Teacher shortage

Survey suggests that numbers of specialist physics teachers are in decline.

Academics at the University of Buckingham have published a survey that suggests that a shortage in the supply of physics teachers threatens the subject’s future.

Although the government has set targets to promote the number of physics teachers in secondary schools, almost half of schools in inner London do not have specialist physics teachers, the study claimed. In fact, almost one in four secondary schools in England no longer have any specialist physics teachers.

Schools that have sixth forms are more likely to have specialist physics teachers. Two out of five schools without a sixth form would enlist teachers from other disciplines to take combined science classes.

According to the research, physics teachers are more likely to be working in particular types of schools such as high-performing, grammar, all-girl and faith schools.

The report quotes one admissions tutor who said: “Until recently we have barely admitted that physics existed as a school subject - physics, chemistry and biology have not been allowed to be mentioned in official documentation."

The government has set a target for 25 per cent of science teachers have a physics forte by 2014.

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