When Isabella Cole told her colleagues at Dumfries High School that she had been awarded a sabbatical term to research a topic of her choosing, their congratulations were tinged with envy. Sabbaticals are rarely available even to the most long-serving and dedicated teachers. Schools simply cannot afford to pay for cover during a teacher’s absence.
There is, however, a notable, but little known exception. For the past 13 years, one-term research fellowships have been offered to teachers of religious education by the Farmington Institute for Christian Studies, an independent organisation based at Harris Manchester College, Oxford. Each year, 22 primary and secondary teachers in Britain benefit from the scheme, which not only funds participants’ tuition and travel costs but also pays for teaching cover at their schools.
Farmington fellows are required to undertake a piece of research related to religious education and preferably of direct value to the teaching of RE in schools. Recent topics range from the compilation of teacher-friendly materials for use in assemblies to ways of using the Bhagavad Ghita to teach children about Hinduism.
Isabella Cole, who worked chiefly from home in Dumfries, travelled to Strathclyde University for tutorials. ‘I had been an authoritarian teacher,’ she says, ‘but after almost 20 years in the classroom, I finally had time to read and reflect and, as a result, I developed a relaxed approach that is much more conducive to learning.’
The Farmington Institute owes its existence to the Hon Robert Wills, a member of the West Country tobacco family. Badly injured in the Second World War, Wills vowed to ‘do something to help people understand and value each other’. A quietly committed Christian, he set up the Farmington Trust in 1964.
In its early years, the trust funded the development of new teaching materials, published books and ran conferences that brought RE teachers together to share their experience.
In the 1970s, it set up the Farmington Institute, which began to focus on the personal and professional development of RE teachers. The turning point came in 1991 when the organisation formed a partnership with Harris Manchester and moved into the College. This gave Farmington the academic credentials it had been seeking.
Dr Ralph Waller, the Principal of Harris Manchester, who is also the director of the Farmington Institute has been instrumental in developing the fellowship scheme. ‘We give teachers an opportunity to research an aspect of their work in depth and to re-evaluate their teaching,’ he says, ‘Teachers, who can give so much of themselves, can feel demoralised by the pressures of the job. The discerning encouragement they are given as Farmington fellows makes them feel valued and appreciated.’
Wendy Atkinson, the head teacher of Edith Moorhouse primary school in Carterton, Oxfordshire, describes her recent term as a Farmington Fellow as ‘the best present I’ve ever been given’. She adds: ‘I was attached to Oxford Brookes University, where I looked at values in education – something especially relevant now that we’re teaching citizenship in school. It was wonderful to be able to concentrate on one topic, away from the multiple demands of school.’
Sue Moore, who teaches RE at Queen Elizabeth II High School on the Isle of Man, spent a term at Harris Manchester in 1993. ‘Experiencing life at an Oxford college was a tremendous boost to my confidence,’ she says, ‘I found myself having dinner with people who’d written the textbooks we used at school.’
Some Farmington fellows find that the experience leads to a career change. Among them is Isabella Cole, who decided to apply for a job working with teenagers who have emotional and behavioural problems. ‘It will mean a big drop in salary, but it’s what I really want to do,’ she says. My fellowship gave me the space to realise that the pupils who most interest me are the unconventional ones, whose needs are not being met by the system.’
Wills, who is now in his mid-80s, but still involved in the organisation, believes that, in a multi-faith society, the role of religious education in increasing understanding between people is now more important than ever. Each year, up to 70 applications for fellowships are received by the Farmington Institute (which receives no government funding). And that seems to suggest he is right.

By Alexandra Buxton
Telegraph Weekend, Saturday, August 24, 2002.