What you could teach
What subjects are available to teach on our Training Programme across England right now, and how we match you up.
Subject availability
The list below shows which curriculum areas are currently available – bear in mind you may be asked to teach more than one in your school.
Places often fill at different rates across regions. That means subject availability can differ in certain locations.
The following subjects are available to teach:
- business
- computing
- design and technology
- early years
- English
- geography
- history
- maths
- modern foreign languages (French and Spanish)
- music
- primary
- science
- religious education
The need for teachers is particularly great in science, maths, computing and modern foreign languages, so if you are eligible to teach one of these subjects it is unlikely you will be considered for others.
We regularly update this page with subject availability. Make sure to check back to see if your desired subject is still available.
If you get a place on our Training Programme, we’ll match you to a subject. This will be based on the needs of our schools and your eligibility to teach it. You can rank your subject preferences in your application, but we’ll only take into account your preferences for subjects you’re eligible to teach.
Frequently asked questions
- What if there’s no availability in the subject I want to teach?
If there are no more places left for your chosen subject in the current intake you won’t be able to apply for it in that recruitment year. You can apply for vacancies in the following year when they open.
We encourage you to speak to the Recruitment team to discuss what your options are.
We sometimes change our requirements for a new recruitment year so keep checking our website when we reopen applications to make sure you’re still eligible to apply.
- Does Teach First offer a reserve system if what I want to teach is full?
We review availability by subject and region throughout the year; if there are no places left in a particular subject/region we will make you an offer to teach an alternative so long as you are eligible and there is availability. If this is not possible, we may be able to consider a reserve list place.
- I’d like to teach science. How can I boost my subject knowledge?
If you have A-levels at grade B or above in biology, chemistry or physics, or have studied a science degree, you can still be a physics or chemistry specialist in school.
Teach First will help you access a subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) programme to develop your knowledge. The SKE course will be free to eligible candidates.
- How old are the pupils I will be teaching?
Thinking of teaching a secondary school subject? The pupils you’ll be teaching will be aged 11-16, apart from Business Studies where the pupils are aged 14-19.
If it’s primary you’re interested in you’ll be teaching pupils aged 5-11.
For early years, the pupils you’ll be in the classroom with are 3-7 years old.
Ready to apply?
Applications to join our 2025 Training Programme are open.