The fall in the value of the pound after the Brexit vote will speed up the “brain drain” of teachers from the UK as foreign-currency salaries offered by international schools become more appealing, experts are warning.

Recruitment agencies, analysts and headteachers all say that teaching jobs overseas have become more attractive as the pound has weakened against major currencies such as the dollar, euro and yen.

Headteachers at some top international schools offering English-medium education - 95 per cent of which pay in the local currency - said the situation meant that they could effectively offer their staff a pay rise without any extra outlay.

At the time of going to press, the latest figures showed that sterling was down 11 per cent against the US dollar and 9 per cent against the euro since the referendum.

‘Maximising on Britain’s economic uncertainty’

Richard Gaskell, director for international schools at the International Schools Consultancy (ISC), said: “The EU referendum and the fall in the British pound has created an opportunity for international schools globally to maximise on Britain’s economic uncertainty.

“British teachers, who are in extremely high demand by international schools around the world, not only have the incentive of many new and different career opportunities but the chance, when paid in foreign currency, to earn comparatively more.”

The news is another blow to UK schools facing a recruitment crisis, as rising pupil numbers, real-terms teacher pay cuts and competition from other employers, as well as teacher workload, all take their toll. 

The warning came as the Council of British International Schools (Cobis) wrote to the government saying the appeal of its schools could be affected if access to British universities was reduced for EU citizens post-Brexit.

This is an edited version of an article in the 29 July edition of TES. Subscribers can view the full article here. This week’s TES magazine is available at all good newsagents. To download the digital edition, Android users can click here and iOS users can click here

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