The Prince of Wales and The University of Cambridge have announced a new partnership, offering training to state school teachers of English and History with an emphasis on subject depth.

The new partnership will build on the enthusiastic response from teachers to The Prince of Wales’s Education Summer School over the past four years. The Education Summer School has offered an annual forum for teachers to step away from the classroom, hear from an inspirational range of speakers, and rediscover the depth and breadth of the subjects they teach. Each year it has been oversubscribed and many delegates have reported that they have changed classroom practices as a result of the course.

A new charity is being formed to take forward the partnership with the University of Cambridge. The partnership will be known as The Prince’s Cambridge Programme for Teaching and at its heart will continue to be an annual residential course. Lord Wilson of Dinton, Master of Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge and former Cabinet Secretary, will be Chairman of the Charity and the Programme. Bernice McCabe will continue as Co-Director of the School.

Lord Wilson said:

“Over the last four years, the Education Summer Schools have inspired and enthused English and History teachers around the country to broaden the range and depth of their teaching. It is clear from what they tell us that there is a gap in the market for more teaching career development which focuses on the content of what is taught in the classroom, rather than on professional skills.

“I hope that The Prince’s Cambridge Programme for Teaching will continue to provide a forum for teachers to re-examine their classroom practices and put scholarship and love of learning at the heart of their teaching.”

Alan Johnson, Secretary of State for Education and Skills said:

“The Prince of Wales Education Summer School has over the last four years offered valuable professional development opportunities for teachers of History and English. The new partnership with The University of Cambridge is a very welcome development as it will ensure the continuation and widening of these opportunities which are so beneficial to teachers.”

In addition to an annual residential course, the new teaching programme will provide support for regional events, an alumni network and one-day courses and seminars.

More than 80 teachers will attend this year’s School from June 7-10. The guest speakers will include Melvyn Bragg, Stephen Fry, Lord Adonis, Robert Harris, Michael Morpurgo, Lynne Truss, Michael Wood, Kate Adie, Professor Gervase Phinn, David Starkey and academics from the English and History faculties at The University of Cambridge. They will give lectures on topics ranging from “Irony and Shakespeare’s The Tempest” to Medieval Kingship and teaching Victorian fiction.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.