A surge in the number of recent graduates signing up to become teachers has helped the government in England meet crucial recruitment targets in subjects including maths and sciences for the first time this decade.
New figures from the Department for Education (DfE) showed an 11% increase in the number of teacher trainees this year compared with 2024, giving it the most buoyant recruitment figures since 2022.
The government had trimmed its targets for the numbers of teachers it predicts will be needed because of falling student numbers but there was still a surge in enrolments especially for primary school teachers.
Last year only 90% of the government’s target for primary teachers was reached, while this year the figure was 126%. For secondary school teachers, 88% of the DfE’s target was recruited compared with 61% in 2024.
For science, technology and maths (Stem) subjects, 107% of the target was recruited compared with just 60% in 2024. Maths alone had 2,588 trainees, a rise of 16% on the previous year, while physics had 1,086, the highest number since comparable records began in 2014-15.
In modern foreign languages, a subject that has often suffered from chronic under-recruitment, 93% of the DfE’s target was reached.
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, said: “[These] figures are further evidence of the strong progress in teacher recruitment after years of crisis, with growth in critical Stem subjects particularly encouraging as we work to give more children the skills and knowledge to succeed.
“It means more young people getting the expert teaching they deserve, learning from teachers who love their subject and know how to bring it alive in the classroom.”
The improvement boosts the government’s chances of meeting its manifesto pledge for an additional 6,500 teachers for state schools, with more than 2,300 additional secondary and special school teachers in 2024-25.
But Pepe Di’Iasio, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, warned that many schools were still facing staff shortages.
Di’Iasio said: “The government cannot afford to rest on their laurels and think that one year of slightly better recruitment can fix such a widespread problem.
“We need to see sustained growth over many years. This will require improvements to pay and conditions in order to attract greater numbers of people into teaching and to keep them there.”
The figures also showed an increase in the number of trainees recruited from outside the UK or Europe, rising from 6% overall in 2024 to 8% this year.
Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, said: “The government’s proposed reforms to the immigration system could jeopardise this source of talent and make recruiting sufficient numbers of new teachers even tougher in the future.
“Preserving continued opportunities for these skilled and much-needed professionals to train and work in the UK will be essential as the reforms are developed.”
Meanwhile, a new report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies says the rapid decline in student numbers in coming years presents the UK’s national governments with a dilemma over making savings or maintaining current spending levels.
Luke Sibieta, the author of the report, said: “Policymakers will have to decide how to respond – will they look to make financial savings through employing fewer teachers or closing schools? Or will they protect education spending and deliver smaller class sizes?
“While closing a school can be problematic for local communities, maintaining school numbers as they are might not be the best thing for pupils either. With a dramatic fall in pupil numbers, some schools might struggle to offer a full breadth of curriculum options.”
Across the UK the number of children aged under 16 is forecast to fall by 800,000 between now and 2035. In England the number is expected to decline by 6%, with even larger falls in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
