A FOREST school is to play an important role in raising educational standards.

Dene Magna School has been selected by the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) to become a national teaching school.

Teaching schools take a leading role in recruiting and training new entrants to the profession, identifying leadership potential and providing support for other schools.

Dene Magna was one of only 200 schools in England to be granted teaching school status in the latest round of designations.

Teaching schools are all rated as "outstanding" and mark a shift towards school-centred training.

They work with partner schools in an alliance, including at least one university, to ensure high quality school-led initial teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers at all stages of their career.

Dene Magna head, Steve Brady, said: "We are delighted to be able to extend the work we already do in supporting not just our teachers, but also teachers from all over Europe.

"This marks an exciting time with the schools and institutions in our alliance working closely to secure the very best outcomes for students.

"We are proud to be working alongside local providers in our alliance to ensure that young people in the Forest of Dean benefit from this."     Charlie Taylor, the chief executive of NCTL, said: "Dene Magna School should be very proud of their teaching school status.

"It recognises the school's outstanding performance and its track record of raising standards through supporting other schools.

"There are now more than 500 designated teaching schools around the country with more to follow. "In an increasingly school-led system, they are leading the way in training new teachers and helping existing teachers develop their skills – ensuring we'll have the best people teaching our children for generations to come."