STEM news

The recession has delivered a boost to secondary schools crying out for maths and science teachers. There has a huge rise in the number of graduates applying for training with applications for science up by 40% on last year and maths by 33%, according to the Training and Development Agency for Schools.

The data, provided by the Graduate Teacher Training Registry, shows there were 1,047 maths applicants last year, 528 of them women and 519 men. This year, a total of 1,390 candidates have applied - 714 women and 676 men.

For science, 2009 saw 1,435 applicants (862 women, 573 men), compared with 2,014 candidates this year (1,214 women, 800 men).

But the TDA said more graduates with good degrees were still needed: around 6,000 science and maths teachers are required each year, it says.

Applications for teacher training courses overall are up by more than 10,000 after the coalition pledged funding for frontline teachers would be protected, despite cuts elsewhere in the public sector.