University of Manchester Initial Teacher Training (ITT) programme have established partnerships with 700 local schools providing our highly motivated trainee teachers with approximately 70,000 days in schools every year, allowing them to educate and improve the life chances of children in Greater Manchester. To highlight some of the exceptional work undertaken by our trainees, each year the ITT team ask partnership schools to nominate trainees for their Social Responsibility award.

This year’s winners are a group of truly inspirational PGCE Secondary Mathematics trainees who since January, in partnership with Rainbow Haven, a charity who support refugees and asylum seekers, have set up an online mathematics school for refugees. Recognising a need to provide additional support in math skills to members of displaced communities in Manchester, Ben Douglas, Richard Katsouris and Matthew Gandy organised weekly online mathematics tutorials to help refugees prepare to sit their GCSE exams, develop their confidence with everyday maths and support those making asylum applications in the UK.