IOP Teacher Training Scholarships announced

The Institute of Physics (IOP) has launched their Teacher Training Scholarship scheme, whereby 100 unique individuals looking to embark upon a Physics Initial Teacher Training (ITT) course will receive £20,000 to help with their training expenses, as well as becoming part of a scholarship community giving successful candidates endless opportunities to make a real difference to the future of physics education.

The Scholarship Scheme is a result a £2m-a-year partnership between the Department for Education and the IOP, designed to help train the next generation of outstanding teachers. It re-affirms the Government's commitment to recruit the very best graduates into teaching and to train them even better, so that standards can rise in schools across the country.

The IOP will work with experts in teaching practice to award the 100 scholarships to candidates with a 2:1 or First Class Degree. They will hand-pick candidates demonstrating exceptional subject knowledge, enthusiasm for the study of physics, and outstanding potential to teach. The IOP’s relationship with the scholars will continue into their teaching careers. This will develop a group of outstanding physics teachers, all part of a community of physicists across schools, universities and industry.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said: “If we want to have an education system that ranks with the best in the world, we must attract outstanding people into the profession, and we must give them outstanding training. The scholarship scheme launched with the Institute of Physics will help make sure we have excellent physics teachers in this country with deep subject knowledge. They will help raise the status of the teaching profession and also make a huge difference in the lives of children.”

Professor Peter Main, Director of Education and Science at the Institute of Physics, said: “These scholarships will help the Institute realise its aims of welcoming a greater number of physics teachers into the broader community of physicists and of increasing the spread of subject expertise in education. They will help us to develop excellent teachers from excellent graduates. We are saying to people with a love of physics and a good academic record – ‘choose teaching: it is a job that will reward you and exploit your abilities to the full’.”

Recruitment for the Scholarship Scheme begins today and prospective candidates can find out more information on the IOP website.