A London School is sending its teachers out of the classroom in a bid to help them get a feel for business life and prepare their students for the world of work.

Forest Gate Community School, London, is turning its usual work experience programme on its head, and on 29 June, the whole staff team will leave the classroom to spend a day in the office.

As part of this new "Take Your Teachers to Work" scheme, the 70 teachers and 70 support staff will visit a range of companies for a day's work experience. The programme is designed to give teachers a better understanding of the world of business and enable them to better prepare their students for their future careers.

The teachers will be given presentations on the company, its functions, products and clients, as well as a tour of the offices. They will also have the chance to shadow employees from different departments throughout the day and talk to Human Resources about recruitment processes, interview techniques, CVs, and training and development.

Corry Wille, Group Human Resources Director at Tate & Lyle, on of the companies taking part, said: "Many young people struggle with the transition from school to the workplace, simply because they have had little opportunity to learn from people with first-hand experience in business. 'Educating the educators' by giving teachers the chance to improve their understanding of how business works is key."

At the end of the day, the teachers will compile reports of what they have learnt. Their experiences will later be made available as a learning resource on Forest Gate Community School's website.