§ Mr. Michael Brownasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students have been admitted to teacher training colleges in the last five years without having secured an 0-level C-grade in English and mathematics.
§ Dr. BoysonInformation about the qualifications of those entering teacher training courses is available centrally only for those who were at school the previous year. The Department's annual sample survey of school leavers indicates that, of those school leavers who were admitted to courses of initial teacher training in the academic years shown, the percentage who had not obtained higher grades in both GCE 0-level English and mathematics were as follows:
per cent. 1976–77 35 1977–78 36 1978–79 30 1979–80 24 1980–81 11 Comparable information is not available for other students entering three or four-year courses. Of those entering one-year postgraduate courses, it is likely that only a very small proportion would not hold these qualifications.