Dan Brown Songwriter and pop singer When did he become a songwriter? In 1991 he moved to Hollywood to pursue a career as singer-songwriter and pianist. What was his first published song? in 1990 self-published a CD entitled Perspective, Was it successful? sold a few hundred copies. What did he write next? In 1994 Brown released a CD titled Angels & Demons. Was it successful? I don't know. Did he release any more music after that? Brown and his wife, Blythe, moved to his home town in New Hampshire in 1993. Brown became an English teacher
Where did he teach?
Where did Dan Brown teach in New Hampshire?
After graduating from Amherst, Brown dabbled with a musical career, creating effects with a synthesizer, and self-producing a children's cassette entitled SynthAnimals, which included a collection of tracks such as "Happy Frogs" and "Suzuki Elephants"; it sold a few hundred copies. He then formed his own record company called Dalliance, and in 1990 self-published a CD entitled Perspective, targeted to the adult market, which also sold a few hundred copies. In 1991 he moved to Hollywood to pursue a career as singer-songwriter and pianist. To support himself, he taught classes at Beverly Hills Preparatory School.  He also joined the National Academy of Songwriters, and participated in many of its events. It was there that he met Blythe Newlon, a woman 12 years his senior, who was the Academy's Director of Artist Development. Though it was not officially part of her job, she took on the seemingly unusual task of helping to promote Brown's projects; she wrote press releases, set up promotional events, and put him in contact with people who could be helpful to his career. She and Brown also developed a personal relationship, though this was not known to all of their associates until 1993, when Brown moved back to New Hampshire, and it was learned that Newlon would accompany him. They married in 1997, at Pea Porridge Pond, near Conway, New Hampshire.  In 1994 Brown released a CD titled Angels & Demons. Its artwork was the same ambigram by artist John Langdon which he later used for the novel Angels & Demons. The liner notes also again credited his wife for her involvement, thanking her "for being my tireless cowriter, coproducer, second engineer, significant other, and therapist". The CD included songs such as "Here in These Fields" and the religious ballad, "All I Believe".  Brown and his wife, Blythe, moved to his home town in New Hampshire in 1993. Brown became an English teacher at his alma mater Phillips Exeter, and gave Spanish classes to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders at Lincoln Akerman School, a small school for K-8th grade with about 250 students, in Hampton Falls. CANNOTANSWER
Brown became an English teacher at his alma mater Phillips Exeter, and gave Spanish classes to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders at Lincoln Akerman School,
Daniel Gerhard Brown (born June 22, 1964) is an American author best known for his thriller novels, including the Robert Langdon novels Angels & Demons (2000), The Da Vinci Code (2003), The Lost Symbol (2009), Inferno (2013), and Origin (2017). His novels are treasure hunts which usually take place over a period of 24 hours. They feature recurring themes of cryptography, art, and conspiracy theories. His books have been translated into 57 languages and, as of 2012, have sold over 200 million copies. Three of them, Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code, and Inferno, have been adapted into films.

The Robert Langdon novels are deeply engaged with Christian themes and historical fiction, and have generated controversy as a result. Brown states on his website that his books are not anti-Christian and he is on a "constant spiritual journey" himself. He claims that his book The Da Vinci Code is simply "an entertaining story that promotes spiritual discussion and debate" and suggests that the book may be used "as a positive catalyst for introspection and exploration of our faith."

Early life
Dan Gerhard Brown was born on June 22, 1964, in Exeter, New Hampshire. He has a younger sister, Valerie (born 1968) and brother, Gregory (born 1974). Brown attended Exeter's public schools until the ninth grade. He grew up on the campus of Phillips Exeter Academy, where his father, Richard G. Brown, was a teacher of mathematics and wrote textbooks from 1968 until his retirement in 1997. His mother, Constance (née Gerhard), trained as a church organist and student of sacred music. Brown was raised an Episcopalian, and described his religious evolution in a 2009 interview:

"I was raised Episcopalian, and I was very religious as a kid. Then, in eighth or ninth grade, I studied astronomy, cosmology, and the origins of the universe. I remember saying to a minister, 'I don't get it. I read a book that said there was an explosion known as the Big Bang, but here it says God created heaven and Earth and the animals in seven days. Which is right?' Unfortunately, the response I got was, 'Nice boys don't ask that question.' A light went off, and I said, 'The Bible doesn't make sense. Science makes much more sense to me.' And I just gravitated away from religion."

When asked in the same interview about his then-current religious views, Brown replied:"The irony is that I've really come full circle. The more science I studied, the more I saw that physics becomes metaphysics and numbers become imaginary numbers. The further you go into science, the mushier the ground gets. You start to say, 'Oh, there is an order and a spiritual aspect to science.'"

Brown's interest in secrets and puzzles stems from their presence in his household as a child, where codes and ciphers were the linchpin tying together the mathematics, music, and languages in which his parents worked. The young Brown spent hours working out anagrams and crossword puzzles, and he and his siblings participated in elaborate treasure hunts devised by their father on birthdays and holidays. On Christmas, for example, Brown and his siblings did not find gifts under the tree, but followed a treasure map with codes and clues throughout their house and even around town to find the gifts. Brown's relationship with his father inspired that of Sophie Neveu and Jacques Saunière in The Da Vinci Code, and Chapter 23 of that novel was inspired by one of his childhood treasure hunts.

After graduating from Phillips Exeter, Brown attended Amherst College, where he was a member of Psi Upsilon fraternity. He played squash, sang in the Amherst Glee Club, and was a writing student of visiting novelist Alan Lelchuk. Brown spent the 1985 school year abroad in Seville, Spain, where he was enrolled in an art history course at the University of Seville. Brown graduated from Amherst in 1986.

Career

Composer and singer
After graduating from Amherst, Brown dabbled with a musical career, creating effects with a synthesizer, and self-producing a children's cassette entitled SynthAnimals, which included a collection of tracks such as "Happy Frogs" and "Suzuki Elephants"; it sold a few hundred copies. The music has been compared to Gary Glitter. He then formed his own record company called Dalliance, and in 1990 self-published a CD entitled Perspective, targeted to the adult market, which also sold a few hundred copies. In 1991 he moved to Hollywood to pursue a career as singer-songwriter and pianist. To support himself, he taught classes at Beverly Hills Preparatory School.

He also joined the National Academy of Songwriters and participated in many of its events. It was there that he met his wife, Blythe Newlon, who was the academy's Director of Artist Development. Though it was not officially part of her job, she took on the seemingly unusual task of helping to promote Brown's projects; she wrote press releases, set up promotional events, and put him in contact with people who could be helpful to his career. She and Brown also developed a personal relationship, though this was not known to all of their associates until 1993, when Brown moved back to New Hampshire, and it was learned that Newlon would accompany him. They married in 1997, at Pea Porridge Pond, near Conway, New Hampshire.
In 1994 Brown released a CD titled Angels & Demons. Its artwork was the same ambigram by artist John Langdon which he later used for the novel Angels & Demons. The liner notes also again credited his wife for her involvement, thanking her "for being my tireless cowriter, coproducer, second engineer, significant other, and therapist". The CD included songs such as "Here in These Fields" and the religious ballad, "All I Believe".

Brown and his wife, Blythe, moved to, Rye, New Hampshire in 1993. Brown became an English teacher at his alma mater Phillips Exeter, and gave Spanish classes to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders at Lincoln Akerman School, a small school for K–8th grade with about 250 students, in Hampton Falls.

Brown has written a symphonic work titled Wild Symphony which is supplemented by a book of the same name. The book is illustrated by Hungarian artist Susan Batori which feature simple ambigrams for children, while the visuals trigger the corresponding music in an accompanying app. The music was recorded by the Zagreb Festival Orchestra and will receive its world concert premiere by the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra in 2020.

Writing

While on vacation in Tahiti in 1993, Brown read Sidney Sheldon's novel The Doomsday Conspiracy, and was inspired to become a writer of thrillers.

He started work on Digital Fortress, setting much of it in Seville, where he had studied in 1985. He also co-wrote a humor book with his wife, 187 Men to Avoid: A Survival Guide for the Romantically Frustrated Woman, under the pseudonym "Danielle Brown". The book's author profile reads, "Danielle Brown currently lives in New England: teaching school, writing books, and avoiding men." The copyright to the book is attributed to Brown.

In 1996 Brown quit teaching to become a full-time writer. Digital Fortress was published in 1998. His wife Blythe did much of the book's promotion, writing press releases, booking Brown on talk shows, and setting up press interviews. A few months later, Brown and his wife released The Bald Book, another humor book. It was officially credited to his wife, though a representative of the publisher said that it was primarily written by Brown. Brown subsequently wrote Angels & Demons and Deception Point, released in 2000 and 2001 respectively, the former of which was the first to feature the lead character, Harvard symbology expert Robert Langdon.
Brown's first three novels had little success, with fewer than 10,000 copies in each of their first printings. His fourth novel, The Da Vinci Code, became a bestseller, going to the top of the New York Times Best Seller list during its first week of release in 2003. It is one of the most popular books of all time, with 81 million copies sold worldwide as of 2009. Its success has helped push sales of Brown's earlier books.

In 2004 all four of his novels were on the New York Times list in the same week, and, in 2005, he made Time magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential People of the Year. Forbes magazine placed Brown at No. 12 on their 2005 "Celebrity 100" list, and estimated his annual income at US$76.5 million. According to the article published in The Times, the estimated income of Brown after Da Vinci Code sales is $250 million.
Brown's third novel featuring Robert Langdon, The Lost Symbol, was released on September 15, 2009. According to the publisher, on its first day the book sold over one million in hardcover and e-book versions in the US, the UK and Canada, prompting the printing of 600,000 hardcover copies in addition to the five million first printing.

The story takes place in Washington D.C. over a period of twelve hours, and features the Freemasons.  The book also includes many elements that made The Da Vinci Code a number one best seller.

Brown's promotional website states that puzzles hidden in the book jacket of The Da Vinci Code, including two references to the Kryptos sculpture at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia, give hints about the sequel. Brown has adopted a relevant theme in some of his earlier work.

Brown's fourth novel featuring Robert Langdon, Inferno is a mystery thriller novel released on May 14, 2013, by Doubleday. It ranked No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list for the first 11 weeks of its release, has sold more than 1.4 million copies in the US alone.

In a 2006 interview, Brown stated that he had ideas for about 12 future books featuring Robert Langdon.

Characters in Brown's books are often named after real people in his life. Robert Langdon is named after John Langdon, the artist who created the ambigrams used for the Angels & Demons CD and novel. Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca is named after On a Claire Day cartoonist friend Carla Ventresca. In the Vatican archives, Langdon recalls a wedding of two people named Dick and Connie, which are the names of his parents. Robert Langdon's editor Jonas Faukman is named after Brown's real life editor Jason Kaufman. Brown also said that characters were based on a New Hampshire librarian, and a French teacher at Exeter, André Vernet. Cardinal Aldo Baggia, in Angels & Demons, is named after Aldo Baggia, instructor of modern languages at Phillips Exeter Academy.

In interviews, Brown has said his wife, Blythe, is an art historian and painter. When they met, she was the Director of Artistic Development at the National Academy for Songwriters in Los Angeles. During the 2006 lawsuit over alleged copyright infringement in The Da Vinci Code, information was introduced at trial that showed that Blythe did research for the book. In one article, she was described as "chief researcher.

Doubleday published his seventh book, Origin, on October 3, 2017. It is the fifth book in his Robert Langdon series.

Reception

Brown's prose style has been criticized as clumsy, with The Da Vinci Code being described as 'committing style and word choice blunders in almost every paragraph'. In his 2005 documentary for Channel 4, The Real Da Vinci Code, author and presenter Tony Robinson criticised both the accuracy of the author's historic research and the writing itself, considering the book to be not particularly well written. Much of the criticism was centered on Brown's claim in his preface that the novel is based on fact in relation to Opus Dei and the Priory of Sion, and that "all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in [the] novel are accurate".

Influences and habits
In addition to Sidney Sheldon, Brown has been quite vocal about a number of other literary influences who have inspired his writing.

Recurring elements that Brown prefers to incorporate into his novels include a simple hero pulled out of their familiar setting and thrust into a new one with which they are unfamiliar, an attractive female sidekick/ love interest, foreign travel, imminent danger from a pursuing villain, antagonists who have a disability or genetic disorder, and a 24-hour time frame in which the story takes place.

Brown's work is heavily influenced by academic Joseph Campbell, who wrote extensively on mythology and religion and was highly influential in the field of screenwriting. Brown also claims to have based the character of Robert Langdon on Campbell.

Director Alfred Hitchcock appears to be another key influence on Brown. Like Hitchcock, the writer favours suspense-laden plots involving an innocent middle-aged man pursued by deadly foes, glamorous foreign settings, key scenes set in tourist destinations, a cast of wealthy and eccentric characters, young and curvaceous female sidekicks, Catholicism and MacGuffins.

Brown does his writing in his loft. He told fans that he uses inversion therapy to help with writer's block. He uses gravity boots and says, "hanging upside down seems to help me solve plot challenges by shifting my entire perspective".

Copyright infringement cases
In August 2005 author Lewis Perdue unsuccessfully sued Brown for plagiarism, on the basis of claimed similarity between The Da Vinci Code and his novels, The Da Vinci Legacy (1983) and Daughter of God (2000). Judge George B. Daniels said, in part: "A reasonable average lay observer would not conclude that The Da Vinci Code is substantially similar to Daughter of God."

In April 2006 Brown's publisher, Random House, won a copyright infringement case brought by authors Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, who claimed that Brown stole ideas from their 1982 book Holy Blood Holy Grail for his 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code. It was in the book Holy Blood Holy Grail that Baigent, Leigh, and co-author Henry Lincoln had advanced the theory that Jesus and Mary Magdalene married and had a child and that the bloodline continues to this day. Brown apparently alluded to the two authors' names in his book. Leigh Teabing, a lead character in both the novel and the film, uses Leigh's name as the first name, and anagrammatically derives his last name from Baigent's. Mr Justice Peter Smith found in Brown's favor in the case, and as a private amusement, embedded his own Smithy code in the written judgment.

On March 28, 2007, Brown's publisher, Random House, won an appeal copyright infringement case. The Court of Appeal of England and Wales rejected the efforts from Baigent and Leigh, who became liable for paying legal expenses of nearly US$6 million.

Brown has been sued twice in U.S. Federal courts by the author Jack Dunn who claims Brown copied a huge part of his book The Vatican Boys to write The Da Vinci Code (2006–07) and Angels & Demons (2011-12). Both lawsuits were not allowed to go to a jury trial. In 2017, in London, another claim was begun against Brown by Jack Dunn who claimed that justice was not served in the U.S. lawsuits.

Charity work
In October 2004, Brown and his siblings donated US$2.2 million to Phillips Exeter Academy in honor of their father, to set up the Richard G. Brown Technology Endowment to help "provide computers and high-tech equipment for students in need".

On April 14, 2011, Dan and his wife, Blythe Newlon Brown, created an eponymous scholarship fund to celebrate his 25th reunion from Amherst College, a permanently endowed scholarship fund at the college whose income provides financial aid to students there, with preference for incoming students with an interest in writing.

On June 16, 2016, Dan Brown donated US$337,000 to the Ritman Library in Amsterdam to digitize a collection of ancient books.

Personal life
Brown and his wife, Blythe Newlon, were supporters of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.

In 2019, after 21 years of marriage, Brown and his wife acrimoniously divorced, with the financial settlement still to be concluded due to Brown's alleged infidelities during the latter part of their marriage.

Bibliography

Stand-alone novels
 Digital Fortress (1998)
 Deception Point (2001)
 Wild Symphony (2020), illustrated children's book

Robert Langdon series

 Angels & Demons (2000)
 The Da Vinci Code (2003)
 The Lost Symbol (2009)
 Inferno (2013)
 Origin (2017)

Adaptations
In 2006, Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code was released as a film by Columbia Pictures, with director Ron Howard. It was widely anticipated and launched the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, though it received overall poor reviews. It currently has a 26% rating at the film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, derived from 165 negative reviews of the 214 counted. It was later listed as one of the worst films of 2006 on Ebert & Roeper, but also the second highest-grossing film of the year, pulling in  US$750 million worldwide.

Brown was listed as one of the executive producers of the film The Da Vinci Code, and also created additional codes for the film. One of his songs, "Phiano", which Brown wrote and performed, was listed as part of the film's soundtrack. In the film, Brown and his wife can be seen in the background of one of the early book signing scenes.

The next film, Angels & Demons, was released on May 15, 2009, with Howard and Hanks returning. It, too, garnered mostly negative reviews, though critics were kinder to it than to its predecessor. , it has a 37% meta-rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

Filmmakers expressed interest in adapting The Lost Symbol into a film as well.

The screenplay was written by Danny Strong, with pre-production expected to begin in 2013. According to a January 2013 article in Los Angeles Times the final draft of the screenplay was due sometime in February, but in July 2013, Sony Pictures announced they would instead adapt Inferno for an October 14, 2016 release date with Ron Howard as director, David Koepp adapting the screenplay and Tom Hanks reprising his role as Robert Langdon.  Inferno was released on October 28, 2016.

Imagine Entertainment was announced in 2014 to produce a television series based on Digital Fortress, written by Josh Goldin and Rachel Abramowitz.

In 2021, Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol was adapted into a television series repositioned as an origin story for Brown's Robert Langdon character with Ashley Zukerman playing Langdon. It ran on the streaming service Peacock for one season.

References

External links

 Dan Brown Official Website
 
 
 

 
1964 births
Living people
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American novelists
American mystery writers
American male novelists
American thriller writers
Techno-thriller writers
Amherst College alumni
People from Exeter, New Hampshire
Phillips Exeter Academy alumni
Phillips Exeter Academy faculty
Novelists from New Hampshire
People involved in plagiarism controversies
People from Rye, New Hampshire
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American male writers
"I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You" is a song by American indie rock band Black Kids from their debut album, Partie Traumatic (2008). It was released as the band's debut single by Almost Gold Recordings on April 7, 2008, in the United Kingdom, and on May 27, 2008, in North America. The song peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart but did not chart in the United States. The demo version from the band's 2007 EP Wizard of Ahhhs placed at number 68 on Pitchfork Media's Top 100 Tracks of 2007.

Background
According to lead singer Reggie Youngblood, the track was inspired by Jacksonville's dance party scene: he realized that usually, he would end up with girls who couldn't dance. The line "You are the girl, that I've been dreaming of, ever since I was a little girl" is based on an inside joke between Reggie and his sister Ali Youngblood where they would refer to wanting something as "Ever since I was a little girl".

Reception
In a review of Partie Traumatic on AllMusic, Tim Sendra called "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You" one of the best songs on the album, writing that it "kick[s] you in the gut with [its] energy and verve." Commercially, the single performed well in the United Kingdom, debuting at number 84 on April 6, 2008, and rising to its peak of number 11 the following week. It became a minor hit in the Flanders region of Belgium, reaching number 10 on the Ultratip listing.

Track listings
All songs were written by Black Kids except where noted.

7-inch single (pink vinyl)
A. "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You" – 3:39
B. "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover"  – 2:26

UK 12-inch single (white vinyl)
A1. "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You" – 3:39
B1. "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You" (The Twelves Remix) – 3:46
B2. "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You" (The Twelves Remix – Dub Version) – 3:46

CD single and EP
 "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You" – 3:39
 "You Turn Me On"  – 2:50
 "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover"  – 2:26

US and Canadian digital download
 "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You" – 3:40
 "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You" (The Twelves Remix) – 3:44

UK digital download EP
 "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You" – 3:39
 "You Turn Me On"  – 2:50
 "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover"  – 2:26
 "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You" (The Twelves Remix) – 3:46

Personnel
 Owen Holmes – bass guitar
 Kevin Snow – drums
 Dawn Watley – keyboards and vocals
 Ali Youngblood – keyboards and vocals
 Reggie Youngblood – guitar and vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links
 Official Black Kids website

2008 debut singles
2008 songs
Black Kids songs
Songs about dancing Teach First (also Teach First Cymru) is a social enterprise registered as a charity which aims to address educational disadvantage in England and Wales. Teach First coordinates an employment-based teaching training programme whereby participants achieve Qualified Teacher Status through the participation in a two-year training programme that involves the completion of a PGDE along with wider leadership skills training and an optional master's degree.

Trainees are placed at participating primary and secondary schools where they commit to stay for the duration of the 2-year training programme. Eligible schools are those where more than half of the pupils come from the poorest 30% of families according to the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index. Following completion of the two-year programme, participants become Teach First ambassadors. This network of ambassadors aims to address educational disadvantage either in school or in other sectors.

Teach First is the largest recruiter of graduates in the United Kingdom, and was ranked 2nd only to PwC in The Times annual Top 100 Graduate Employers list  in 2014 and 2015.

The Teach First scheme has been met with some controversy and criticism since its inception, which has impeded its planned expansion into Scotland.

In June 2020 Teach First dropped 120 trainees due to lack of training opportunities because of COVID-19, sending out a generic email. Some prospective trainees has already given up steady jobs in order to take up placements.

History
In the summer of 2001 Charles, Prince of Wales as president of Business in the Community hosted a group of business leaders and headteachers. At this event Ian Davis of McKinsey and Company agreed to produce a report on the question of why inner-London Schools were not doing as well as they could do, and what business could do to contribute to the improvement of London schools for the event organisers and London First. The report highlighted the problems with the quality of London's schools, particularly in inner London. It confirmed the link between poverty and educational outcomes and noted that the proportion of pupils on Free school meals in inner London was three times the national average. The report also highlighted how the scale of pupil mobility was inhibiting the progress of many young people. Fifteen per cent of students attending inner London schools were entering school, leaving school or changing schools during the school year. This cycle was affecting student performance at age 16.

In terms of potential solutions McKinsey & Co. reinforced the value of a school being well led by a high quality head teacher, but also highlighted the importance of the quality of classroom teaching. The number of excellent teachers was, they reported, one of the strongest predictors of improved pupil performance, especially in challenging schools. Good teachers made an impact on pupil performance because they:

 Increased pupil motivation
 Improved knowledge transfer
 Provided good role models
 Gave more individual support to pupils
 Monitored pupils’ achievements systematically

However, the high vacancy and turnover rates in London were making it difficult to build a group of skilled teachers. Salary levels were also part of the problem – but only a small part of it. Poor management, inadequate resources, long hours, taxing duties, poor student behaviour and a lack of professional opportunities also contributed to the large numbers of teachers leaving the profession. Building on the experience of Teach for America (which had been formed in 1990) McKinsey & Co. proposed creating a programme to recruit and train the best and brightest graduates and place them in London's disadvantaged and underperforming schools.

One of the consultants involved in compiling the report, Brett Wigdortz, set about developing a business plan for a Teach for America style enterprise in London. In February 2002 Brett took a six-month sabbatical from McKinsey to develop a business plan for what was tentatively called Teach for London before it evolved to become Teach First.

Teach First officially launched in July 2002, in Canary Wharf with a team of 11 committed employees led by Brett Wigdortz as CEO and Stephen O’Brien CBE & George Iacobescu CBE as co-chairs of the Board of Trustees. Canary Wharf Group and Citi become the first corporate supporters of Teach First.

Teach First's first cohort of participants started to teach in 45 secondary schools in London. Haling Manor High School in Croydon was the first school to sign up to Teach First. It was based solely in London until September 2006 when it expanded into Greater Manchester schools.

In 2007, Teach First collaborated with Teach for America to create Teach for All, a global network of independent social enterprises that are working to expand educational opportunity in their nations.

Recruitment process
To be eligible to apply to the Teach First Leadership Development Programme candidates need to have: 
 a 2.1 degree or above.
 a degree or A-levels that satisfies Teach First's subject dependent requirements.
 Grade C (or equivalent) in GCSE Maths and English (Grade C in one Science GCSE is also required for Primary teaching eligibility)/ Grade B (or equivalent) in GCSE Maths and English to teach in Wales.
 flexibility to teach within any of the Teach First regions.

The recruitment process begins by registering interest and then submitting an online application (within 12 weeks). If the online application is successful, candidates are invited to attend a one-day assessment centre consisting of a competency-based interview, a group case study exercise and the delivery of a sample teaching lesson. There are eight competencies assessed throughout the recruitment process. If successful at the assessment centre, candidates are then made a conditional offer to join Teach First dependent on a subject knowledge assessment and classroom observation period.

Teach First Programme
Participants teach in the same school throughout the two years. In the first year, participants work towards a PGCE whilst undertaking around 90% of a Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) timetable, In their second year participants work as NQTs. Trainees are placed at participating primary and secondary schools where they commit to stay for the duration of the training programme. Eligible schools are those where more than half of the pupils come from the poorest 30% of families according to the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index. Participants are paid and employed by the schools they are placed at.

Following completion of the two-year programme, participants become Teach First ambassadors. This network of ambassadors aims to address educational disadvantage either in school or in other sectors.

Summer Institute
Before entering the classroom, participants attend a five-week Summer Institute. Four weeks of this  is spent in their region and the final week at a residential course where they learn about the organisation's mission and develop their understanding of educational theory and practice to prepare them to begin teaching in the following September. Participants spend time training in the region in which they will teach, usually with an observation period in the school they will join after the summer. They then attend a residential course together as an entire cohort.

Support
Participants receive support in many areas of their training:

Tutors
All participants work with one of Teach First's university partners towards a PGDE and QTS (qualified teacher status) during their first year teaching.

Mentors 
Partner schools allocate mentors to assist their trainee's development as a teacher.

Participant Development Leads 
Teach First Participant Development Leads are all qualified teachers with leadership experience. They support and challenge participants throughout the two years.

Leadership Development
Throughout their two years teaching, participants have access to a range of leadership development opportunities.
The two-year Leadership Development programme is designed to enable participants to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes for use inside and outside the classroom. This training is delivered through workshops, panel events and one to one coaching. For example, participants have access to qualified teacher-led training sessions to provide them with tools and strategies they can apply in their classrooms. They will also attend workshops and reflective seminars to help them develop a good understanding of their strengths and areas for development. In addition, they will have the opportunity to have a coach to help them overcome the challenges they face, as well as business school training to teach them the fundamental aspects of business theory and practice which they can apply to their school context.

Participants also have the opportunity to apply to undertake a one-three week mini-internship during the school holidays – known as a Summer Project. These provide an opportunity to join one of Teach First's supporting or partner organisations to complete or contribute to a short-term goal or objective.

Recruits also have the opportunity to complete a master's degree, starting in their second year on the programme through various partner universities.

Expansion

Regional
Teach First was initially based solely in London, as part of the London Challenge initiative, until September 2006 when it expanded into Greater Manchester schools. The programme was subsequently extended to cover a total of 11 local areas: East Midlands, London, North East, North West, South Coast, South East, South West, East of England, West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber.

In Wales Teach First was given a three-year contract by the Welsh Government to pilot a graduate training programme for three years from 2013 as Teach First Cymru.

Teach First has not been established in Scotland, in 2013 the charity met with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (the independent body for teaching in Scotland) but was told the recruits would not be permitted to teach in Scottish schools, as the General Council will only allow those already holding teaching certificates to teach. The Educational Institute of Scotland opposed the expansion of Teach First into the country with The Herald describing Teach First as controversial. In 2017 Scottish universities offering teacher training unanimously agreed to not work with Teach First. In light of the Scottish Government putting out to tender a fast-track teacher training scheme.

Cohort
Since launching in 2002, Teach First has placed increasing numbers of participants in schools each year.

Training provision
Teach First expanded from recruiting for secondary school teaching into recruiting primary teachers in 2011.

Recruitment
Teach First is increasingly seen as attractive to young professionals and career changers with 22% of applicants in 2014 coming from these backgrounds.
Teach First launched a new campaign in October 2015 which focuses less on the social reward aspects of teaching and more on the challenge of a teaching career, following research by the Behavioural Insights Team.

Similar schemes 
School Direct and School-Centred Initial Teacher Training are school based schemes where participants can earn a salary during training. The Teach First model has also been applied in other areas of public sector recruitment with Frontline for children's social work, Think Ahead for mental-health social work, Police Now a two-year graduate leadership programme of the Metropolitan Police, and Unlocked for prison officers.

Alumni ('Ambassadors') 
As of 2017, 26 ambassadors of the programme were in Head Teacher roles and 36 social enterprises had been founded by ambassadors.  Seventeen of these are recognised as official 'Innovation Partners' including The Access Project, Boromi, The Brilliant Club, CPDBee, The Difference, Enabling Enterprise, First Story, Franklin Scholars, Frontline, Future Frontiers, The Grub Club, Hackney Pirates, Jamie's Farm, Maths with Parents, MeeTwo, Right to Succeed and Thinking Reading.

Notable alumni of Teach First include:
 Josh MacAlister (2009 ambassador) - Founder and CEO of Frontline social work charity
 Alex Kelly (2005 ambassador) - Founder of The Access Project, Co-Founder and CEO of Unifrog
 Stephanie Peacock (2010 ambassador) - Member of Parliament (MP) for Barnsley East 
 William Wragg (2014 ambassador) - Member of Parliament (MP) for Hazel Grove

Criticism 

As part of the Teach For All network, Teach First is subject to many of the same criticisms levelled at its main partner organisation Teach for America, and offshoots such as Teach First Norway and Teach First New Zealand. Criticisms have been raised about the cost effectiveness of Teach First, with training costs higher per participant when compared to other training routes.

Teach First asks for the graduates it recruits to give two years of teaching, and so retention rates for Teach First are lower than other routes into teaching, forty percent of Teach First participants stay in teaching after 5 years compared to much higher percentages (ranging from 62 to 70%) coming through PGCE and GTP programmes. It is anticipated and accepted that many of them will go on to careers in other sectors (hence the name, Teach First), also described as "teach first, then get a better job". The higher turnover rate and rapidly increasing cohort size of Teach First has been alleged as allowing schools to reduce their costs by employing teaching staff at unqualified teacher pay scales, it has been alleged that Teach First has been targeted by some academy school chains because of this.

Teach First has been accused of elitism, and has also been accused of being biased to middle-class applicants within the application process. Teach First participants interviewed as part of an evaluation were predominantly middle‐class, possessing social and cultural capital which had facilitated their access to the Teach First scheme. A Study by London Metropolitan University found some recruits displayed patronising middle-class attitudes, coupled with a belief that they as graduates of prestigious universities, have much to offer but nothing to learn from low-income communities.

In 2009 it was reported that Teach First participants were being placed in schools where GCSE grades were above the local and national averages, and not in the worst performing secondary schools. Education Data Surveys analysed the results of all the schools involved in Teach First and found 15 of the 79 London secondaries (19 per cent) had GCSE achievements above their local authority average, and 17 schools had results above the national average. In the North West, five Teach First schools, or 23 per cent, had exam results which were the same or better than the local authority average. In the Midlands, results at five schools, or 18 per cent, were the same or better than the local authority average and two had results at or above the national average, raising the question of why schools with GCSE results up to 80 and 70 per cent were taking part.

In response Teach First said that exam results were not the "whole story" of the initiative, and the number of children claiming free school meals was as important in selecting schools to be involved. Stating "Teach First selects the schools into which it places exceptional graduates through consideration of a range of criteria that indicate the level of challenge experienced at the school, including the percentage of free schools meals, the exam results at GCSE, staff turnover and the difficulties experienced by schools in recruiting new teachers."

Teach First's relationship with businesses and deferred entry schemes has opened it to suggestions that it operates as an elite graduate scheme for them to recruit from.

Teach First has also been said to place too much emphasis on schools in London, to where it places 40% of its recruits. It has been subject to criticism that London and larger cities are able to attract the best graduates, but coastal and rural communities struggle to attract these graduates. Brett Wigdortz in response said "We made the same mistake many implementations make – starting in the place where it's easiest to implement things, the big cities, and taking a while to get to the areas which really need it".

The Teach First model whereby teachers enter the classroom after only a six-week summer camp can leave recruits feeling their in-class levels of support as variable. A Teach First recruit has said the experience left her feeling expendable, saying the Teach First leadership were more focussed on expansion rather than the experience of recruits in a "survival of the fittest" atmosphere. Teach First had a 92% retention rate of recruits in 2012, with the recruit earning a "good" teacher label by observers.

The so-called "London effect" where the capital has seen a turnaround in educational achievement since the millennium, which has seen Teach First (and other interventions such as the London Challenge and the rise of academies) being credited with the turnaround of education in London, has been analysed in an academic study as coming instead from gradual improvements in primary education in the capital.

Teach First has been supported by politicians of the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties.

In 2017 the Journalist and director of the New Schools Network Toby Young attended a social mobility summit hosted by Teach First, who asked him to write a blog for them. Teach First disagreed with the content of the work submitted by Young, and published it with a rebuttal from another author working in the field. Teach First then decided that they were in error to publish the blog, even with a rebuttal, and removed it as being against their values and vision. Stating that they did not want to act as a platform for the views contained therein. Toby Young claimed that he only found out about this decision via Twitter, and questioned why Teach First published it in the first place, stating that he felt as though he had been censored by the charity. A third party broadly agreed with Young's blog points, but found some merit in the rebuttal. Teach First apologised to Young and he accepted their apology.

See also
 Tough Young Teachers – a BBC documentary following graduates on the Teach First programme

References

External links
 Teach First Official Website

Organizations established in 2002
Educational organisations based in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom educational programs
Charities based in London
2002 establishments in the United Kingdom