The government has today announced a drive to get more physics and maths graduates into teaching. It’s a good idea, given the struggle that many headteachers report in recruiting teachers with those backgrounds. The package includes £15,000 for students to help with their university costs in return for them teaching for three years post-graduation; fast-track retraining for professionals already working in medicine and engineering; and one-to-one support for those who have already trained as teachers and are considering returning to the job.
The reason it is becoming even more important to encourage more numerate people to become teachers is that by 2030, the science-based industries are expected to employ more than 7 million people in the UK. 5.4 million already work in engineering. This is a ‘global race’ policy, designed to help young people compete with those from overseas for those high-skilled science and tech jobs.
But how much of a difference will it make? There’s an interesting report
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