High-flyers aim to inspire in toughest schools

Improving the performance of pupils from poorer backgrounds is arguably Welsh education's biggest challenge - and the charity Teach First Cymru is stepping up its efforts here.

It parachutes high-flying graduates or professionals into schools in deprived areas, where they train and qualify as teachers on the job - aiming to inspire youngsters and improve results as they go.

With Welsh Government funding, the scheme has been extended to reach 38 schools here, with 150 trainees being recruited.

Watch Tom Sheldrick's report from Aberdare Community School:

Closing the gap between pupils from better-off and poorer backgrounds is a key priority for Welsh schools.

GCSE results from 2014 show the scale of the challenge:

• 61.6% of better-off pupils get at least 5 A*-C grades, including maths and English/Welsh

• 27.8% of poorer pupils (classified as those eligible for free school meals because their parents receive certain benefits) reach the same threshold

There is no single explanation for this performance gap. Factors include differing access to learning resources outside of school, and particularly different levels of aspiration.

There are a number of schemes in place to try to tackle the problem, from targeted funding per pupil - the Pupil Deprivation Grant - to the Welsh Government's flagship Schools Challenge Cymru scheme, worth £20m for struggling schools in deprived areas.

Watch: March 2015 - Schools Challenge Cymru in action

The charity Teach First has been working in England since 2002, placing high-flying graduates and career-swapping professionals into tough schools.

It reached Wales two years ago, and has now expanded again, to reach North Wales schools for the first time.

Welsh Government funding supports the programme, although it won't say how much.

The charity, which also receives funding from organisations like the Queen's Trust and the Waterloo Foundation, has become the UK's biggest graduate employer.

Rather than the most common route of teachers qualifying through a year of PGCE training before beginning their career in the classroom, Teach First trainees do an intensive six-week basic training, and then do a two-year placement as a classroom teacher in a school, receiving further training to qualify as they go.

Critics of the scheme point out that many trainees leave teaching after their initial two-year placement.

Aberdare Community School was one of the first in Wales to take Teach First trainees.

The school boasts an impressive new building, but also faces a number of challenges. Around one-third of pupils are classed as being from disadvantaged backgrounds, and two-thirds arrive in Year 7 behind on basic skills.

The school's first three Teach First trainees have now completed their two years here. Headteacher Sue Davies says they produced strong results, and also helped the pupils become more aspirational.

Among the latest recruits is Graham Heath. He gave up seven years in the civil service to join Teach First, and has now completed his first half-term in Aberdare as an English teacher.

He says he switched career because he wants "to make a difference" and describes teaching as "definitely a challenge - but a good challenge."

He insists he will be staying in the teaching profession long-term.

Nobody is pretending he alone, or even Teach First Cymru as a whole, will close the deprivation gap in our schools - but every teacher with a touch of inspiration can certainly do their bit.