In April this year we produced an infographic setting out the impacts of various interventions on the recruitment of physics teachers since 2002. We’ve updated this resource to reflect the latest census data from the Department for Education for the 2015 intake.
Recruiting sufficient physics teachers has been a longstanding problem. The subject is often taught by 'non-specialists’ usually qualified in chemistry or biology. In September 2012 a peak of 900 recruits was reached; close to the target of 1,000 per year that has been modelled by both the Department for Education and the Institute of Physics. The next two years saw a significant downturn. In 2015 there has been a welcome upturn to 723 recruits; this is likely due to a rise in the bursaries and scholarships available. We have created an updated version of our infographic to reflect this upturn.
If we want to continue to reverse the trend and get towards the 1,000 a year goal, the sector and government need to work together to ensure that there are sufficient high-quality training options and that trainees who have the potential to become excellent teachers are not lost from the system.