It is nearly a year since Welsh education minister Leighton Andrews announced the plans to develop a Welsh version of Teach First in the Senedd. Ten months on and Teach First is eagerly attracting young, ambitious, and successful graduates from top Welsh and English universities to participate in the programme.

It is at a time when the Welsh education system has come under attack from across the political spectrum. Only three weeks ago the beleaguered leader of Plaid Cymru, Leanne Wood, attacked the Welsh school system as a ‘graveyard of ambition.’  An attack, which although unnecessarily hyperbolic, meets with the concerns of many people across Wales who have witnessed a general decline in Welsh school standards since devolution. Disappointing PISA scores (out of 67 countries taking part, Wales was ranked 38th for reading, 40th for mathematics and 30th for the tests for science) and the discord caused by the decision to strip both Merthyr and Monmouthshire councils of their responsibility for schools are only a few of the issues that worry teachers, parents and students across Wales.

It is thus welcome news that around 40 Teach First teachers will begin teaching in schools from the next academic year, with the initial contract allowing Teach First for three years. Teach First has had a significant impact across England since it was first introduced with the support of Andrew Adonis and the talented shadow secretary of state for education Stephen Twigg.  Evidence suggests Teach First teachers have a positive impact on GCSE results, and in my own school in south-east London Teach First teachers have played a significant role in raising the school’s GCSE results by over 30 per cent in the past few years.

For Teach First to be successful in Wales it must be different. In particular, it must grasp the importance of Welsh language and culture. This should not be an imposition of English values:  the Treachery of the Blue Books has not been forgotten in many Welsh communities, when in 1847 English inspectors criticised the impact of the Welsh language and religious nonconformity on educational attainment in Wales. The inspectorate, mainly Anglican clergymen, were highly critical of teaching, especially in nonconformist Sunday schools. The report unsurprisingly angered many in Wales, prompting a response led by the poet and political writer Robert Jones Derfel. While there was no immediate political impact, the event was undoubtedly significant in encouraging a desire for Wales to gain greater autonomy over education.

But most of all Teach First Cymru should be an empowering force in local communities. The programme must be adapted from the English model to account not only for the differences in the Welsh system as a result of devolution, but also to ensure each new teacher is aware of the importance of Welsh values, culture and community. Wales has produced so many inspirational political figures in British politics, from David Lloyd George to Nye Bevan; we must make sure this tradition is not wasted.  Teach First must ensure talent is nurtured in Welsh schools, it must help to reverse the decline in educational standards, and it must work alongside so many of the positive forces in Welsh education to bring positive change.

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Geoff Wells is a Teach First English teacher in a south-east London academy. He tweets @GeoWells

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Photo: Paul Flannery