A GROUP of North-East teachers have raised enough money to put on a free summer school for children getting ready for their GCSE year.

The school, which starts today, is aimed at giving teenagers a head start as they go into year 11, tackling the loss of learning that can affect pupils over the six-week summer holiday.

It is also aimed at tackling holiday hunger among children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Organiser Andrew Lawrence, a teacher from the Teach First initiative, which is behind the summer school, said: “We’re shaking up holiday provision in the North East by tackling both holiday hunger and summer learning loss.

“Many of my pupils will go hungry over the holidays and begin to lose the knowledge they’ve gained over the school year.

I knew I needed to do something about this. I’ve been blown away by the response from my fellow teachers who have given up their time and energy during their own time off to make this happen.”

“For many pupils coming back after the long holidays it can like they are playing catch-up; the summer school is a chance to boost their confidence and level the playing field going into their all-important GCSE year.”

A group of Teach First teachers raised £825 to run a pilot project, which starts today.

They are also donating their time to teach the 20 pupils who will take part in the summer school in Gateshead, as well as providing meals and transport.

Gateshead MP Ian Mearns, who was due to open the summer school, said: “Teachers up and down the county are doing fantastic work to support their pupils, and it is fantastic to see the lengths that these Teach First teachers are going to, by volunteering their well-deserved holiday time to help the young people of Gateshead prepare for school in September.

“As MP for Gateshead, I firmly share Teach First’s commitment to ensuring that no child is limited by their background or postcode.

“Whilst we should not be in a situation where children struggle for food during the holiday period, I look forward to working with the fantastic people involved in the Summer School who are ensuring no child goes hungry and so that more pupils in the area are well fed over the summer period and ready to go back to school with all the knowledge they have gained over the course of the week.”

Studies have shown that during the pupils lose knowledge accumulated from class time over the long break between school years, which is heightened among children from more disadvantaged backgrounds and results in them starting in September on an unequal footing.

Teach First has placed more than 440 teachers in North-East schools since 2011 and aims to close the attainment gap between the richest and poorest children.

Organisers hope to expand into other areas of the North-East next year.