Taking the lead in developing and promoting excellence in the classroom, Oundle has opened a new Teacher Lab, demonstrating the School’s commitment to best practice in teaching and learning among both trainees and experienced teachers. The new Lab will provide in-house opportunities to explore pedagogical innovations in teaching and better understand how pupils learn.
Offering a unique facility among schools, the Teacher Lab has recording equipment for self-assessment and live streaming to an adjacent classroom for evaluation; flexible seating for large and small groups; writeable table surfaces with tilt-up tabletops for mini presentations, and wrap-around wall boards to inspire engagement and collaboration.
The Teacher Lab forms a key resource for trainee teachers at Oundle. Led by Sara Davidson, Director of SCITTs, the School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) hub runs two successful training schemes in the shortage subjects of Maths, Physics and Modern Languages. Oundle’s subject-specific SCITTs are different from the traditional PGCE route, because trainees spend more time working in schools from the start, and study the educational theory (the PGCE part) alongside teaching in the classroom. They spend their time on placement at two partner schools in the area and experience teaching in both independent and maintained sectors. Trainees receive weekly or fortnightly subject-specific training from subject specialists at the School, and gradually build up their teaching. The new Teacher Lab provides state-of-the-art support for the development of their skills as they train for the profession.
Graduates with a good honours degree in languages, Maths, Physics or Engineering who are interested in pursuing a career in teaching, are welcome to attend Taster/School Experience Days and find out more about the teacher training course.
