A BURY lecturer has been elected as branch president for a teachers trade union.

Gerald Murphy, a politics lecturer at Holy Cross Sixth Form College, was elected president of the Bury branch of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) for 2018/19 at their annual general meeting.

A member of the NASUWT for over 27 years, Mr Murphy has regularly attended the union's national conference.

He said: "I am proud to serve Bury NASUWT as the local President and am honoured to have been elected by the Branch.

"Teachers are facing challenging times and it concerns me that the political interference by the Government in education is having a detrimental effect on what teachers' in schools and colleges are trying to do to support young people.

"Education is much more than just academic achievement, it is about becoming a social, caring and knowledgeable individual.

"Statistics, targets and league tables are political and do not illustrate the reality of what is offered to our young people."

Mr Murphy has been welcomed into his position by the union and praised for his commitment to young people and encouraging free thinking and political knowledge.

Karen Hopwood , NASUWT negotiating Secretary for Bury, said: "Ged has a good grasp of the political situation in education and shares NASUWT concerns that the recruitment and retention of teachers has reached crisis levels.

"The failure by the Government to invest in our teachers should be recognised as a failure to invest in the future of our children and young people. The aim of all teachers is to support high quality learning.

"The constant changes in curriculum, testing and assessments and lack of opportunities for our young people has led to anger and frustration in the profession.

"Parents are becoming increasingly aware of the reasons for teacher burnout and teachers, who themselves are parents too, want what is best for our children."