THERE were celebrations at a Kendal school as the Kendal Primary Partnership (KPP) marked five years of teacher training.

Cllr Alvin Finch, the mayor of Kendal, joined this year’s outgoing trainees for an event at The Queen Katherine School - which served as the trainees’ base throughout the year.

Children from primary schools in Kendal also attended and presented the newly-qualified teachers with gifts, including ‘survival kits’ which contained mugs for coffee, Mars bars for energy, and paracetamol for headaches!

The KPP works with the University of Cumbria and the Kendal Collaborative Partnership - which includes 13 primary schools, two secondary schools, a special school and a nursery - to train people for teaching up to secondary school age.

Across the last five years, it has helped to develop more than 50 primary and early years teachers.

Anna Gillies (fourth from left) felt that a Schools Direct programme (like that offered by the KPP), where more time is spent in schools when compared with a university course, was a good way to learn, particularly for “hands on, more practical” people like herself.

“It’s a really great way to train to be a teacher. I really enjoyed it and I got loads of support,” she said.

Miss Gillies, who spent time on the course at places such as Cartmel Primary School, will begin teaching at an international school in Qatar next month.