BSU's Teacher Training roots
News
Over 80 years of Education at Bath Spa University
Friday, 24 January, 2025Bath Spa University's story starts back in 1852, when the Bath School of Art was established after the Great Exhibition, but on International Day of Education, it’s BSU’s roots in teacher training that we’ve delved into the archives to celebrate.
Picking up the University’s long-standing reputation for training high-quality professionals, BSU’s roots in teacher training began back in the 1940s.
Newton Park’s Main House, built for Joseph Langton from 1762-1765 and leased from Prince of Wales, became home to Newton Park Teacher Training College in 1945. It was one of the first institutions to respond to the call for more teachers following the Second World War. This was alongside the Bath Academy of Art at Corsham Court in 1946 and Bath College of Domestic Science at Sion Hill in 1959.
The institutions were highly regarded, with Newton Park Teacher Training College called the 'Finest Training College in the Country' when it was founded. The news clipping, now preserved in the University’s archives, acknowledged Newton Park’s beautiful grounds describing the campus as a paradise for students.
Newton Park college was graced with a Royal visit to formally open it on 2 March 1950 when Princess Elizabeth visited - just a few years before she became Queen.
Originally run as predominantly a female-only establishment, it is recounted as echoing the set-up of a girls' boarding school. College staff held responsibility for the students under 21, and students enjoyed the beautiful campus during the day for their lectures and classes, then either a College minibus would ferry students back to their boarding houses in the evening or they stayed in accommodation on site.
Paving the way for students, staff and alumni of BSU today, the institution nestled in the hills on the outskirts of Bath was home to a community of passionately and professionally creative students throughout the years.
Alumna Vivienne Iris Jackson attended the College in the late fifties. She describes her two years studying to become a teacher as:
“Happy days full of happy memories”
Alumna Anna McDowell joined a few years after, reflecting:
“Newton Park was a very special place to be in the 1960s, and it is more than special that it continues to be so in the 2020s. I enjoy reading about student successes in the Alumni News Bulletins. Long may its traditions continue to flourish.”
As time went on the College evolved, broadening its intake and offering more subjects to study alongside its renowned teacher training.
An alum from the early seventies, Geoffrey Heptonstall recounts:
"The popular myth was that teacher education was a doddle. It was very demanding. Many of the people I knew were planning a creative life that would include teaching but not exclusively so."
Describing the creativity that still makes BSU what it is today, Geoffrey adds:
“That enchantment never quite leaves you. It is an ideal place to develop your creative ideas. Bath Spa University's great strength is the creativity that flows out of the Palladian stone."
The teacher training college at Newton Park and Bath College of Domestic Science at Sion Hill merged in 1975 to become the Bath College of Higher Education.
Whether studying Education alongside Art, Music or Drama as Vivienne, Anne and Geoffrey did, or the many additional subjects on offer, the college produced a community of alumni that have gone on to educate generations of children and adults.
Honouring BSU's teaching alumni
In 2022, BSU awarded Honorary BA Education Degrees to more than 740 of its teaching alumni who previously studied for a Certificate in Education at its predecessor colleges between 1948 and 1981.
Three days of ceremonies took place across the University’s Bath and Corsham-based campuses to mark the conferring of the honorary degrees, and to celebrate the achievements of those who completed their courses.
Still one of the highest rated providers of teacher education
Fast forward to the current day, and BSU’s School of Education remains one of the highest rated providers of teacher education in the country, and the largest provider of teacher education in the South West.
Remaining true to its roots, the University continues to offer a range of educational courses that allow students the opportunity to explore education careers and develop professional skills.
A standout new course for BSU is Primary Education (5-11) with QTS course, permitting students to gain experience in three different schools and settings with children from a diversity of cultural backgrounds and across the spectrum of needs.
This course is also accredited by the Department for Education and prepares students for a career as a primary school teacher. Successful completion leads to recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status, a qualification required to teach in many primary and special schools in England.