We all know that the government has been driving advertisement campaigns to encourage more people to take up teaching as a profession and now it appears that it has paid off. This year has been the first year in which the number of people joining teacher training courses has exceeded the government’s targets.

This may be due to the recession and the fact that people are now re-thinking their careers, or others wanting to stay in education for a bit longer until the worst of the recession is over. Whatever the reason these courses are not only seeing an increase in numbers but also an increase in the quality of candidates. In the subject of Maths alone the government’s target has been exceeded by 8%.

This can only be a good thing for things for school pupils ensuring that the quality of teachers remains high. However it remains to be seen how many of the people starting these courses will complete them and go on to stay in the teaching profession without being put off by the increasing number of other government targets set for teachers. The government may be able to get people to take up the profession but getting them to stay there is another matter.