A COLLEGE is set to become a key 'Centre of Excellence' for teaching training later this year.

Bishop Rawstorne Language College, Croston, will become a training school in September, under a new government initiative which aims to involve good schools in the development of teachers.

As a training school, staff at Bishop Rawstorne will work with the local authority to develop good practice among advanced skills teachers, adopt a training role alongside the universities and supply in-service training.

Headteacher George Lloyd said: "Our vision is to develop Bishop Rawstorne as a regional centre of excellence for Initial Teacher Training and continuous Professional Development, actively promoting teaching as a researched-based profession."

The Government aims to have successful schools sharing good practice and resources and the college's 'outstanding' communication technology will be used to support schools, colleges and universities, mainly from the North West, in raising their standards of teaching. Interactive Digital Whiteboards are one example of the centre's teaching methods. They are just like normal everyday white boards found in schools, but they are touch-sensitive and are written on using a special pen which works like a PC's mouse.

At present, the college has six of the high-tech machines but by the end of the summer, deputy head teacher at the college, Bleddyn Davis, said they hoped to have nine.

Mr Davis said: "We have all this technology but this is just going to be part of the training. The really hard bit is working it into their schemes of work.

"It is an acknowledgement that all the work the teachers have been doing has been very worthwhile. To be recognised like this will mean more work and we will be able to organise training sessions helping to produce the teachers of the future."

Hazel Harding, Lancashire's chair of education and cultural services, said: "I'm delighted the college has been chosen as a centre of excellence.

"It's an example of the local authority and Bishop Rawstorne working closely with St Martin's and Edge Hill to provide outstanding teacher training and quality professional development for our teachers in Lancashire."

The partnership will develop accreditation for professional mentors in the graduate and registered teacher programme.

The outcomes of the scheme will be shared on-line with the DfEE Virtual Teacher Centre and the College web-site, with national and international implications.