The recruitment crisis is having one unexpected effect: it is loosening the gateways to the profession. Earlier this month, the Education Secretary Estelle Morris outlined her vision of “classrooms rich in trained adults”, and drew a furious response from the teacher unions. But who can legitimately stand in front of a class? Should the Teacher Training Agency’s website be renamed www.anyonecanteach?

City of Portsmouth boys’ school, a 1,000-pupil foundation school on the south coast, is in the happy position of being fully staffed. But five of the new faces in the staffroom are unqualified teachers. So far, only one has been accepted on to the Government’s graduate teacher programme; the others - all in the process of applying or getting ready to apply for the GTP - will be supported by professional mentor Liz Mitchell. “We’re trying to run our own mini university course,” says headteacher Ann Greatorex. “We’re trying to grow our own.”

Youngest of the five potential teachers is Matthew Johnson, who at 23 is one year too young for the GTP. Passing out fast food wrappers in a Year 7 technology lesson, he appears relaxed, despite having chipped a tooth at break on an extra strong mint. “Sir, did you eat all this?” asks one boy, holding one of the empty KFC buckets in his hands. “I wrote bugger instead of burger,” says his neighbour, reaching for the rubber.

Mr Johnson joined the school last summer as a “study supervisor” after working for an electronics company. Born in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, he has a degree in electronics from Portsmouth University and his fiancee - wife, he quickly corrects himself - is a teacher. “It’s always crossed my mind to teach. I’m a cub scout leader, I enjoy working with children.”

Mr Johnson acquired “unqualified teacher” status this autumn, on a pound;14,000 salary, and the transition, he says, has been smooth. He admits to difficulties controlling the behaviour of one Year 11 class but otherwise believes his teaching is going well. “They’re nice boys, ready to help and to learn. If I need some assistance, other teachers are willing to help. Friends said ‘don’t be a teacher’, but I tried industry and it wasn’t for me.”

The GTP was introduced in January 1998. While only 90 people went through in the first year, it has been expanded this year to take more than 2,000 on-the-job trainees, at a cost of pound;35 million. Still, demand for places outstrips supply. This year, 250 applicants have been turned down for the programme, which pays the pound;14,000 salary and pound;4,000 training costs of every approved candidate. From January the GTP will also offer a “training only” scheme, under which some applicants will have their pound;4,000 costs paid while their salaries are met by schools.

So far, only one of the Portsmouth “UQTs” - former classroom assistant Julie Champion - has been accepted on to the programme; another, Caroline Turner, has an application in and two more, Julia Bradshaw and Heather Freathy, are taking private tuition to pass their maths GCSE. (GCSE English and maths or its equivalent are entry requirements; candidates also take skills tests like other trainee teachers.) Liz Mitchell - for 20 years a head of department at Bridgemary community school in Gosport - says the graduates are expected to teach at the same level as newly qualified teachers. “Expectations of them are high. We are trying to put in the support, but they have to maintain the same standard as teachers who have gone through the PGCE and are on their first year. We’re at a crossroads, and the routes into teaching are becoming more flexible and open.”

The support offered at Portsmouth includes weekly observation and feedback, group meetings and in-house and NQT training sessions. Certainly, the solution is a pragmatic one. Last year, the school had no drama teacher. This term, it has Heather Freathy, who - playing Chinese whispers with a Year 9 class - appears to have that most important of teacher qualifications: the ability to more than tolerate children. “She’s good,” says one. “She don’t always tell us off and send us out. She gives us a second chance.”

Ms Freathy, 25, started work at the school four weeks before the end of last term, shadowing other staff. She graduated from Salford University in 1998 with a degree in media and performance, and has worked in a variety of jobs since then. “I decided I wanted to use my degree. I phoned round the schools and this came up. I’ve had loads of support from the people here,” she says.

City of Portsmouth hit the headlines last year when it took on study supervisors to oversee classes during teacher absence. “The cover board was horrendous,” says Ann Greatorex. “The knock-on effect of staff vacancies and long-term sickness was extra stress and pressure.” This year, three study supervisors, each on salaries of pound;10,500 pro rata, are taking the pressure off teaching staff. The recruitment of the five unqualified teachers is another plank in the strategy.

Ms Greatorex came from a school with beacon status, partly awarded for the teacher training programme she managed. Crucially, she has the confidence to believe she and the school can act as a training institution - with the assistance of Portsmouth University’s school of education. “It’s a question of supply and demand,” she says. “If the supply for our demand is unqualified teachers who need to be trained - and we think they’re right for the school - it’s our responsibility to give them that training. They bring in vitality and a range of experiences from the outside world. We don’t always get that in teaching.”

Some of the unqualified teachers at Portsmouth have already gone some way towards qualification. Julie Champion, aged 44, left school with no qualifications. Inspired by working as a teaching assistant, she went back to college in her thirties, emerging with an honours degree in English and education in 1994. She started a PGCE at Portsmouth University the following year, but dropped out when two family members died suddenly. “It was too much to continue,” she says. “I took a part-time office job instead. But school is the only place I feel at home. As soon as I come into a classroom, I feel ‘this is where I belong’. The rewards are sometimes small, but tremendous when you get them.”

Once her son was through school, Ms Champion wanted to get back on to the path to being a teacher but could not afford a year out of work doing the PGCE, even if she had been eligible for the pound;6,000 grant. “The routes in were very restricted,” she says. “They’re screaming out for teachers, but at every point there’s a difficulty.” While on-the-job training suits her financially, the challenge of turning herself from a teaching assistant into a teacher is considerable, she admits. “Standing up in front of 30 boys and knowing you have a responsibility to them is daunting. I don’t want to let them down. I may be unqualified, but they deserve an education.”

Caroline Turner, 43, is an unqualified history teacher at City of Portsmouth. “I was bringing up three children on my own and beginning to think about when they were older. I didn’t want to do ‘just a job’. I went to college intending to do maths and English GCSEs and got talked into doing the access course.” She went on to get a degree - in June 2000, from University College, Chichester - and began a PGCE, but had to stop after a couple of months for family reasons. “I’ve spent a year regretting it,” she says.

Ms Turner called round all the secondary schools in Portsmouth before being invited for an interview at City of Portsmouth. “I’m passionate about history and to be able to pass that on is the best bit of teaching. There are so many people out there who could be doing what I’m doing. It’s a question of confidence.”

Liz Mitchell says confidence is the single biggest issue for the UQTs, who, like NQTs, are on a 90 per cent timetable. “They’re more likely to question themselves if something doesn’t go as planned. They are self-critical anyway, so my role is to bolster their confidence about general issues.”

For details of the graduate teacher programme, visit the TTAwebsite: www.canteach.gov.uk