Nine Vacancies at Conisbrough School

The fact that young people going into the teaching profession receive such small salaries at the outset that they could not afford to get married was one reason for the shortage of teachers today.

Councillor Sydney Worth stated this at Mexborough secondary school’s governors last night when another discussion arose only acute teacher shortage in the Mexborough area.

Councillor Worth said he noticed that salary increases for the teaching profession were being asked for “from the top to the bottom. I think it should be from the bottom.”

The discussion began when the resignations from the staff at Conisbrough Northcliffe boys modern School were received, making a total of nine vacancies at the school.

Asked why there was such a shortage of teachers the Divisional Education Officer, Mr E. B. Stockdale, replied that it was a national problem. “We can do no more than advertise the posts. We are doing our best through the normal channels to get the vacancies filled,” he said.

Asked by Mr R. H. Haigh, J. P. if it was true that there were today more teachers in this country than there had ever been before, Mr Stockdale said he would say this was the case; the training colleges were full. He said that teaching was a vocation, but there was no doubt that industry was offering more attractive salaries.

Mr D. Smith, headmaster of Mexborough Adwick Road modern School, said he did not think the drift of degree men to industry was just isolated cases. If these people had science degrees industry was offering them £1,000 from the start.

Mr M. Clarke, principal of Mexborough Schofield Technical College, said he knew of a single woman teacher in Sussex who got a house shortly after going into the district.

Mr Stockdale said he hoped members of local authorities who were present would listen to what Mr Clark had said about the house, but Mr Haigh said he did not think the Sussex solution would be applicable in the West Riding. The point was that the West Riding was industrial.

Mr Stockdale said they were filling vacancies with supply teachers, but they could not get permanent teachers.