Hefty trainee teacher bursaries get mixed reception

The government has announced new financial incentives for students that want to pursue a postgraduate teaching course in 2017/18. These include tax-free bursaries of up to £25,000 and generous scholarships of £27,500 from the Royal Society of Chemistry.

John Holman, president of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said: ‘We are pleased to continue this partnership with the Department for Education, supporting and recognising chemistry specialists as they go through their initial teacher training programme’. However, the bursaries have raised eyebrows in parts of the chemistry teaching community.