PRIMARY schools in County Durham and Darlington have formed a consortium to provide teacher training.
The 11 schools led by Barn-ard Castle CE Primary School in the High Force Education - Darlington and Dales Teacher Training Consortium, have been fully accredited by the Teacher Training Agency.
They can now recruit up to 25 trainees for a course which will lead to the Post Graduate Certificate in Education and Qualified Teacher Status after a year of study.
Dr Mike Grainger, headteacher at Barnard Castle primary, said: "This is a tremendous opportunity for schools to engage in training the future generation of teachers. Being fully school-based, trainees will hugely benefit from the expertise of staff in the schools.
"Currently, trainee teachers have to make a 70-mile round trip to their nearest provider.
"Our provision will enable those with families and other commitments to join a course in their home area."
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