Almost a third of schools in the poorest areas do not offer computer science A-level, leaving pupils “shut out of one of the best paid career paths” because of teacher shortages.
Research by Teacher Tapp found 31 per cent of schools in the most disadvantaged areas did not offer computer science A-levels. The figure for the wealthiest areas was just 11 per cent.
The schools in the poorest areas were also much more likely to shun French (23 vs 3 per cent), Spanish (17 vs 6 per cent), music (17 vs 5 per cent) and physics (9 vs 1 per cent).
The government has repeatedly failed to meet its teacher recruitment targets in all five subjects. Last year, just 37 per cent of the necessary computing teachers and 31 per cent of the necessary physics teachers were recruited.
The poll found 17 per cent of respondents reported not having a computer science teacher at all, equating to around 600 schools nationally.
‘Best paid career path’
Ahead of the spending review, the teacher training charity Teach First is calling for an increase in starting teacher salaries to £40,000 by 2030, to put the profession in the top third of graduate earnings.
It also wants ministers expand pay premiums for teachers in shortage subjects working in poorer communities.
Teach First warned that as a result, poorer pupils are being “shut out of one of the best paid career paths.
Russell Hobby, CEO of Teach First, said the country risks being “held back” and failing young people “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.
“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, headteacher of Caterham High School, in Ilford, said she had made “difficult choices” because of national staffing shortages in subjects.
“We’ve struggled to recruit computer science teachers, like many other schools, removing a key career pathway for our A-level students.
This year, Labour launched its AI opportunities action plan to help “give teachers their Sunday evenings back”.
The plan proposed efforts to increase the numbers of “AI graduates” from higher education and “expand education pathways into AI”. But it did not mention computer science.
Figures released last week show 2,000 more people are training to become secondary school teachers compared to last year, and the DfE has cut its recruitment targets due to “more favourable forecasts” for teacher retention.
Its target for computing, missed by 63 per cent this year, has been slashed from 1,330 to 895 in 2025-26.
It’s a shame these students don’t have access to Computer Science A levels. However, CS is not an essential requirement for a degree in the subject. Mathematics is crucial, however.
Universities only allow students to do the degree without prior knowledge because of the poor uptake of A Level. To have a degree teaching students “from scratch” means that degree can’t be as much depth as most who do, and maybe offering CS A-Level students the 2 yr degree they’re actually doing might encourage more demand, and retaining existing staff, who are still earning 20% less in real terms than in 2010…
I think computer science teacher shortages will be hard to overcome due to the salary difference. Software and web developers salaries very quickly take over teaching, reading £45k+ after 5 years or so and this goes up to £60-70k+ when they become senior or lead developers.
Teachers’ starting salaries are ok at £30k, but there is much slower progression and you need to be heading into management roles to get much better.
What incentive do strong compsci graduates have to go into teaching?
I looked into doing a pgce and it required a great deal of effort just to get on the course to learn to teach. They also expected you to prepare a presentation, attend a 4hr group interview and a bunch of other things.
In the end I opted to just stay in my much higher paid IT job. Felt like I almost had to beg to even learn to become a teacher.
I’m not sure I fully understand this so-called shortage. I gained QTS in 2022 after achieving a first-class degree in Cybersecurity and bringing with me over 30 years of experience in IT, so I have a strong technical background. Since then, I’ve been applying for Computer Science and IT teaching roles in my local area.
With young children and a relatively low starting salary, relocating isn’t really practical. That said, I don’t live in a remote area—I’m within commuting distance of West Birmingham and Wolverhampton. Despite this, suitable opportunities have been scarce, and many of the roles advertised seem to already be earmarked for trainees or pre-selected candidates.
Three years on, I’m still trying to get into teaching. So the question becomes: am I considered too old (though I’m only in my mid-fifties), underqualified, or just assumed to be a poor teacher—despite never being given the opportunity to prove otherwise? From my perspective, this doesn’t look like a shortage of teachers, but rather a shortage of opportunities for those genuinely wanting to teach.