Staff from three secondary schools came together for what is thought to be one of the biggest teacher training sessions held in the borough.

A total of 500 staff from Rokeby School, Sarah Bonnell School and Lister Community School – who have united under the banner of the Newham Community Schools Trust – came together for the first time.

Teachers, teaching assistants and premises staff had the opportunity to learn from each other and take part in a series of workshops on Wednesday.

Sarah Jacobs, chief executive of the Newham Community Schools Trust, said: “It was wonderful to see our incredibly talented staff teams come together to collaborate and share best practice.

“What made it so special was that the 500 attendees constituted our three schools’ entire staffs, and all the sessions were specifically tailored to the groups.

“Partnership working like this is exactly the reason why we formed the NCST and why we want our schools to become academies.”