BOLTON'S education chiefs are facing difficulties in recruiting maths, science and modern language teachers, it has been revealed.

But although there are problems in recruiting teachers for the specialised subjects, unlike other towns throughout Britain Bolton is not experiencing a shortage of teachers overall.

Only this week it was revealed that London and the Home Counties is facing teacher shortages of "monumental proportions."

But Bolton's schools, though, are managing to fill vacancies although education bosses each year experience problems in recruiting staff for certain subject areas.

Dave Sutton, head of Bolton Education Department's Personnel Unit, said the town faces particular problems in mathematics, sciences and modern languages but no schools have yet reported unfilled vacancies.

Nationally David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers, has warned that serious problems lie ahead because applications for post graduate teacher training courses are down by an estimated 30 per cent.

And he warns recruitment of trainees for secondary school posts is likely to be 5,000 graduates short of the Government target of 15,276 in September.

Just half of the required 1,696 maths teachers are expected to start training, while quotas in English will be 30 per cent fewer, Geography 40 per cent short and 65 per cent fewer in design and technology.

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