation for high quality training of beginner teachers, gained through their extensive experience as a training school. Their most recent inspection of Initial Teacher Education commented:

“The provision appears to be of the highest quality. All personnel spoke highly of the Lead Trainer, the provision and the community of ITE (Initial Teacher Education) in the school. From my visit, I would support that Glenthorne High School provides an outstanding model of training for teachers.”

They are a consortium with over 15 high performing, local, yet diverse High Schools, all of which have made rapid progress over recent years, have high expectations of students and view training and development of staff as key to future success. Sutton schools are consistently the most successful schools in London.

Their partner HEI is Roehampton University, an ‘outstanding’ provider of Initial Teacher Training

The training you will receive will be meaningful, diverse and most importantly centred on what you will practically need in your first year of teaching and beyond.  Perhaps most importantly, Glenthorne expect to employ every single trainee within their consortium at the end of the training.  

They are committed to the academic excellence of all in their learning communities, and therefore, their training includes research work in partnership with Roehampton University which leads to MA credits.  Blenheim is also proud to host the Roehampton Professional Studies session as part of a hub school with the University.  These sessions take place across the academic year on Wednesdays.

For more information, please visit the Glenthorne High School website

Blenheim is currently running a recruitment round for the Initial Teacher Training Programme with positions to teach the following subjects available for students from September. Please apply through UCAS if you are interested in these positions.  The application window opens at the end of October every year previous to starting the placement. 

You will need to apply to the Lead Schools as indicated below:

Glenthorne High School for teaching positions in:

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Physics
• English
• Maths
• MFL
• History
• Drama
• PE
• Music
• Design and Technology 

George Abbot School for teaching positions in:

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Physics
• English
• Maths
• MFL
• History
• Drama
• PE
• Music
• Design and Technology.

There are two routes in which graduates can apply to the Initial Teacher Training programme:

Salaried Route

An employment-based route available to graduates with at least three years’ work experience. Successful applicants will earn a salary whilst they train.

Non-salaried route

This route is available to all graduates – tuition fees apply.

Tax-free bursaries of up to £25,000 for candidates with top degrees in priority subjects.

For more information on the training route and how to apply, please follow the School Direct link below.

School Direct website

In order to apply for the course, you must have a relevant degree, with a classification of 2.2 or above, along with Maths and English GCSEs (or equivalent) at C+.  

Candidates must demonstrate a passion for teaching and will also need some relevant school based experience at the time of application. A fee will be charged for the course and candidates will be eligible for the same financial support and bursary as other postgraduate teacher training routes.

Candidates training on this route will have a structured programme of support and training to help them reach their potential as teachers. All candidates will also be encouraged to undertake a school action research project which gives the opportunity to earn Master's Level credits.

The process opens from end of October and applications are to be made via School Direct.

For more information on either of these routes, general entry requirements and details of how to apply please see the School Direct website or contact Miss L Riley, Initial Teacher Training Lead at Blenheim High School.

You will begin with an induction into the life of the school.

Our emphasis is on quality, not quantity. We will build your skills and confidence through observation, modelling, team teaching, working with other trainees and experienced staff, so that you know what constitutes outstanding teaching. Don’t expect to be teaching a full timetable, or to have full responsibility for classes.

When you know what outstanding teaching is, and can do it consistently, we will scale up your teaching commitment slowly to enable you to build stamina, and resilience.

You will start by learning the curriculum in your subject in Key Stage 3, working with an experienced mentor, who will support you in learning about the characteristics of different stages of progress, assessment methods and the most effective strategies for engaging students’ interest and securing their success in your specialised area. As you start to work with KS4 and in the sixth form you will understand how to make the most effective provision for students preparing for external examinations and the transition to higher level independent study.

Our team of quality Teachers and Mentors will work with you throughout the year to develop your teaching practice. You will have regular meetings and CPD sessions to work collaboratively with other teachers and trainees to research and develop your strategies and skills. Reflecting on your experience, learning from mistakes and adapting what you do will be a central part of this training.

You will be supported in developing your professional persona – the characteristics that help you to build high quality working relationships with students – in a school whose ethos, routines and systems contribute to consistently high standards of students’ behaviour and personal development.

Any offer of a place on our programme is conditional on satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service, satisfactory Fitness to Teach Declaration, and successful completion of the skills test.

Bursaries are available for trainees on eligible postgraduate courses in England who are not employed as a teacher. Full details are available on the School Direct website and the government website. 

Application stages:

• Application received by university and forwarded to the Lead schools
• Applications reviewed by the Lead school and university.
• Applicants invited to a visit day at the Lead school which will consist of a learning walk, pupil panel and descriptive writing task.
• Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview.

Please note you will be assessed at each stage of the application process.

However, places will be on a first come, first served basis, providing applicants are successful at interview.

Miss L Riley
Assistant Headteacher/Initial Teacher Training
Blenheim Inititial Teacher Training
Tel:  01372 745333

Miss L Riley