The Edge Hill Apprentice

Trainee teachers at Edge Hill University will be putting sixth formers through a gruelling series of tasks in their own version of hit TV show The Apprentice.

For the first time, the University's ICT Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) students will be turning their classroom into the ‘boardroom' to deliver innovative teaching sessions to the 17 and 18-year-olds who are currently studying A-Levels at Saints Peter and Paul's Catholic College in Widnes.

The idea behind the event is to introduce this age group to higher education in a fun, innovative way and also develop the skills of the University's trainee teachers.

On 14^th October the pupils will be split into five groups and will be asked to design a series of web pages about search engines using ICT for collaboration. They will communicate with Edge Hill's own trainee teacher IT experts remotely and put together their own business case before pitching their ideas to ‘Sandra Sugar'.

At the end of the day, the group with the best ideas will be presented with a medal and the best overall pupil will receive an engraved trophy.

The event will not only give the pupils a taste of University life but will also help them with their own coursework that has been set by the school around IT collaboration. As a result, the tasks have been tailored to suit their needs and will include online forums, web chats, videos, email and blogs.

Paula Beer, a lecturer in ICT, explained: "This is the first time that we have tried this approach to teaching because we wanted to put across a potentially dry subject in an interesting, fun way. It will allow our trainee teachers to play a nurturing role and will enable them to expand their own knowledge and skills in preparation for working in schools. For the sixth form students it will promote teamwork and creativity as well as increasing their self-confidence. It will also enable us to showcase the University to them and hopefully encourage them to stay on in higher education.

"If our new approach is successful we would hope to introduce more sessions like this and link in with even more schools."