'Physics teaching is at breaking point in Wales'

PHYSICS education is at breaking point in Wales due to a lack of teachers, yet training bursaries are £14,000 higher across the border in England, a Senedd committee has heard.

- CHRIS HAINES

Eluned Parrott, head of Wales at the Institute of Physics, warned Wales had fewer physics-trained teachers (174) than secondary schools (205) in 2024.

She told the Senedd's education committee no one measure is going to be a silver bullet but evidence shows teacher training incentives work.

"That's why we're calling on the Welsh Government to increase our physics teacher trainee bursary from £15,000 to match England's £29,000," she said.

"We need a bold reset to recruit, retain and retrain the next generation of physics specialists to help secure the future of physics in Welsh schools."

Ms Parrott, a former politician, said only seven specialist physics teachers qualified through Wales' initial teacher education (ITE) system from an intake of 10 in 2023/24.

She said: "The intake allocation target was 67, meaning the intake fell 86% short. The intake allocation target has since been increased to 72. It is unlikely to be reached."

Warning of systemic challenges, Ms Parrott expressed concerns about investment in Welsh ITE compared with centres in other parts of the UK.