Academic year 2024/25

Initial Teacher Training Census

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Introduction

National and provider-level information about the numbers and characteristics of new entrants to Initial Teacher Training (ITT) in England in the training year 2024/25; and 2024/25 postgraduate ITT (PGITT) targets. The statistical release also includes information on numbers and characteristics of new entrants to early years ITT (EYITT) and application information for postgraduate ITT courses. The 2024/25 ITT entrants’ data is provisional, and the 2023/24 data is revised. 

Note that this year we are aware of some data quality issues, primarily that records for approximately 100 2024/25 trainees were not submitted in time for inclusion in these statistics. We intend to publish an amendment in early 2025. See the year-specific methodology for more details.  

Read statistical summaries, view charts and tables, and download data files. 

Related information

Releases in this series

View releases (14) for Initial Teacher Training Census

Methodologies

Headline facts and figures - 2024/25

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Additional supporting files

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  • ITT Census 2024/25 Provider Tables (xlsx, 1 Mb)

    Table 12: This provider level table contains the number of both postgraduate and undergraduate new entrants to ITT at provider level by trainee characteristics. The data in this table covers academic years 2019/20 to 2024/25 (2024/25 data is provisional, all previous years are revised, currently have degree class removed until amendment). Table 13: This provider level table contains the number of both postgraduate and undergraduate new entrants to ITT at provider level by ITT route. The data in this table covers academic years 2019/20 to 2024/25 (2024/25 data is provisional, all previous years are revised). Table 14: This provider level table contains the number of both postgraduate and undergraduate new entrants to ITT at provider level by ITT subject. The data in this table covers academic years 2019/20 to 2024/25 (2024/25 data is provisional, all previous years are revised).

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About these statistics

This statistical release provides provisional figures on the number of new entrants who have started an ITT programme in England in 2024/25 by school subject, training route and accredited provider type, training region and a range of trainee demographic factors. This statistical release includes revised data for 2023/24. 

Note that this year we are aware of some data quality issues and intend to publish an amendment in early 2025. See the year-specific methodology for more details.  

These statistics cover those training to teach via both postgraduate and undergraduate routes, as well as a separate section on those undertaking EYITT. The headline figures do not include self-funded trainees, but these are discussed in a separate section. 

The following tables are included: 

  • National tables for the training years 2019/20 to 2024/25 by route, phase, subject, region and trainee characteristics (main postgraduate and undergraduate routes) 
  • Provider-level tables for the training years 2019/20 to 2024/25 by route and phase (main postgraduate and undergraduate routes) 
  • EYITT national table for the training years 2019/20 to 2024/25 by route and trainee characteristics. 

 
Note that due to data quality concerns with degree class data for 2024/25, breakdowns by degree class have not been published this year. We hope to include this in amended data in early 2025. 

The number of new entrants who have started postgraduate ITT is compared to the Department’s annual postgraduate ITT trainee targets, which are set using the TWM. 

The ITT Census publication was produced using data extracted from the Register Trainee Teachers service, including data collected in the HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) ITT collection. Please see methodology for further detail. The publication also includes figures taken at the end of the application cycle on the number of candidates making applications to ITT courses, and the number of acceptances to ITT courses, for courses starting between the years 2022/23 and 2024/25. More information on this can be found under Background to end of application cycle statistics. 

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Background on mainstream initial teacher training

To become a qualified teacher in England, trainees typically complete a programme of Initial Teacher Training (ITT). This provides them with education, training, mentoring and teaching practice in schools, leading to the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) for successful trainees.

Trainees on all programmes of ITT learn the knowledge, skills and behaviours that define great teaching, receive ongoing mentoring support from a mentor during school placements and will learn how to teach effectively through multiple opportunities to refine and practice particular approaches throughout their training. 

ITT is largely delivered through Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITTs) who are accredited by DfE. Many providers also offer academic awards such as PGCE or PGDE for post graduate ITT.

Trainees on all postgraduate programmes, whether delivered by SCITTs or a HEI, will spend at least two-thirds of their training in schools. 

There are three routes into teaching:

  • the postgraduate fee funded route, which normally runs for one year full-time. 
  • the postgraduate salaried route, which normally runs for one year full-time and includes the School Direct salaried programme, the High Potential ITT programme (HPITT) and, since 2018/19, the Postgraduate Teaching Apprenticeship (PGTA). 
  • the undergraduate route, which normally runs over a three or four years and includes teacher training via an undergraduate degree route and the new Teacher Degree Apprenticeship pilot which is a salaried route (and is accepting applications from 2024/25 onwards).

 Early Years ITT, a non-mainstream route, is covered in separate sections below.

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New entrants to postgraduate initial teacher training by subject

Summary 

  • In 2024/25, we have seen a total of 23,011 new entrants to PGITT. This is 69% of the PGITT target (33,355), up from 60% of the 2023/24 target.  

Secondary 

  • There was a 16% increase in the number of new postgraduate secondary entrants from 12,738 in 2023/24 to 14,753 in 2024/25, with decreases only seen in Business Studies, Drama, History, Physical Education, and ‘Other’ subjects. 
  • In 2024/25, 62% of the overall secondary PGITT target was achieved, up from 48% in 2023/24. This increase is due to the increase in new entrants as well as a decrease in target from 26,360 in 2023/24 to 23,955 in 2024/25. 
  • There were 5,493 new PGITT entrants for STEM subjects, an increase of 26% compared to 2023/24 (4,347), and achieving 61% of the 2024/25 PGITT STEM target (8,965). For individual STEM subjects: 
    • Mathematics had 2,221 new entrants in 2024/25, a 24% increase on 2023/24 entrants, and representing 72% of the target (3,065).  
    • Chemistry had 760 new entrants in 2024/25, unchanged compared to 2023/24, and representing 62% of the target (1,220).  
    • Biology had 1,336 new entrants in 2024/25, a 45% increase on 2023/24 entrants, and representing 119% of the target (1,120).  
    • Computing had 495 new entrants in 2024/25, a 22% increase on 2023/24 entrants, and representing 37% of the target (1,330).  
    • Physics had 681 new entrants in 2024/25, a 46% increase on 2023/24 entrants, and representing 30% of the target (2,250).  
  • PGITT targets were exceeded for Classics (250%), Physical Education (209%), Biology (119%), History (116%) and English (101%). Please note that Classics is the smallest subject, with 50 entrants in 2024/25, and so this should be taken into consideration when making comparisons across subjects. 
  • Across all secondary subjects, the largest increases in reported performance against PGITT targets between the 2023/24 and 2024/25 training years have been seen for: 
    • Classics achieved 250% of its target in 2024/25, a 58 percentage point increase compared to 192% in 2023/24. As noted above, Classics has a small number of entrants relative to other subjects. 
    • Religious Education achieved 79% of its target, a 38 percentage point increase compared to 41% in 2023/24. 
    • Geography achieved 91% of its target in 2024/25, a 36 percentage point increase compared to 55% in 2023/24 
    • Biology achieved 119% of its target, a 31 percentage point increase compared to 88% in 2023/24. 
    • Physical Education achieved 209% of its target, a 29 percentage point increase compared to 180% in 2023/24. 
    • English achieved 101% of its target, a 29 percentage point increase compared to 72% in 2023/24. 
  • Biology saw an increased target, from 1,050 in 2023/24 to 1,120 in 2024/25, but a greater increase in entrants. All the other subjects saw decreased targets and had increased entrants, with the exception of Physical Education, which had a decreased target but similar numbers of entrants in 2023/24 and 2024/25. 
  • The only secondary subjects to have seen a decrease in reported performance against PGITT targets between the 2023/24 and 2024/25 training years are: 
    • Drama, achieving 48% of its target in 2024/25, compared to 76% in 2023/24. 
    • Business Studies, achieving 15% of its target in 2024/25, compared to 17% in 2023/24. 
    • Chemistry, achieving 62% of its target in 2024/25, compared to 63% in 2023/24. 
  • These changes reflect increases in targets, and for Business Studies, a reduction in the number of new entrants. Drama and Chemistry had similar numbers of entrants in 2023/24 and 2024/25. 
  • In 2024/25, there were 274 PGITT trainees recruited in ‘Other’ subjects, compared to 295 in 2023/24. ‘Other’ includes Child Development, Citizenship, Law, Media Studies, Other Social Studies, Other Technology, Politics, Psychology, Sociology, and Social Sciences among others. 
  • Within Others, there were 6 Citizenship trainees, compared to 22 in 2023/24. Citizenship trainees are defined as those studying a course with subject Citizenship or UK Government Studies. HEIs recorded course subject as UK Government Studies for citizenship trainees from 2021/22 onwards.  

Primary 

  • In 2024/25, primary achieved 88% of the overall PGITT target, down from 94% in 2023/24. This is due to both an increase in target from 9,180 in 2023/24 to 9,400 in 2024/25, and a decrease in entrants from 8,633 in 2023/24 to 8,258 in 2024/25. 
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New entrants to ITT by routes into teaching

Summary 

  • In 2024/25, there were 23,011 new postgraduate entrants, an 8% increase from 21,371 in 2023/24.  
  • There were 4,735 undergraduate entrants, a 5% decrease from 4,971 in 2023/24.  
  • Undergraduates made up 17% of total new entrants, a decrease compared to 19% last year. However, this varies by phase, with undergraduates making up 35% of primary entrants in 2024/25 compared to 2% of secondary entrants, the same proportions as in 2023/24. The proportion of primary entrants made up by undergraduates has increased in recent years from 27% in 2019/20. The proportion of undergraduates within secondary entrants remained steady at 2-3% over the same time period. 
     

Postgraduate summary 

  • In 2024/25, there were 19,359 new entrants on postgraduate fee-funded routes, a 5% increase from 18,393 in 2023/24. This route made up 84% of the postgraduate total, a decrease compared to 86% last year, and continuing a downward trend since 2021/22 when it was 89%. Within this route: 
    • HEI accredited providers had 11,622 new fee-funded entrants, a 4% decrease from 12,045 in 2023/24. This accounted for 51% of the postgraduate total compared to 56% last year. 
    • SCITT accredited providers had 7,737 new fee-funded entrants, a 22% increase from 6,348 in 2023/24. This accounted for 34% of the postgraduate total compared to 30% last year. 
  • In 2024/25, there were 3,652 new entrants on postgraduate salaried routes, a 23% increase from 2,978 in 2023/24. Together these routes made up the remaining 16% of the postgraduate total, an increase in proportion compared to 14% last year. 
  • The PG salaried High Potential ITT route had 1,413 new entrants, a 9% increase from 1,301 in 2023/24. This accounted for 6% of the postgraduate total, the same as last year. 
  • The PG salaried Postgraduate Teaching Apprenticeship route had 1,432 new entrants, a 50% increase from 957 in 2023/24, continuing a trend of rapid year-on-year growth since this route was introduced in 2018/19. This accounted for 6% of the postgraduate total compared to 4% last year. 
  • The PG salaried School Direct route had 807 new entrants, a 12% increase from 720 in 2023/24. This accounted for 4% of the postgraduate total compared to 3% last year. 
  • Self-funded trainees, including some international trainees and some trainees on salaried routes teaching in private schools or studying non-DfE-funded subjects, are excluded from these figures. Please see the section below for more details on these trainees including a breakdown by ITT routes.   
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New entrants to postgraduate ITT by characteristics

Trainee sex 

  • In 2024/25, of postgraduate entrants for whom we have data, 31% are male and 68% female. This is a 1 percentage point increase in the proportion of male trainees compared to 2023/24.   
  • For primary, 16% of postgraduate trainees are male, unchanged since 2021/22 but following a longer-term gradual downward trend from 22% in 2015/16. For secondary, 39% of postgraduate trainees are male, the same as in 2023/24. The proportion of male secondary postgraduate trainees has been broadly stable, at between 40% and 38% since 2015/16. 

Trainee age 

  • 51% of new postgraduate entrants are aged under 25, a decrease from 53% in 2023/24. Prior to this year, the proportion of postgraduate entrants aged under 25 had gradually increased from 50% in 2019/20.  

Trainee disability status 

  • In 2024/25, of postgraduate trainees with known disability status, 19% declared a disability, a 1 percentage point increase compared to 2023/24. The proportion of postgraduates with known disability status who declared a disability has seen an upwards trend since at least 2015/16, when this proportion was 8%.  
  • It should be noted that the proportion of trainees with known disability status has also generally decreased in this timeframe from 99% to 93%.  

Trainee ethnicity 

  • Of the postgraduate trainees who declared their ethnic group: 72% were White, 14% were Asian / Asian British, 7% were Black / African / Caribbean / Black British, 4% were of Mixed / Multiple ethnic groups, and 2% were of Other ethnicity (including Arab and Other ethnic background). This compares with approximately 80%, 10%, 5%, 3%, and 2%, respectively, of the working age population belonging to these ethnic groups in England (Census 2021).  
  • In 2024/25, the proportion of White postgraduate trainees decreased by 4 percentage points compared to 2023/24, while the proportions of Black / African / Caribbean / Black British and Asian / Asian British trainees increased by 2 and 1 percentage points respectively. In general, since 2019/20 there has been a gradual increase in the proportion of Asian and Black postgraduate trainees, and a corresponding gradual decrease in the proportion of White postgraduate trainees.  
  • When considering changes year-on-year, it should be noted that a greater number of new entrants reported their ethnicity in the 2024/25 data (96%) compared to the 2023/24 data (94%). 
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New entrants to postgraduate ITT by nationality

Summary 

  • In 2024/25, there were 21,931 new postgraduate entrants with known nationality, which is 95% of all postgraduate new entrants. Of these, 90% were UK nationals, 6% were European Economic Area (EEA) nationals, and the remaining 4% were nationals of other countries. (EEA Nationals here relates to individuals with a European Union, European Economic Area or included in the single market – this includes Swiss nationality. The UK is not included in these figures.)  
  • These proportions are broadly in line with data in 2023/24, with a slight decrease in the proportion of UK nationals, down from 91% in 2023/24, and a slight increase in the proportion of other nationals, up from 3% in 2023/24. Between 2016/17 and 2022/23, the proportion of UK nationals had been 92% or 93%, and the proportion of other nationals 2% or 3%. 
  • The proportion of UK national postgraduate trainees varies by subject. In 2024/25, Physics had the lowest proportion of UK nationals, at 58% (71% in 2023/24), with nationals of non-UK and non-EEA countries accounting for 38% of trainees (24% in 2023/24).  Modern Foreign Languages had the second highest proportion of international trainees: 28% of trainees are EEA nationals (28% in 2023/24), whereas UK nationals account for 62% (63% in 2023/24). 
  • Alongside trainee teachers from overseas, qualified teachers from specific overseas countries can be awarded qualified teacher status (QTS) with no further ITT in England. Figures for these teachers are now published separately as management information in the Teacher Regulation Agency annual report and accounts accessible here: Teaching Regulation Agency Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 (publishing.service.gov.uk) (opens in a new tab) (Annex A) and the transparency data for QTS applicants and awards to overseas teachers (opens in a new tab).   
  • Self-funded trainees, including some international trainees and some trainees on salaried routes teaching in private schools or studying non-DfE-funded subjects, are excluded from these figures. Please see the section below for more details on these trainees including a breakdown by nationality. 
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New entrants to postgraduate ITT by region

Summary 

  • In 2024/25, the number of new postgraduate entrants to ITT increased in most regions, with the largest increases seen in Yorkshire and the Humber (a 33% increase compared to 2023/24), followed by the West Midlands (a 20% increase).  
  • The number of postgraduate entrants decreased in the North East (an 18% decrease compared to 2023/24) and the North West (a 12% decrease). The number of entrants in the East of England remained broadly the same as in 2023/24. 
  • Numbers for entrants in the East Midlands have been suppressed for 2024/25. This is because records for approximately 100 trainees from a provider located in the East Midlands were not submitted in time for inclusion in these statistics. We intend to update the figures to include these trainees in an amendment in early 2025.  
  • Note that region is determined by the location of the accredited provider, which may not be where the trainee is located particularly in the case of providers operating on a national level. Some formerly accredited providers have now formed partnerships as lead partners with current accredited providers. This may impact year-on-year changes.     
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Background on early years initial teacher training (EYITT)

Background  

  • EYITT provides specialist training covering the education and care of children from birth to the age of five and is distinct from primary education. Training is delivered by accredited ITT providers. Providers graded by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) as ‘requires improvement’, or a lower quality, cannot provide EYITT. 
  • Successful EYITT trainees are awarded early years teacher status (EYTS). They are not eligible for the QTS award and are therefore not qualified to lead classes in a maintained nursery or school (nurseries or schools where funding and oversight is provided through the local authority), unless they also hold QTS. Trainees with EYTS can work as level 3 support workers in a maintained nursery or school. They can work as unqualified teachers in maintained schools or academies but this status is dependent on the school. Early years teachers can lead teaching in all other early years settings in the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector. 
  • There are several routes leading to the award of EYTS. Trainees can undertake an undergraduate course, which allows them to earn a degree in an early childhood related subject and EYTS, normally over a three-year period full-time. Postgraduate EYITT courses can be undertaken through the graduate entry route (full time study, which includes the early years School Direct route) or the graduate employment based route (a one-year part-time route for graduates working in an early years setting). Postgraduate EYITT normally runs for one year full-time.  
  • Trainees can also undertake an assessment only route to earn EYTS. This is designed for graduates with experience of working with children from birth to five, who are able to demonstrate the Teacher’s Standards (early years) without further training; for example, overseas trained early years teachers. The EYITT assessment only route is not included in this publication. 
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New entrants to early years initial teacher training (EYITT)

Summary 

  • In 2024/25, there were 622 new entrants to EYITT, compared to 580 in 2023/24, which is a 7% increase. 
  • Similarly to 2023/24, 100% of these new entrants to EYITT were on the postgraduate route. Of these, 90% took the graduate employment-based route, compared to 93% in 2023/24.  
  • Of those who declared their ethnic group, 73% were White, 14% were Asian / Asian British, 9% were Black / African / Caribbean / Black British, 3% were of Mixed / Multiple ethnic groups and 2% were of Other ethnicity (includes Arab and Other ethnic background) new EYITT entrants in 2024/25. This compares to 78%, 13%, 5%, 3%, and 1%, respectively, in 2023/24. Note that in 2024/25, 94% of EYITT trainees declared their ethnicity, compared to 90% in 2023/24. 
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Self-funded trainees

  • In this release, and historic releases, we exclude from the main figures trainees that the provider has indicated are not eligible for UK financial support and, for historic data, where they do not have a DfE allocated place. This includes overseas trainees not entitled to UK financial support; trainees on the School Direct salaried or PGTA routes undertaking a non-DfE-funded subject and/or employed at an independent school; or in situations when a School Direct salaried or PGTA trainee is undertaking a subject that would not normally be funded by DfE, but the provider is funding the trainee themselves. 
  • These self-funded trainees were historically excluded from ITT official statistics because this was seen as a small group of trainees with a lower likelihood of going on to teach in the English state-funded sector. However, in recent years the numbers of these trainees have been growing, and we intend to include them in headline measures from academic year 2025/26. We have continued to exclude these trainees from this release as the postgraduate ITT recruitment targets for 2024/25 were set with reference to the existing methodology. A high-level summary of the numbers of excluded self-funded trainees is presented here for transparency. 
  • In 2022/23, 968 self-funded trainees were excluded. Of these, 546 were UK nationals, 46 were EEA nationals, 301 were nationals of other countries, and 75 were of unknown nationality. Broken down by route, 710 were postgraduate fee-funded, 147 postgraduate salaried PGTA, 73 postgraduate salaried School Direct and 21 undergraduate. 
  • In 2023/24, 1,254 self-funded trainees were excluded. Of these, 699 were UK nationals, 85 were EEA nationals, 406 were nationals of other countries, and 64 were of unknown nationality. Broken down by route, 680 were postgraduate fee-funded, 471 postgraduate salaried PGTA, 68 postgraduate salaried School Direct and 19 undergraduate. 
  • In 2024/25, 1,685 self-funded trainees were excluded. Of these, 1,054 were UK nationals, 125 were EEA nationals, 504 were nationals of other countries, and 112 were of unknown nationality. Broken down by route, 1,152 were postgraduate fee-funded, 385 postgraduate salaried PGTA, 43 postgraduate salaried School Direct and 105 undergraduate.  
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Background to ITT end of application cycle statistics

The publication includes end of application cycle data on the number of candidates making applications to ITT courses, and the number of acceptances to ITT courses, with provisional figures for courses that start in 2024/25, and revised figures for 2022/23 and 2023/24. By candidate, we mean someone who has made an application to a postgraduate ITT course using the DfE Apply service for a course that starts in the given time period. By an accepted candidate, we mean a candidate that had an offer by an ITT provider and the candidate has accepted that offer. Candidates in the High Potential ITT route are excluded from these statistics, as they do not use the Apply service. Candidates applying to undergraduate, early years and further education ITT courses are also excluded. 

Prior to 2022/23, recruitment to postgraduate ITT courses was undertaken by UCAS and they published end of application cycle data up to 2021/22. Postgraduate recruitment fully transferred to DfE in Autumn 2021 for courses starting in 2022/23. Historical data published by UCAS is not directly comparable with data in this publication. 

The department ran a user consultation in December 2022 to inform the first release of end of application cycle data. We continue to welcome further feedback using the contact details in the Contact us section.  

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ITT candidates and acceptances

Changes in candidate and acceptance numbers between 2023/24 and 2024/25. 

The number of candidates applying to primary ITT courses remained steady from 2023/24 (19,350) to 2024/25 (19,237) while the number of accepted candidates decreased by 4% to 8,949. 

For secondary subjects overall, the number of candidates applying for 2024/25 courses increased by 25% to 37,560 compared to the previous year, while the number of accepted candidates increased by 16% to 14,945. 

In particular:  

  • The number of Physics candidates has increased by 82% from 2,944 to 5,364 in 2024/25, while the number of accepted candidates has increased by 50% to 940. 
  • The number of Religious Education candidates has increased by 80% from 770 to 1,383 in 2024/25, while the number of accepted candidates has increased by 74% to 406. 
  • The number of Art & Design candidates has increased by 61% from 1,112 to 1,786 in 2024/25, while the number of accepted candidates has increased by 81% to 790. 
  • STEM subjects saw a 40% increase in candidates (18,591) and a 25% increase in accepted candidates (5,676). 
  • The only subject with fewer candidates applying compared to the previous year was Primary with a 0.6% decrease. However, five subjects saw a decrease in the number of acceptances from the previous year: Drama (7%), Business Studies (4%), Primary (4%), History (3%), and Chemistry (0.3%). 

Candidates in the High Potential ITT route are excluded from these candidate/acceptance statistics, as they do not use the Apply service. 

The number of international candidates has increased, and the number of international accepted candidates has also increased. 

There has been an overall increase in the number of candidates of all nationalities, with the number of international candidates rising considerably; 2,446 candidates for the 2024/25 courses were EEA (excluding Irish) nationals (an 18% increase from the previous year) and 15,599 candidates were of other nationalities (a 37% increase). There was a 7% increase of British and Irish candidates from the previous year. 

Of the accepted candidates for ITT 2024/25 courses who declared their nationality, 87% were British and Irish nationals, 5% were EEA (excluding Irish) nationals, and 8% of nationals were from other countries. Compared to ITT 2023/24 accepted candidates, there has been a decrease of 2 percentage points for British and Irish nationals, an increase of 1 percentage point for EEA (excluding Irish) nationals, and an increase of 2 percentage points for other nationals. 

Acceptance rates for 2024/25 

53% of candidates who applied to 2024/25 courses went on to be offered and accept a place (in-cycle acceptance rate), down from  58% in 2023/24 and 78% in 2022/23. The year-on-year decreases are largely driven by increases in international applicants who typically have a lower acceptance rate. However, acceptance rates for all subjects have fallen across nationality groups in the latest year, except for EEA nationals. The subjects which have seen the increase in acceptance rates for EEA nationals are; Mathematics, Art & Design, History, Drama, Biology, and Chemistry. 

ITT application acceptances and acceptance rates by candidate characteristics 

Proportions of accepted candidates by characteristic 

  • For 2024/25 ITT courses, of accepted candidates for whom we have data, 31% are male and 68% are female. 
  • The largest age group of accepted candidates is aged under 25 (47%). 
  • There were no notable changes in proportions of accepted candidates by characteristics between 2023/24 and 2024/25 for sex and age groups. 
  • Of accepted candidates who declared their ethnic group, 70% were White, 15% Asian/ Asian British, 9% Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British, 4% Mixed/ Multiple Ethnic Group and 3% Other ethnic group in 2024/25. This compares to approximately 80%, 10%, 5%, 3%, and 2% of the working age population, respectively, belonging to these ethnic groups in England (Census 2021) . In 2024/25, the proportion of White accepted candidates decreased by 3 percentage points while Asian accepted candidates increased by 1 percentage point and Black accepted candidates increased by 2 percentage points. 

Acceptance rates by candidate characteristic 

  • The acceptance rate for female candidates on to 2024/25 courses was 59%, higher than the acceptance rate of 43% for male candidates (both rates are lower than the 2023/24 acceptance rates, 63% and 48% respectively). 
  • The acceptance rate for candidates aged under 25 was 73%. The acceptance rate was lower for all older age groups, ranging between 54% for those aged 25-29 and 34% for those aged 35-39. 
  • White candidates had a higher acceptance rate than all other ethnic groups (72%), while Black candidates had the lowest (21%). Asian and Mixed ethnic groups were accepted at rates of 46% and 62% respectively. 
  • Whilst the proportions have changed over time, the overall trends for each characteristic have remained broadly consistent over the latest 3 years. However, it should be noted that these acceptance rates will, at least in part, be a reflection of candidate eligibility. 
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2024/25 year specific methodology

Data Collection  

The ITT census is collected annually and counts trainees registered on a course on the second Wednesday in October. For 2024/25 this was Wednesday 9 October 2024. 

This statistical release presents detailed provisional data for 2024/25 and revised data for 2023/24. 

For 2024/25 we received data from 167 providers in England comprising 109 School Centred ITTs and 58 HEIs. The final data was extracted on 19th November 2024.  

Since 2021/22, the ITT Census publication has been produced using data extracted from the Register Trainee Teachers service. This is a move from the previous data source, DTTP (Database of Teacher Training Providers) but still includes data collected in the HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) ITT collection. To improve data quality, small changes have been made to some variables and the removal of variables which were no longer essential. We have endeavoured to ensure the impact of the changes is as minimal as possible, but as with any change in data source, comparisons between data from 2021/22 onwards and previous years should be treated with some caution. 

Quality assurance  

Data for the ITT census were completed, reviewed and signed-off by providers. The data collection and publication team within DfE carried out additional quality checks and data validations throughout the data entry process. After the data was extracted, the production team undertook a further quality assurance process to recode and correct some of the data. 

This quality assurance process identified a small number of issues. These, along with the solutions that have been implemented, are outlined below: 

2024/25 provisional data 

  • Data on first degree class was missing for a large proportion (11%) of postgraduate trainees. In particular, High Potential ITT trainees had a very high proportion of missing degree data. As the vast majority of HPITT trainees historically have an upper second class or above degree, this introduced a significant bias into the degree class data. Therefore, we have not included breakdowns by degree class in this publication. We are addressing this with providers and will look to publish this breakdown in an amendment in early 2025. 
  • One provider was unable to submit trainee records (approximately 100 trainees) in time for them to undergo the full quality assurance process. These trainees have not been included in this publication. We plan to update the figures to include these trainees in an amendment in early 2025.  
  • One provider made us aware they had recorded ITT route incorrectly for 17 postgraduate trainees. Due to tight timescales, and as this represents less than 0.1% of postgraduate trainees, we have published the data including this error. We plan to update the figures to accurately capture the ITT route for these trainees in an amendment. 

Teacher Workforce Model  

For entrants starting in 2021/22 onwards, the department’s annual PGITT targets have been chosen using analysis from the Teacher Workforce Model (TWM). The TWM replaces the previously used Teacher Supply Model (TSM). The TWM considers both recruitment and retention alongside estimates of teacher demand.  For more information please see the latest publication here: Postgraduate initial teacher training targets: 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab) 

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Methodology

Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics.

Official statistics

These are Official Statistics and have been produced in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

This can be broadly interpreted to mean that these statistics are:

  • managed impartially and objectively in the public interest
  • meet identified user needs
  • produced according to sound methods
  • well explained and readily accessible

Find out more about the standards we follow to produce these statistics through our Standards for official statistics published by DfE guidance.

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

Contact us

If you have a specific enquiry about Initial Teacher Training Census statistics and data:

ITT Routes Analysis and Research team

Email: ittstatistics.publications@education.gov.uk
Contact name: Sarah Amis

Press office

If you have a media enquiry:

Telephone: 020 7783 8300

Public enquiries

If you have a general enquiry about the Department for Education (DfE) or education:

Telephone: 037 0000 2288

Opening times:
Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays)