020 8371 5905
Make a teaching career part of a great lifestyle in the London Borough of Havering
Sitting right at Greater London’s northeast corner, with the London Boroughs of Redbridge and Barking to its north, Essex to the east and bordered by The Thames to the south, The London Borough of Havering is a happy and happening mix of urban and suburban; of rural peace and quiet with a thriving commercial and retail hub rubbing along with a vibrant nightlife and leisure scene.
With 60 state secondary schools including one senior all-through school, 18 primary (infant and junior) schools as well as several special and alternative schools, three prep schools and three further education colleges, the borough has no shortage of educational establishments – and by extension of teaching career possibilities. According to a 2017 Trust for London and New Policy Institute study, 44% of 19-year-olds there lack level 3 or A level equivalent qualifications – so there’s no shortage of challenge for ambitious teachers who are keen to make a real difference.
The London Borough of Havering’s teacher recruitment ads proclaim that the area is ‘a great place to live and work!’ – and, as a major commercial hub with a highly developed leisure and nightlife economy focusing on Romford, which has the highest concentration of bars and nightclubs anywhere outside the West End, the area certainly lives up to that claim. And although the connections to the heart of the capital are frequent and fast, if it’s shopping you’re after, your hardly need to use them. Romford in particular offers a huge variety of independent shops, major malls, and smaller local arcades, including the Liberty Shopping Centre, The Mercury Mall and the The Brewery, as well as the famous Romford market. That’s not to say that Havering’s attractions don’t have their more nuanced and cultured side. On the contrary, the borough boasts two theatres (Brookside and Queen’s Theatre), The National Trust’s Rainham Hall, the Upminster Tithe Barn Museum of Nostalgia, RAF Hornchurch Heritage Centre and, more recently, John Kaufman’s awe-inspiring ‘Diver: Regeneration’ sculpture in the River Thames at Rainham. 15 feet tall, 6 feet wide and made of about 3 tons of galvanised steel, it’s partly submerged every high tide – and completely covered by spring and neap tides.