Dirty school laboratories, broken equipment and large classes are driving science teachers away from the profession, according to research findings seen by TES.

A study by Birendra Singh from the UCL Institute of Education has found that turnover among science teachers is having a “devastating impact” on pupils’ education.

It also documents how science teachers were under pressure to inflate grades under the - since abandoned - science practical exam coursework system.

The Association for Science Education is backing the concerns raised about the condition of labs, warning of the impact of cuts on technicians.

Dr Singh’s conclusions are based on detailed observations at three schools in and around London, but he believes they are more widely applicable.

The research finds that class sizes of 30 or more make it extremely difficult to carry out whole-class experiments.

“Theory-only lessons, even if presented with PowerPoints and question-answer sessions, often leave both teachers and pupils dissatisfied,” the paper says. “Frustrations build up and demoralisation sets in, leading some teachers simply to leave after a few terms.”

At one participant school, which has an “outstanding” Ofsted rating, more than three-quarters of teachers in the science department left during the 2014-15 academic year - two newly qualified teachers and seven experienced teachers.

At another “outstanding” school, five teachers out of a department of 12 left in the course of one academic year and were replaced by five new teachers - all of whom had left the school by the following year.

The news follows a National Foundation for Educational Research report this month showing that science teachers have a higher than average risk of exiting the profession (see statistics, below).

At all three of Dr Singh’s case study schools, the bottom sets in Years 7 and 8 were taught by teachers who were not specialists in science, and demonstrations were confined to watching YouTube videos.

Damage and detritus

According to the paper, another factor hampering practical work was the fact that laboratories were not being cleaned or maintained properly, “resulting in dirty sinks, electrical sockets remaining damaged for weeks, cables being strewn over the floor and, often, projectors’ off/on pointers going missing or being broken”.

Shaun Reason, chief executive of the Association for Science Education, said budget cuts had led to school technicians having their hours slashed and being moved on to term-time-only contracts.

“The summer is the time they’d normally clean the laboratories, but if you’re put on a term-time-only contract, you’re not going to have time to do that,” he added.

Science teachers relied on technicians to carry out weekly equipment requisitions, Mr Reason said, and the lack of support piled pressure on a group already facing increased workloads and curriculum changes.

Inflated grades

The research also finds that teachers were pressured to inflate students’ GCSE science coursework grades at two of the schools observed by Dr Singh.

At one, cheating was “on a large scale over a considerable period of time” and involved “telling pupils the answers or giving them the mark scheme to copy from”.

The paper says: “Teachers are told to make up the coursework grades and told that the senior managers would not accept coursework grades that are not at least two grades higher than the pupils’ overall expected attainment.”

Dr Singh found that 70 per cent of pupils at the school achieved A*-C grades in science coursework, but this would have dropped to 40 per cent without the cheating.

From this September, controlled practical assessments will no longer contribute to GCSE or A-level science grades, partly because of fears about overgenerous marking.

But Dr Singh, a physicist and former Ofsted inspector, said that the controversial move by exams watchdog Ofqual was a step too far.

“Coursework can be very helpful for students who don’t do particularly well on timed admissions or tests,” he argued. So rather than scrapping it from assessments, it should be more closely monitored.

He also called for Ofsted to carry out more subject-specialist inspections, to help root out problems that were affecting lessons and leading to disenchanted staff.

A National Audit Office (NAO) report earlier this year highlighted teaching shortages in science subjects, which are also recognised by the government as shortage occupations for immigration purposes.

Leaving rates among science teachers are about 9 per cent above average for men and 4 per cent above average for women, when compared with the rest of the workforce, the NAO report found.

The Department for Education was contacted for comment.