More men choose primary teaching

Data from the Teaching Agency (TA), which is responsible for initial teacher training, showed the amount of men undertaking a career in primary teaching has grown at five times the rate of women.

Lin Hinnigan, interim chief executive of the TA, said: “Primary teaching is increasingly a career for the most able graduates.

“It offers the opportunity to earn a good salary and progress quickly.”

According to the TA, teachers are twice as likely to be in management positions after three and a half years than graduates in comparable professions.

The organisation is offering male graduates the chance to contact male teachers to find out more about what they are likely to experience in the role.

Ms Hinnigan added: “Our aim in joining forces with talented male teachers from primary schools across England is to show the reality of life in a classroom and why there’s never been a better time to join the profession.”

Darren McCann, who was promoted to deputy head of a primary school in Astley, Greater Manchester, after teaching for seven years, said: “I’d always done well at school and initially thought I’d want to be a doctor or a lawyer.

He added: “This all changed after I visited a school for work experience.

“A career in teaching shot to the top of my list.

“It was my ambition that directed me to primary teaching specifically – there are great opportunities for progression – and I’ve reaped the benefits of that decision.”