Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Edward Timpson and Caroline Dinenage

Monday 2nd March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)]

8. What assessment she has made of the potential benefits to pupils of the expansion of the Troops to Teachers programme.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Mr Edward Timpson)]

Service leavers have a wealth of skills and experiences that are transferable to classrooms, including teamwork, leadership—[Interruption.]

[Mr Timpson]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Anyone would imagine that there is an election on the horizon.

There are 84 trainees on the Troops to Teachers scheme and the expansion of the programme allows even more talented service leavers to make an important contribution to our children’s education.

[Caroline Dinenage]

My Gosport constituency has very strong links to the armed forces, particularly in Navy engineering. Does my hon. Friend agree that schemes such as Troops for Training can only help to spread expertise to students in my area?

[Mr Timpson]

I absolutely agree. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently visited Bristol to see for herself the latest cohort being trained, and she was hugely impressed by both their calibre and their commitment. Along with my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Caroline Dinenage), I strongly encourage schools in Gosport and elsewhere to contact the university of Brighton to secure a trainee for this September and benefit from the next tranche of Troops to Teachers.