Government proposals to raise the bar for student teachers in England could worsen the shortage of science and maths teachers, a report suggests. Education Secretary Michael Gove has said the Government should only pay to train graduates as teachers if they have at least a 2:2 honours degree. But a study by Buckingham University says that policy would lead to “big holes” on key teacher training courses. A quarter of those who trained as physics teachers in 2008-09 would not have made the grade, along with 20 per cent of maths recruits, said Professor Alan Smithers and Dr Pamela Robinson.