Teachers are being helped to buy their own homes, as part of a scheme to tackle Oxfordshire's recruitment crisis.

Three teachers from Cherwell School, in north Oxford, are the first to benefit from the Government-funded initiative, aimed at helping key workers to get their feet on the property ladder.

The Starter Home initiative allows teachers to get up to £25,000 towards the purchase of their first home. A further 84 Oxfordshire teachers are set to benefit from the project over the next two years.

The three teachers moved into their homes last month, and joined education officers and representatives of Oxfordshire County Council at Cherwell School, this week to celebrate.

Teachers Keith Ryan and Lyndsey Alexander have bought homes in Oxford, while Pete Davies bought a home in Wallingford.

Mr Ryan, 43, received about £29,000 to buy his £117,000 two-bed flat in Hillsborough Road, east Oxford.

He said: "This is the only way I can afford to live in the city. But for this scheme, I would not be teaching in Oxfordshire next year. Instead, I would have gone somewhere I could find a place to buy."

But he said the scheme would not solve the recruitment and retention crisis on its own. He added: "It has helped three of us, but is not the answer itself.

"The scheme will need a lot of work to get more people involved, and with house prices going up, it will need to be continually reviewed. The Government and LEA can't sit back and think the problem has been cracked."

County council education officer Tina Renshaw, who is responsible for teacher recruitment and retention, said: "We are delighted that our teachers have been helped to buy homes, and so stay here in Oxfordshire.

"It is crucial to raising achievements for all our children and young people that we can both attract new teachers and also keep experienced staff."

"We want to encourage other teachers to look into it. This scheme really has no catch."

However, Ms Renshaw added: "It will make a difference to the county's recruitment problems but will by no means solve it."

The Oxfordshire scheme is being run through the Beacon, Northcote, Sovereign and South Oxfordshire housing associations. It allows teachers to either buy their own home with the help of a grant worth about 25 per cent, or a through a shared ownership scheme, whereby a teacher secures a mortgage for a minimum of 25 per cent of the property value, and pays a low rent to the housing association.