The East of England is the country's second largest region, made up of the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.
It’s home to several important towns and cities, such as Cambridge, Norwich and Ipswich, as well as large swathes of low-lying flatlands dotted with rural villages. There are already more than 57,000 teachers living and working in the area.
But what makes the region so desirable for those in education?
Key statistics:
Education
£37,918 – The average salary of all teachers, (about £900 a year below the national average).
18 – Average number of pupils per teacher (just above the national average of 17.9).
12 per cent – The amount of schools reporting a vacancy or temporarily filled post (in line with the national average of 11.9 per cent).
10.4 per cent – The amount of primary teachers leaving the profession (slightly above the national average).
11.4 per cent – The amount of secondary teachers leaving the profession (slightly higher than the national average).
30.9 per cent – The amount of teaching staff working part-time (second highest in the country after the South West).
Data taken from the Regional, LA and school tables: school workforce census 2017.
Cost of living
£288,494 – Average house price (higher than the national average for England of £244,567).
Data taken from the UK House Price Index January 2019.
£26,789 – Average annual cost of living per household (slightly higher than the national average of £25,766).
3.2 per cent - Increase in average weekly pay in 2017, (second highest in the country, beaten only by the West Midlands at 3.4 per cent).
Data taken from ABC Finance.
What’s it like living and working in the East of England?
We asked two teachers what they felt the region had to offer.
Steve Palmer, head of school at Bury St Edmunds All-Through Trust:
“I began my teaching career on the edge of London in Sunbury-on-Thames. I had grown up and gone to school in Suffolk, so when an opportunity arose to take up a role there, I jumped at the chance. I moved in 2005 and I can honestly say I have never regretted the decision.
“Obviously, there is a slower pace of life in East Anglia compared with the hustle and bustle of a global centre like London. It is less cosmopolitan but there is a reassuring calmness to life here.
“People who come fall in love with the countryside, the history of the towns and villages, and the friendliness of the people. For me, nothing beats getting out my bike and exploring the quiet roads and lanes of the county.
“Bury St Edmunds itself is growing rapidly. Housing in the area is more affordable than many of the surrounding counties and there is a real buzz about the development of retail and leisure facilities in the area. For me, there is no place like home.”
Steve Mills, headteacher, Whitehill Junior School, Hitchin:
“I have been teaching all my life in the East of England. I was initially in Luton and then, in 1999, I moved across the Bedfordshire border into Hertfordshire.
“There are fantastic transport links into London (which only takes 30 minutes in my case), and that means access to a wealth of experiences and entertainment, even on a school night.
“I can be frequently found in a West End theatre as a result. As well as travelling into the capital, we also have easy access to historic Cambridge with its history and museums.
“However urban the town or city might be, within the East of England you are never far from the countryside or the seaside, and all the opportunities and experiences these can bring. I genuinely couldn’t imagine teaching or working anywhere else.”