TEACHERS are a sociable bunch. Most manage to spend an evening out with colleagues at least once a month with just 7 per cent saying they never socialise with each other.
The TES poll found that 91 per cent managed to have at least one evening out with colleagues a year.
Those under 30 socialise most, with almost a quarter meeting colleagues weekly.
And the survey found it was southerners who were more likely to make friends with fellow teachers while those in Yorkshire and the North-east were least likely to socialise with workmates.
One in 10 YorkshireNorth-east teachers questioned said that they did not even meet colleagues socially once a year - compared to 4 per cent in London and the South-west and 5 per cent in the South-east.
The teachers going out least often were those in their forties: just 45 per cent managed to meet colleagues at least once a month and 9 per cent never went out.
Senior Year 6 teachers, who had duties as heads or deputies, were less likely to go out: 9 per cent said they never saw colleagues after work, compared to 5 per cent of classroom teachers.
Teachers may be sociable out of school hours but that is possibly because they have no time to meet up during the day.
The TES poll found that two out of five teachers had no time to chat during the school day, and this applied as much to class teachers as it did to those who also had duties as heads and deputy heads.
Asked if they had time to chat during the school day, less than half of those with no non-contact time agreed. But two-thirds of teachers with less than two hours of non-contact time said they had time for colleagues.
Northerners were the busiest, with just more than half from the North-west saying they had no time to relax in the day. This dropped to 28 per cent of Midland teachers.
