Throughout the 1980s increasing attention was paid to the quality of teacher education by the government, culminating in the publication of Circular 9/92 (DFE 1992). It decreed that schools were to play a larger and much more active role than before, as the practical side of the training was to be enhanced at the expense of the educational theory provided by the HEIs. The government believed that encouraging more practical training through a partnership of equals between the HEIs and the schools would improve the professional competence of the NQTs and eventually raise standards in the classroom. An aura of co-operation and consensus pervades the notion of partnership, but this research suggests that the concept is imprecise and open to many different interpretations. It also supports the view that there is a significant difference between the image of partnership projected by the government and the intentions, values and practices of those immediately involved in initial teacher education. The resulting disparity between the rhetoric of policy and the reality of partnership is pinpointed and explained by a critique of the Universities of Sussex and Brighton and twelve of their respective partner secondary schools. This investigation adopts a case study approach. Evidence collected through surveys, interviews and observation of participants within the partnership - such as university tutors, trainees, mentors and professional tutors, together with a review of the contextual literature, are used to illuminate the problems experienced by the practitioners. The evidence presented shows that the success of the partnership and its continued existence in its present form is dependent upon a variety of factors: adequate communication, effective mentorships, clearly-defined assessment and standardisation procedures and the development of a professional ethos to avoid undue reliance on good-will. Major restrictions are also placed upon the delivery of effective initial teacher education by inadequate funds and the shortage of time. More importantly however, the straightforward perception of partnership promoted by the government is in itself seen to be flawed, because there are inherent tensions between the HEIs and the schools. This results in conflicting expectations over key issues, which if unresolved will continue to jeopardise the development of partnership and affect the quality of initial teacher education.