§ Mr. Gorstasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many entrants into teacher training 320W courses there have been in each of the past five years in (a) total and (b) scientific subjects; and if he is satisfied that there is currently no shortage of suitably qualified teachers in these fields.
§ Mr. Chris PattenThe number of entrants into initial teacher training courses in England in each of the past four academic years is given in the following table. Comparable data for the academic year 1981–82 are not available.
Recruitment to initial teacher training in England Academic years 1982–83 1983–84 *1984–85 1985–86 Primary and secondary 15,756 14,861 15,404 15,435 Secondary only 9,712 8,029 7,667 7,330 Secondary sciences 1,790 1,400 1,279 1,215 * The figures for 1984–85 exclude a small number of entrants to degree courses with concurrent certificate in education. We are satisfied that for most areas of the curriculum there is a sufficient supply of teachers nationally to meet the needs of schools, but we are concerned about continuing difficulties with the supply of suitably qualified teachers in the physical sciences, in mathematics and in craft, design and technology.