Record numbers of teachers across the Bradford district are boosting their skills by working alongside people from other professions. Some 653 teachers have had placements with companies over the past 12 months to help them update their knowledge and allow them to pass on their experiences to pupils.

Pauline Thorpe, Bradford and District Training and Enterprise Council's teacher placement advisor, says: "It isn't just the number of placements that's on the increase, but also the quality and value.

"By spending time outside school with local companies, teachers gain tremendous insight into the latest developments in their particular field. When they take this knowledge back to their schools they can pass on up to date information to pupils. This can smooth the transition from education to the world of work and keep the content of the curriculum up to date."

Since the beginning of April more than 100 teachers have been on placements to such organisations as, the Alhambra theatre, Butterfield Signs, Coca Cola, Interface, the Leeds Weather Centre and the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television.

Later this year a party of teachers will be spending a week on placement in Dublin where they will be visiting Intel Pentium Processors, the Irish Parliament, the Irish Times newspaper, and Trinity College.

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