FIGURES suggest applications to teach in the south west have dropped by ten per cent in the last year while more teachers quit the profession than ever before.

According to data released by the Labour Party, gathered from UCAS and Department for Education statistics, only 10,300 applications to teach were made in 2015 compared to 11,470 in 2014 - a drop of 10 per cent.

Meanwhile, a record 49,120 teachers quit the profession in 2014 - almost 3,500 more than the previous year.

Figures show a steady increase in numbers of teachers leaving the role year on year since 1998.

Labour’s shadow education secretary Lucy Powell said: “For years, this Government chose to ignore the growing problem with teacher supply, continuing instead to botch recruitment and do down the profession at every opportunity.

"As a result schools are now struggling against falling applications and the highest number of teachers quitting the profession on record.

“The Tories’ failure to take this problem seriously is threatening standards in our schools and damaging the education of our children – it cannot go on any longer.

"Last week David Cameron claimed to care about social mobility – nothing is more important to raising standards, aspirations and social mobility than having excellent teachers in our schools.”