A BRADFORD school is helping a new scheme attract more people to teach in the district.

Dixons City Academy has been offering places for trainee and new teachers for several years and is now involved with the government’s pilot Get Into Teaching campaign.

Announced earlier this year by the Department for Education, the campaign will see localised advertising in Bradford attempt to attract more people to the profession and help tackle the district’s long standing recruitment problems.

The inner city school has a nationally recognised teacher training programme, and provide on the job training to teachers from across the country.

Teachers from the school are now fronting the campaign, highlighting the rewards a career in teaching can offer.

Last year around 1,200 people in Bradford registered interest in training to teach – including over 400 graduates and nearly 700 registrations from people currently working in other fields.

News of the campaign came after the Government announced that Bradford will become a designated Opportunity Area, one of 12 nationally that will receive additional Government funding to help local children get the best start in life, no matter what their background.

Tait Coles, Assistant Principal and Head of Initial Teacher Training at Dixons City said: “We try as much as possible to develop our own teachers, and then give them a job in the long term.

“It can be people who have recently graduated as teachers, or people who have decided to change their careers.”

Teachers from the academy were featured in the advertising campaign and are also participating by sharing their stories to shine a light on local teaching excellence and give practical advice for those considering the profession.

Tom Lorryman, who started teaching at the school after changing careers, said: “The best way to train to be a teacher is to get experience in a school. I love teaching here and I love teaching in Bradford.

“You have to be a certain type of person to teach, and going into schools and getting experience helps that. If we want to recruit more teachers it is important they see what it is all about.”

Vacaas Zaman said it was important that trainee teachers spent time in schools, including inner city schools, adding: “It is important that people know whether it is right for them before they go too far in their training.

“A lot of people’s only experience in school is from when they were at school themselves.”

Usman Amjad said: “A lot of people from outside Bradford think it is a place where nobody integrates, but it is one of the most diverse places in the country. There are so many different cultures and religions here, I think it is one of the best places to teach.”

Mr Lorryman added: “It is a very diverse place, and it makes day to day life and teaching here very interesting.”

Mr Zaman said: “A lot of the children in areas like this aren’t as well off as in other areas, so teaching somewhere like here makes you feel like you really are making a difference.”

Iona Boyle said: “It is about giving it a chance. If you give it a go you’ll find it very rewarding.”