Twice as many women as men enter teacher training, UCAS reports today

UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service

More than twice as many women (19,025) as men (8,775) were placed on postgraduate teacher training courses through UCAS last year, the admissions service reports today. The figures mean that for every man who entered the profession two women did so.

These differences mostly arise because twice as many women (31,215) as men (15,885) apply to be teachers, UCAS said.

In total, 27,800 people were accepted through the UCAS Teacher Training scheme last year, a rise of 7% on 2014, although applicant numbers fell by 6% to 47,100.
UCAS manages applications to most postgraduate teacher training in England and Wales including: higher education-led courses, School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT), and School Direct courses.

Other key findings in the UCAS Teacher Training End of Cycle Report 2015 published today:
Acceptances to teacher training in England increased (+7.6%) but acceptances to providers in Wales decreased (-14.3%).

The acceptance rate (the proportion of applicants gaining a place) in 2015 was 59% (up from 52% last year).

Teacher training courses in schools (School Direct and SCITT) accounted for 44% of all students in 2015, up from 36% in 2014. Universities and colleges continue to accept the largest group of students (56%).

Young people who enter teacher training shortly after graduating are the largest group. Typically trainee teachers are aged 21 to 23 years old.

Around 1 in 35 people who enter undergraduate higher education go on to postgraduate teacher training soon after graduating.

Some of the highest application rates to teaching are seen from graduates who have been studying science or mathematics at university; around one in ten mathematics graduates applies to teacher training.

The report also looks at the background of graduates who apply to teacher training
Graduates from the least advantaged backgrounds are the most likely to apply to postgraduate teacher training. However, as the gap between rich and poor is already large at undergraduate level, there are over twice as many teacher training applicants from the most advantaged areas as the least.

The proportional breakdown of applicants across ethnic groups is similar to the mix of young people in each group.

Amongst commonly reported parental occupations, graduates whose parents are electricians, police officers, or teachers were the most likely to apply.

Those graduates least likely to apply to teaching include those whose parents are medical practitioners, solicitors, lawyers, judges and coroners.

Over half of those accepted for postgraduate teacher training held A level grades at BBC or lower. Around three quarters of entrants to teacher training had A level grades of ABB or lower, while around one in six had grades of AAA or higher.