“It’s been an amazing experience training with the Odyssey Teaching Alliance and we’ve been so well-supported through our school placements. From the excellence of the weekly training and development sessions through to the day-to-day support in the schools, it’s all been brilliant and really lovely to do this as part of a group of cross-subject trainees. Winding the clock back I was unsure which route to follow at application, but I feel most fortunate having chosen the Odyssey route and have no regrets at all”
“The quality of the school-based training and the level of support I’ve received from my mentor and other colleagues has been excellent. As trainees, we’ve been made to feel valued members of the school community from day one. There have been numerous opportunities to gain experience of wider school life here at Pate’s, be that through school trips or extra-curricular activities. With my department, I have also been fully involved in staff professional development sessions. My first term in teaching has been a challenging but incredibly rewarding experience and I feel well-prepared to start my twin placement and develop my skills in the classroom further.”
Odyssey was highly recommended to me and the support provided throughout the experience has been amazing! The staff were friendly and approachable and this was evident from the very first meeting at a Train to Teach event. It was important to me to have an experience at grammar and comprehensive, I knew Odyssey would provide that opportunity. The training sessions have been informative and interesting plus, I have been able to mix with primary staff. Before the course I did not see the importance of this, but it has helped me to understand the transition between primary to secondary. Smaller training groups at Odyssey make it easier to be heard and have valuable discussions across subjects. I have always felt that no question is a silly question and you will not be judged at Odyssey!
When considering teacher training, a major step for me after 30 years in the health service, the structure and personal scale of Odyssey was pivotal in my decision to proceed. The certainty that my parent school would be either STRS or Pates, both centres of academic excellence, gave me the confidence that I could concentrate on subject knowledge and lesson delivery to start with, and look to develop more complex pedagogy to cope with wider behavioural and scholastic issues whilst at the twin. The support of my training manager, and indeed the whole Odyssey team, has been excellent throughout. The professional studies have proved illuminating and challenging and allowed glimpses into a variety of schools, as they rotate around different members of the Odyssey group. A particular benefit has been the opportunity to talk to trainees in a primary school setting, to appreciate the challenges they have and how that fits in to secondary teaching. A School Direct route provides a strong framework to the teacher training course. It allows a more personal relationship to training managers and those providing professional studies, which is maintained during the twin placement, This is all in addition to everything that GITEP has to offer. At every stage, Odyssey has been encouraging and supportive and has acted swiftly when necessary to ensure my continued participation on the course. In the tough times they have been there, and as the end of the training year approaches I remain convinced that Odyssey is the best teacher training option for me.