The number of teacher training applicants has risen by 17 per cent in just one year, new figures show.
The Ucas end-of-cycle data for 2020, published this morning, shows that there were 52,485 applicants last year, compared with 44,965 in 2019 - a rise of 7,520.
This is a far greater change than in any of the previous five years, with the number of applicants ranging from 44,965 to 47,185 between 2015 and 2019.
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The acceptance rate has also risen, with 34,915 successful applicants in 2020 (66.5 per cent), compared with 28,630 in 2019 (63.7 per cent), and 29,180 in 2018 (64.3 per cent).
Teacher training target for secondary schools exceeded
The news comes after research showed that the Covid-19 recession had reignited interest in the teacher training sector - with a 35 per cent year-on-year increase in applications between March and August 2020.
In December, provisional Department for Education data showed that the overall number of people starting teacher training had risen by 23 per cent on the previous year - with 41,472 new entrants in 2020-21, compared with 33,799 in 2019-20.
Recruitment goals at secondary level were exceeded for the first time since 2012-13, with the number of new entrants amounting to 106 per cent of the target set by the Teacher Supply Model. Trainee numbers increased for all subjects except geography and classics.
The Ucas data excludes teacher hopefuls who applied through the DfE’s own admissions service, which was launched in pilot form in November 2019 and continued to be implemented during the 2020-21 cycle.
