EDUCATION bosses have spoken of their determination to fill teaching vacancies after a recruitment fair attracted hundreds of would-be applicants.

The Blackburn with Darwen Council event, held at Ewood Park yesterday and on Sunday, was aimed at persuading people to take up or return to jobs in the classroom.

Although organisers stressed there was no recruitment crisis, government figures have revealed schools in Blackburn with Darwen had the highest rate of teacher vacancies in the North West last year.

And figures released yesterday showed 83,000 people who qualified as teachers have never set foot in a classroom because they were disenchanted with the profession.

National statistics published by the Department for Education and Skills show Blackburn with Darwen, which became an Education Action Zone and secured extra government funding to boost performance, failed to fill 1.6 per cent of its classroom jobs in 2001.

On average it was 19 full-time teachers down. It runs 82 schools and last year had 1,390 teaching posts.

The figures also show that the situation in Blackburn with Darwen worsened over three years. In 1999 the figure was 1.1 per cent and in 2000 1.2 per cent.

A teachers' union leader claimed that the figures backed up claims that the education authority's drive for success was having a human cost.

Mahfooz Hussain, Blackburn with Darwen Council's executive member for education and lifelong learning, admitted there was a problem, but said Blackburn with Darwen was a good place to work.

The recruitment fair, he said, was aimed at trying to persuade people of that.

But Mr Hussain said: "Blackburn with Darwen is a good place for teachers to work and we have opportunities for new teachers.

"Our slogan is Aiming High -- Including All and the LEA is a high achieving authority. Teachers have an opportunity to be part of that success."

Newly qualified teachers, teachers looking for promotion and those looking to go back to teaching were all catered for at the fair.

One of the organisers, Ian Kendrick, who is assistant director for schools improvement at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, said he had been overwhelmed by the number of people attending.

He said: "We have got really good quality people teaching in this area, but good teachers move on or move out of the classroom into management so this event is aimed at making sure we have enough good quality people to come in and replace them.

"It is not about trying to address a crisis, it is about keeping the high number of good teachers in Blackburn with Darwen." The event also saw the setting up of an electronic register so teachers could register on a database and be sent details of jobs in the borough. There was also a special performance of songs by Darwen Moorland School choir.

Among the crowds was Janet Belshaw, of Wigan, who said she was looking to move into the area to teach French.

She said: "I took redundancy from Manchester Airport last year and have been thinking about teaching for a while because I think it would be very rewarding. This event has given me the spur to do something about it. It has been very helpful.

Another woman from Blackburn, who asked not to be named, said: "I'm working in an office at the moment but I want to do something more fulfilling. After today I'll definitely think seriously about a teaching job."