Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:37 pm on 27 September 2022.
Thank you, Minister. As you're aware, we are at crisis point with the education of science in Wales because of the lack of teachers in physics and chemistry. Wales now has so few physics teachers that there are not enough for every secondary school in Wales to have one, meaning that this science is almost predominantly being taught by teachers who have no qualifications in the subject area. The bursaries for physics and chemistry teachers are also low compared to England, meaning that potential teachers are moving to England to train and, because of the differences in curriculum, they almost never ever return to Wales. I am concerned that this situation could be described as a national embarrassment for Wales and a legacy that I'm sure you and this Government would not be proud of. There is overwhelming concern from the science community that this Government is failing science, failing students and is already down such a dark path of failure in the teaching of science that, in just a few years, we'll be unable to adequately teach this subject in Wales. With this in mind, Minister, and I'm conscious that you have all the levers and tools already, what action and commitment is this Welsh Government taking to seriously address this issue? Thank you.