A pioneering programme that places high-flying graduates in schools is missing its government recruitment targets because it cannot compete with starting salaries in the private sector.
Teach First, a charity that was set up to fast-track most able students into teaching careers after leaving university, has experienced a 20 per cent fall in expected recruitment. The decline will lead to shortages of teachers in some of the most deprived parts in the country because Teach First is one of the key providers.
Teach First said that the shortages were particularly acute for graduates in subjects such as maths and science, where salaries in the private sector had risen sharply. There has also been a decline in the number of students starting traditional teacher training courses.
