Campaigners are calling for the Government to set specific targets for the number of specialist physics, chemistry and maths teachers recruited for initial teacher training.
There are targets for the proportion of serving teachers in each subject specialism, but when it comes to trainee recruitment, there is a goal only for general science.
A report from the Campaign for Science and Engineering says there should also be financial incentives for graduates to take employment-based routes into teaching.
Of 3,000 recruits to science teaching last year, only 383 were for physics and 568 for chemistry. With two in five teachers dropping out within five years, only 200 physics teachers from the original cohort remain each year.
A report from the University of Buckingham estimates at least 750 physics trainees are needed every year to ensure that a quarter of science teachers are specialists in the subject.
