Newcastle University

Responding to a call from our Secondary PGCE students, celebrity teachers Vic Goddard and Stephen Drew of “Educating Essex” fame travelled to Newcastle last week to inspire a new generation of teachers. 

The Head and Deputy Head of Passmores Academy in Harlow became 2011’s unexpected stars of reality television for their no-nonsense, realistic and yet compassionate approach to today’s teenagers.

It's an attitude that impressed Newcastle University students Denise Todd, Kayleigh Swan, Chris Blakey and Craig Wright, who approached the duo via Twitter with a request they come up to the region to pass on some advice.

Denise, from Haltwhistle, said: “We all found the Educating Essex team really inspiring.  Seeing professionals like Mr Drew and Mr Goddard deal with some of the challenges that we will be facing was brilliant, it give us some great coping techniques.

“It highlighted that as challenging as the job can be it also has its upsides, things like relationships with the students, the patience of the teachers and their determination to help learners achieve really motivated us to strive for excellence.”

Mr Goddard, Headteacher at Passmores, said it was a “privilege” to have been invited to speak to the team.  “The students have shown just how dedicated they are about becoming the best teachers that they can be; their passion is beyond doubt.

“It was a privilege to have the opportunity to share some of our thoughts and experiences of teaching and hopefully help to motivate the outstanding school teachers and leaders that young people up and down the country deserve.”

Supported by their course tutors, Craig, from Redcar, adds: “Teacher training is under more pressure to be different and help a new generation of teachers overcome the challenges of 21st century education.

“We’re hugely grateful to the PGCE Secondary Team at Newcastle University for their innovative, pro-active approach to helping us overcome these challenges.”