Jumbo hired for teachers' trip

Glasgow City Council has hired a jumbo jet for teachers

A jumbo jet has been hired by Glasgow City Council to fly hundreds of teachers to an information technology trade show in London.

Scotland's largest local authority wants 700 secondary, primary and special needs teachers to attend the three-day British Educational Technology and Training 2001 event.

Three return flights, costing £56,000, are being funded by the council's training budget, the schools themselves and by private companies.

A spokeswoman for the council defended the move saying it was a value for money way of getting the staff to London.

Teachers will attend an IT seminar

The spokeswoman said: "We believe that this is the first time in the UK that a local authority has gone to these lengths and this reflects the ambition of Glasgow City Council.

"We want to make our classrooms the most technologically advanced in the world and make the teachers feel that they are part of it.

"Hundreds of companies will be showcasing their products at the event and there are a number of seminars being held, which our teachers have registered for.

"We believe this is the most cost-effective way of giving our teachers invaluable training."

The flights, which will run from this Wednesday through to Friday, will transport around 250 teachers each day between Glasgow and Luton Airports.

Electronic learning

The council's staff training budget will contribute £22,000 towards the cost of the Boeing 747, with £20,000 coming from private companies.

The remaining £14,000 will come from the participating schools, which are to make a £20 contribution for each attending teacher.

Last year Glasgow City Council unveiled a plan to equip its 29 secondary schools with state-of-the-art information and communications systems.

The £200m project aims to rebuild or refurbish the schools and connect every classroom to a special electronic learning network.

The initiative also aims to provide all of Glasgow's 30,000 secondary pupils with access to the internet and their own e-mail address.