Report finds shortage of physics teachers is growing

Specialist physics teachers are in short supply, according to a new study.

Researchers from Buckingham University found that the number of graduates applying to teacher-training courses in the subject fell by 27% over the last 12 months.

Although this is concurrent with a general dip in university-leavers opting for jobs in the teaching profession, which Barry Fawcett from the National Union of Teachers has attributed to high student debt and low salaries in the sector, the problem is particularly acute in physics.

Retiring physics teachers now outnumber new recruits by 26%, while the problem is most severe in low-performing state schools, where the majority of teachers only have a GCSE or A-level in the subject.

This may be down to the trend for comprehensive schools to teach combined sciences, Research Leader Professor Alan Smithers suggested.

He stated: 'If you're in an inner-city, 11-16 school in London, Liverpool or Manchester, there will more likely than not be no specialist physics teacher available.'