TEACHERS in Hertfordshire have been offered the opportunity to study for a Masters degree in Education in conjunction with Cambridge University.

St Albans teacher Heather Nisbet recently completed an MEd in Teaching and Learning which she studied for at Wheathampstead Development Centre.

Ms Nisbet, 29, has worked at St Peter's JMI school for the past six years after working in a primary school in Liverpool for a year.

She said: "It was very hard work but very rewarding. The course lasts for two years and the work included two 8,000-word essays and a 20,000-word thesis. We were sent up to Cambridge once a term for a weekend to study and the rest of our classes were taken in Wheathampstead."

The MEd is funded by Children, Schools and Families at Hertfordshire County Council and is designed to extend teachers' knowledge and understanding of learning.

Ms Nisbet is among 16 Hertfordshire teachers who have already completed the programme. A special reception was held last week for 60 teachers from Hertfordshire who have signed up to do the MEd. Teachers gave a short presentation of the research they have undertaken which is to be published and put on the internet.

Executive member for children, schools and families Robert Gordon welcomed the students to the reception. He said: "I am very impressed by the work that you are doing and delighted to see so many of our teachers 'going the extra mile' in pursuit of their professional development."

A formal graduation is to be held at the University of Cambridge later this year.