More than 700,000 GCSE Physics students can be without a specialist TeacherA report has warned.
The Institute of Physics (IOP) has asked to take immediate action to deal with the decrease in physics teachers, which are very less likely to take forward physics to warn pupils without access to a specialist teacher, to prevent students from disappearing.
In July, the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) found a quarter of secondary schools with a sample of 2,296, with no expert physics teachers in the school workforce’s census.
Only 16 percent of total teaching hours for joint Science A physics is provided by a physics teacher with a level of a level, IOP-commission NFER analysis was found.
GCSE for separate physics, Government Data shows that 72 percent of the teaching hours were taught by an expert teacher.
By combining NFER and government data, IOP estimated that about 58 percent of the physics lesson in GCSE is taught by a non-expert teacher, with the institute that the institute alone is equal to more than 350,000 students alone in the year 11, and both GCSE more than 700,000 in years.
IOP CEO Tom Gnerner said: “Despite the frequent efforts of teachers to work in unfamiliar subjects, many of those students are essentially missing. Research suggests that students are very less likely to study the subject at A-level without access to an expert physics teacher.
“If we fail to deal with this challenge, we are failing to nurture yesterday’s scientists and new -intellectuals with serious consequences for our society and economy.”
Physics has faced a shortage of experts of many years as one of the worst hit subjects by a recruitment and retention crisis.
NFER’s most recent data found that the number of applications to teach physics has increased by 38 percent since July 2024. Despite this, Physics was still estimated to hit around 70 percent of its target for secondary school recruitment for 2025.
The report states that students in schools with any expert physics are likely to progress in A-Level Physics.
For learning and skills, IOP Vice President Judith Hilier said that there are about 300 schools with no students who are progressing in A-Level Physics, and it is more common in poor areas.
A rehearsal for the IOP report states, “Despite some recent increase in the numbers taking A-Level to Physics, it is clear that so far many youth are still being denied access to an expert physics teacher, and for those opportunities that help unlocked for their attainment and progress,” he said a predecesser for the IOP report.
The institute is calling for a 10 -year plan to overcome the shortage of expert physics teachers with an investment of £ 12 million in a year.
The government currently provides £ 29,000 to encourage trainee physics teachers to encourage more graduates in teaching. Physics teachers in disadvantaged schools can also reach £ 6,000 in retention payments, while they are early in their careers.
A department of education spokesperson said: “We are already pledging to recruit more than 2,300 secondary and special school teachers in classes this year, recruitment of more talented teachers and 6,500 more talented teachers, as well as 1,300 less teachers from profession – one of the lowest leisure rates since 2010.
“We have seen a 25 percent increase in the number of people accepting the teacher training places starting this autumn in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects. Through our plan to change, we will still move forward that every disciple needs access to expert teachers, including more talented people to encourage more talented people to teach them.
“At its top, we have announced about 10 percent of payment awards in two years and committed to restore teaching as a high -valuable profession to deal with high charge and poor good.”