Sixth formers missing out on French and Spanish

Yahoo

08-05-2025

Sixth formers are missing out on French and Spanish at A-level because there are not enough teachers, a poll reveals.
The poll, by the education charity Teach First, has found nearly a quarter of schools in the poorest areas of Britain do not offer French A-level, while 17 per cent do not offer Spanish or music.
The charity says a shortage of trained teachers is locking many pupils out of many opportunities.
Teacher vacancies in England are currently at their highest level since records began, according to the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER).
It follows claims from unions that the Government is on track to miss its manifesto commitment to recruit 6,500 new teachers, funded by a VAT raid on private schools.
The new poll also found almost a third of schools in deprived communities do not offer computer science A-level because of a lack of teachers trained in that subject.
Almost twice as many schools in the poorest areas lack a trained computer science teacher compared with the wealthiest areas.
Schools in the poorest areas of the country are three times more likely to lack a trained music teacher.
Russell Hobby, chief executive of Teach First, said: 'The impact of a great teacher goes far beyond the classroom – they open futures. But right now, too many young people are being locked out of studying A-levels like computer science because there simply aren't enough trained teachers.
'This blocks pupils from poorer areas from some of the best-paid careers in a fast-growing tech and AI-driven economy. If we do not act now, we won't just fail these young people – we'll hold our country back.
'The Government must act in the spending review: raise teacher pay, support those teaching in the schools and subjects that need them most, and make sure every pupil has access to the opportunities they deserve.'
Belinda Chapple, the head teacher of Caterham High School, which is facing staffing shortages, said that the low levels of teachers left schools facing 'difficult choices'.
She said: 'Across the country, schools like mine are making difficult choices because of the national staffing shortages in key subjects.
'We've struggled to recruit computer science teachers, like many other schools, removing a key career pathway for our A-level students.
'We urgently need increased funding for disadvantaged schools, increased teacher pay and additional pay premiums to attract subject experts to the schools that need them most – otherwise, we risk narrowing futures and deepening inequality for a generation.'
In a report published in March, the NFER said unfilled teaching posts rose by more than a fifth in 2023-24 to hit six vacancies per 1,000 teachers last year – double the pre-pandemic rate and six times higher than in 2010-11.
Meanwhile, the proportion of pupils in 'large' class sizes continues to rise, which the NFER said usually indicated a lack of high-quality teachers in schools.
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