But he acknowledged these applications would not lead to teachers in the classroom until autumn next year. General secretary of the Secondary Heads Association, John Dunford, said he hoped the figures were the light at the end of a very dark tunnel. But he drew attention to research published by the union and The Times Educational Supplement last week which suggested there were up to 10,000 vacancies for teachers in secondary schools in England and Wales. Peter Smith, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said statistical boasts did not put teachers in front of children. But David Blunkett still hasn't tackled the two other points on the triangle of trouble, which are workload and bureaucracy and pupil indiscipline.
Young people apply for many courses.
The delay was down to a legal requirement on the union to give employers notice of the action, spokeswoman for the NUT said. The decision to work to contract means teachers will no longer take on extra lessons to cover for long-term vacancies. Ballots of members of the NUT in other parts of the country were continuing.