Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
UK’s biggest teacher conference welcomed by Leeds Beckett
In July the joint venues will deliver the final week of the UK’s foremost teacher training residential, Teach First’s Summer Institute, including The Teacher Development Conference; with the contract being secured for the next two years. The event brings together Teach First participants, university tutors, along with education and business leaders. Having been held in Leeds for the past four years, the conference has contributed millions of pounds to the city.
Professor Peter Slee, Vice Chancellor of Leeds Beckett University, commented: “I am delighted that Teach First have decided to return to Leeds for the next two years. I believe that, through our partnership with the University of Leeds, Leeds Arena and the excellent performance of our conferencing team, we offer a compelling and high quality experience for important, large scale events of this nature. Next year’s delegates will be able to take advantage of our newest dedicated conference facility at the historic Cloth Hall Court and we hope that this new cohort of trainees will be inspired to take what they learn here in Leeds into careers that inspire the next generation.”
Together with the University of Leeds and first direct arena, Leeds Beckett University’s conference office, Well Met, led the Leeds city bid, fighting off strong competition from the sector to host the prestigious event. Key stakeholders in the bid included: LeedsBID, ConferenceLeeds, Leeds City Council, Town Centre Securities, Leeds Hotels and Venues Association and Virgin Trains East Coast.
The return of the eminent teacher training event, which will take place in July, highlights Leeds’s position as a dominant force in the conferencing sector. The city welcomed 3.9 million delegates in 2015 and, with business tourism being worth £501m to the economy, the continued growth of this sector is proving to be lucrative for venues, hotels and cultural assets alike.
Sir Alan Langlands, Vice Chancellor of the University of Leeds, said: “Leeds is a great place to live and learn and an enjoyable place to visit. Securing the Teach First conferences for 2017 and 2018 is a great coup for the city, and an excellent example of what can be achieved through collaborative working. The Teach First participants bring great enthusiasm and interest to our campus during the summer holidays and will be made very welcome.”
Councillor Judith Blake, Leader of Leeds City Council, added: “This is absolutely fantastic news for Leeds to secure the prestigious Teach First conference for the next two years. To win such a significant conference highlights the success of our collaborative conferencing city proposition which continues to deliver year on year growth and has proved to have a significant impact on the Leeds economy. We have built up a great reputation for teaching and learning in Leeds and to be the host city for the UK’s future teachers cements Leeds’s ambition to be a truly Child Friendly City.”
Reuben Moore, Director - Leadership at Teach First, said: "The culmination of Summer Institute is one of the highlights of the year for Teach First. It’s the week when our new cohort and the wider education community comes together in the city to build the essential, lifelong skills they'll need to end the education inequality experienced by the country's poorest pupils.
“Leeds has been a great host to Teach First in previous years and I'm delighted that we will be returning to the city in 2017 and 2018.”