TEN undergraduate university students attended the final day of the Greater Manchester Bright Futures SCITT Internship Programme on July 15, where they received their official certificates of recognition for completing their four week internships.

The science and maths undergraduates, who are currently in their second and third year of study at university, undertook four week placements at Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, Flixton Girls School and Lostock College, adding valuable work experience to their CVs.

The programme is one of eight Government initiatives to encourage people into the teaching profession, offering paid, work-based training placements which are designed to give students real life experience of working in a school prior to going onto teacher training or other professional qualifications.

The students spent their four week placements observing and learning from outstanding classroom practitioners and running small intervention groups, workshops and projects to see if teaching really is the career for them.

Additional benefits of the programme include: support with their teacher training application during their final year, a guaranteed interview should they apply for the Greater Manchester Bright Futures SCITT teacher training programme and support when preparing for their professional skills tests.

Clive Grant, head of maths at Lostock College, said: "The contributions of these interns over the past four weeks has been outstanding. They have produced resources that the whole department want to use, delivered lessons and intervention groups of the highest quality - if this scheme is on offer next year - can we have more! I would employ them into teaching on the spot."

Raz Nisar, Head of Physics AGGS, added: "The interns became excellent, valuable members of the department. Their preparation of resources and lessons has been meticulous - I really hope they do enter the teaching profession."

Dan Murgatroyd, an Intern Physics student, said: "This has been a really good introduction to the world of teaching. The programme was really well put together in that we carried out observations, built up our experience and then delivered our own classes. I would definitely recommend this programme to other students."

Kal Hodgson, SCITT director, said: “This programme, along with researchers in schools, teacher subject specialist training and futures teaching scholars are four out of eight Government initiatives that we are involved in.

"The celebration today was a great success, honoring the hard work of the students who took part in summer internships this year.”