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Warning on shortage of UK history teachers

There are warnings of a shortage of history teachers in England -- weeks after the subject was made central to plans to promote social cohesion.

History teacher training places have been cut by 40% since 2004, according to data obtained by Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman Sarah Teather...Ms Teather said many schools were struggling to fill history posts and that a third of teachers were over 50.

The figures emerged shortly after Education Secretary Alan Johnson said he wanted to use teaching about slavery and the legacy of the British Empire as part of citizenship lessons...

"It's so short-sighted to write off history as a low priority subject. In the next decade we are going to see the majority of history teachers hit retirement age," Ms Teather said. "Without a real effort to get young, dynamic graduates into the classroom there's a risk of a whole generation of pupils missing out on a core plank of their education."...

The concerns were reflected by the Historical Association, which represents history teachers.
Read entire article at BBC News