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Job prospects for this year’s graduates are the same as, if not worse, than in the darkest years of the 1990s recession

Those leaving university this summer face the toughest jobs market in more than a decade, with up to 22,000 more graduates likely to be unemployed this year compared with last, figures published today show.

At least one in 10 of this summer’s graduates will fail to find a job six months after they leave university, the Higher Education Careers Services Unit (Hecsu) has calculated. This is the equivalent of between 35,000 and 40,000 graduates, out of the 350,000 leaving UK universities after first degrees this year.

This is a dramatic rise on last year’s numbers, figures released today by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa) reveal.

Some 17,990 of last summer’s graduates – just over 8% – were still looking for a job six months after they had left university, the data shows. The previous year, 6% of graduates were unemployed six months after leaving university.

The figures include only students who are looking for jobs, rather than those who opted to continue their studies or travel.

Graduate salaries are still on the rise, the figures show. Last summer, despite the economy starting to falter, the mean graduate salary rose to £20,500, from £20,000 the year before.

Some 8% of male graduates were unemployed last year, compared with 5% of female graduates, the Hesa figures show. This compares with 6% and 4%, respectively, the year before.

Graduates in computer science were among the most likely to be unemployed last year, with 14% failing to secure a job six months after graduation.

But just 3% of those who had completed dentistry degrees were out of work.

Four per cent of students who completed postgraduate courses last summer were unemployed, compared with 3% the previous year.

Charlie Ball, deputy director of research at Hecsu, predicted that this year’s graduates face the same, if not worse, job prospects as those who left university in the worst years of the last recession in the 1990s.

Vacancies for this summer’s graduates have been cut by 28% since last year, and of the 20,000 graduates that top employers planned to recruit this year, 5,500 posts have been cancelled or left unfilled.

The City has been worst hit, with 56% fewer entry-level jobs in investment banks this year.

However, the accountancy and management consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers said today it still had vacancies for almost 100 graduates this year.

Wes Streeting, president of the National Union of Students, said: “These figures foretell the crisis awaiting graduates this summer as a result of the recession. Students are racking up thousands of pounds of debt because of fees, and many will be extremely worried at the lack of job prospects when they leave university.”

David Lammy, the universities minister, said: “Today’s figures show that even in tough times a degree is a strong investment which stands graduates in good stead for a long and successful career.

“Employment rates for graduates continue to be higher than for those with lower qualifications, and with research showing that there are jobs available with growth in some areas, graduates should remain positive about their prospects.”

David Willetts, the shadow universities secretary, said: “These figures show yet again that young people are the biggest victims of the recession. The employment rate of graduates was falling even before the recession took hold. We now have record levels of young people not in education, employment or training. Ministers are letting our young people down.”

A Guardian survey last month of 55 of Britain’s top universities revealed an avalanche of demand for careers services from jobless students and a big rise in the numbers applying to do postgraduate courses.

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Would-be teachers will need to be better qualified to be accepted for training under Tory plans

Would-be teachers will need to be better qualified to be accepted for training under Conservative plans to raise school standards announced today.

The shadow schools secretary, Michael Gove, said trainee teachers with lower than B-grade GCSEs in English and maths and a 2:2 degree would not receive funding to train under a Tory government.

At present, teacher trainees are accepted with C-grade GCSEs in English and maths and third-class degrees.

In a speech to the Institute of Physics today, Gove said the Tories would raise the grades needed to train and abolish the right of trainee teachers to take “infinite resits” in literacy and numeracy tests.

“We want a new generation of maths and science teachers in primary and secondary school. Good as our teachers are, they must be better,” he said.

“At the moment, trainee teachers can resit the basic literacy and numeracy tests, which are the gateway to the profession, an infinite number of times – 13% had to take the the numeracy test three or more times before passing.

“We need to have the highest-quality graduates in the classroom, so the practice of multiple resits will end and the tests will be upgraded.”

Teachers entering the profession, particuarly in primary schools, need to have the “level of knowledge required to really stretch” pupils, Gove said.

“Under a Conservative government, we will raise the bar for primary teachers, so they will need to have B grades at GCSE in English and maths,” he said. “The taxpayer will only fund teacher training for those who meet this level.”

He said taxpayers should not fund the 1,200 postgraduate trainees each year who have third-class degrees or worse. “We will make a 2:2 the minimum acceptable degree for a taxpayer-funded PGCE,” he said.

Gove said it was a disgrace that there were no specialist courses for primary teachers in maths, and said the focus of the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) would change radically.

Every publicly funded primary teacher-training institution would have to teach primary teachers specialist courses in phonics and in maths, he said. “It is essential that primary teachers have up-to-date skills in these two fields. This will encourage the growth of specialist primary teachers in English, maths and science, which is exactly what we need to happen and what already happens in expensive prep schools.”

A spokesman for Gove said the moves would cause ructions, but the change was necessary to improve the “calibre and training” of people going into the profession.

But teaching unions criticised the “arbitrary levels” suggested by Gove. Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: “Teachers need all-round subject knowledge and pedagogical skills. A focus on one subject in the curriculum would distort children’s experience and cut down on the time given to explore all the various aspects of teaching in a primary class.

“Of course we want to attract people with good degrees, but defining a degree requirement of 2:2 is arbitrary and would potentially exclude many very good teachers.”

Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: “Of course it is important that all teachers have a good understanding of maths and English – we would not quarrel with this. But being a maths genius does not mean you will be any good at teaching children, particularly primary children.

“There’s more to English and maths than phonics and numeracy. Unless primary teachers understand the different ways children learn and develop, so that they know how best to teach each child in their class, any mathematical expertise will be irrelevant.”

She added that there is not time in a typical PCGE course for teachers to become specialists in all the topics they need, so colleges would have to drop a subject to give more time to maths.

The schools minister, Vernon Coaker, said: “If Michael Gove is serious about raising the quality and status of the teaching profession he would not be opposing our ‘licence to teach’, which will boost public confidence by matching what happens with other high status professions like doctors and lawyers, and give teachers an entitlement to continuous professional development.

“The teaching profession has been transformed over the last decade and Ofsted tell us we have the best generation of teachers ever. But we are determined to go further, which is why we are making teaching a master’s-level profession.

“All new teachers are university graduates and we are focusing on making sure all teachers have the skills necessary to be effective in the classroom.

“With George Osborne confirming this week that the Tories would cut investment in our schools from next year if they win the election, the Tories should explain how many teachers and teaching assistants would be sacked under their planned cuts. They should come clean and tell us that 10% cuts to schools is the equivalent of losing 44,130 teachers, and 34,490 teaching assistants and school support staff.”

According to the TDA, 89% of trainees in 2007-08 had a 2:2 or higher degree. A spokesman said: “Academic qualifications are not the only measure of a good teacher. Someone with a first in physics from Oxford University wouldn’t necessarily be the best teacher.”

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Our Creative Summer project is swelling with news of your creative activities in the classroom, with many ventures helping to nurture the budding film-makers and artists of tomorrow

From sculptures made of copies of the Yellow Pages to a new and improved Star Trek movie, schools are finding amazing ways to bring creativity into the curriculum. As our Creative Summer project continues, we have some ingenious schemes to report.

St Felix Middle School in Newmarket has been through challenging times since the building burned down last summer. But, says Tim Brook, the school’s creative media director, creativity wasn’t burned down with it. The school now operates in portable classrooms (”interesting and hot at the moment”). This term, some of the students came up with a creative project that really took off. Brook explains:

Year 7s spent the week making a spoof sci-fi movie called “Stor Truk”. The children went to see Star Trek and developed an action adventure story based on the idea of a supermarket truck that “boldly went where no van has gone before…

The children worked in five film crews. During the week they scripted, storyboarded, performed, filmed and edited their movie. In the course of the week they also: screen tested a cast, built the “captain’s bridge”, made baseball caps for the rival supermarkets, designed and made posters and stickers, created film trailers and hosted a local Tesco.com van – which starred as the eponymous Stor Truk. You can watch the movie here.

At Park Hall school in Castle Bromwich, Solihull, movies also came to life in school. Jenny Lewis, head of media studies, explains:

“It all began a couple of months ago when one of our film club members wrote to Filmclub [the network of after-school film clubs], complaining that there were no Godzilla films available to be screened at schools. Lillith Vickerstaff is a major Godzilla fan and has been trying to convince the rest of the members at Park Hall that Godzilla rules.

Filmclub asked if Park Hall and Lillith would feature in a documentary they were making on the theme of how films can change lives.

The documentary team and our film club members made the film – in the style of a Japanese monster film. Godzilla attacked the school, 30 year 7 and 8 film club members fled in fear whilst Lillith conquered the monster and celebrated with the rest of the film club by watching a classic Godzilla movie.

It was a wonderful day and certainly a day the children will always remember. Lillith, the creative spark that got this whole thing happening, said: “When I first found out that I was going to be in the film with Godzilla, I thought I would only need to stand in front of a green screen and do some talking. I didn’t realise I would be running around being chased by him. When I got home I was too tired even to tell my mother anything about it and I had blisters on my feet … but it was a brilliant experience that I will never forget!”

Lillith attends film club at our school but she has never been able to get the club interested in watching Japanese monster movies until now. She thinks this is because many are in black and white. Her mission to convince people to see Monster films has become a reality and now Filmclub at Park Hall is enjoying Godzilla!”

Hamish Wilson, Head of Drama at St Christopher School in Letchworth, tells us about his school’s Arts Week, which included:

stage combat, gospel singing, gothic writing, art therapy, street theatre, Cuban dance, commercial song-writing and Yellow Pages sculpture.

Meanwhile at Frettenham Primary Partnership school near Norwich, senior teacher Jenni Hammond writes:

A local high school was replacing a lot of its chairs, so we decided to have a sculpture day based on chairs! Each class had its own theme - Class 1 (YR-Y1) used natural materials, Class 2 (Y2/3) had the theme of heroes, Class 3 (Y4/5) based their chairs on the work of Anthony Frost.

Parents and grandparents came in to work on their chair sculptures with their children and we had a sculpture trail around the grounds the next day open to the community in general. Staff worked on their own chairs too.

Here are some pictures of the amazing chairs. Check out the mermaid, and my personal favourite, the Norwich City Football Club number.

Ms Hammond points out that Frettenham is creative all through the year and not just in summer, and we know that is the case in very many schools. Keep your pictures and videos coming - please send them to creativityintheclassroom@guardian.co.uk. We’ll do more next week.

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Three young artists won the judges over with their portrayals of life in Britain

The Equality and Human Rights Commission today announced the winners of its Young Brits at Art competition, in which young people were invited to portray their feelings about their identity.

The three winners are 11-year-old Georgia Marshall Evangelou, 17-year-old Stephanie Winn – both from London – and 17-year-old Fungai Mutezo from Airdrie.

Georgia, who attends St Paul’s primary school in Winchmore Hill, London, painted herself floating in the bath and wrote: “Here in Britain we are fortunate enough to have the facilities, water and leisure. In other countries people would not have this water, or the time, to do such a thing.”

Stephanie, a student at Gumley House convent school in Hounslow, chose to paint her grandmother, partly to break down stereotypes about older people and to show that there is “much life in her still”.

And Fungai Mutezo’s self-portrait, he says, shows him “taking time out from my busy schedule to reflect the direction that my life is heading and what I will be able to put back into society”. Fungai is a student at Calverdale High in Airdrie, Scotland.

From the 1,600 students who entered, a shortlist of 10 was drawn up. The seven other finalists were Michael Kashora, from Lea Manor school, Luton; Jessica Clark from Glenifer high in Paisley, Scotland; Emily Daniel from Ynysawdre comprehensive school, Bridgend, Wales; Millie Wilkinson from Suffolk; Juliette Ndi from Harrow College; and Dwayne Bodkin and Samuel Johnston from Hinwick Hall school in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.

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A Conservative government would raise the entry requirements for people wanting to train as teachers in England.
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Student maintenance grants and loans in England will not rise next year, despite an increase in tuition fees, ministers say.
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Website ratemyteachers.com has been criticised for undermining teachers’ authority. The firm behind it, however, says it is helping education. Andrew Owen tries to find out who is right.
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An urgent audit of asbestos in Britain’s schools is needed because people are dying, the British Safety Council has said.
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Schools Secretary Ed Balls has asked for an assessment of the problem of parents cheating to get school places.
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The council in the Baby P case has made only limited progress in improving children’s social care, Ofsted inspectors say.
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