SCHOOLS in Bury have bucked a national trend of teacher shortages.
Out of the borough's 631 high school teaching posts, and 613 teaching posts in primary schools, only three vacancies remain unfilled and education chiefs expect to fill these shortly.
Bury's success goes against the worrying national picture. The Government's chief inspector of schools, Mike Tomlinson, has warned that teacher shortages, which he described as the worst he had ever seen, could get even worse in coming months.
Mr Tomlinson attributed part of the problem to young, recently qualified teachers becoming disillusioned and leaving the profession within their first three years.
A Bury Council spokesman said: "Bury has a consistently high level of education in its schools, and regularly performs well in examinations. It is therefore not surprising that it is able to attract and retain teaching staff. The borough is slightly down on its pool of supply teachers, but that situation is not serious."
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