Our Registration report: data and insight 2025 to 2026 shows that certain secondary subjects have experienced notable declines in registrations.
Computing Science, German and Economics have seen the greatest negative variation with other subjects in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Modern Languages also showing a steady decline.
STEM subjects
In subjects under the STEM umbrella, between 31 March 2023and 31 March 2026 there have been percentage reductions in the number of registrations in the following categories:
- Biology with Science: -2.76%
- Chemistry with Science: -6.24%
- Computing Science: -12.58%
- Economics: -22.22%
- Mathematics: -6.88%
- Physics with Science: -5.27%
- Technological Education: -5.46%
The most significant decrease has been in Economics. In 2023, there were 603 individuals registered in Secondary (Economics) Education, this has fallen year on year with 469 now registered.
Languages
Gaelic
The number of teachers registered in Secondary (Languages – Gaelic) has stayed relatively small and broadly static since 31 March 2023:
- 2023: 130
- 2024: 131
- 2025: 131
- 2026: 131
Other languages
The languages subjects with the largest number of individuals registered to teach continue to be French (2,087) and Spanish (1,244).
There have been reducing numbers of individuals registered to teach French, German, Italian and Mandarin since 2023.
- French: -9.38%
- German: -16.73
- Italian: -4.89%
- Mandarin: -6.58%
Other languages have remained stable or shown percentage increases since 2023:
- Heritage (Bengali, Arabic, Hindi, Polish, Punjabi, Urdu): 6.25% (there is a small number of individuals registered in this category, currently 17)
- Spanish: 2.47%
Addressing the decline
Once a teacher is fully registered it is possible to gain registration in an additional secondary education subject or different category of registration. Read more about additional registration and how it can help the system’s teacher recruitment challenges.
Our education system needs a clearer, more coordinated national understanding of which teachers are needed, where they are needed and when. Urgent action is required to improve the quality, integration and use of teacher workforce data so that decisions are informed, timely and targeted where they will have the greatest impact. Teachers also need clear, accessible information about where opportunities exist and how their qualifications and registration can support their own progression, as well as the needs of learners, schools and communities.
We continue to call for a national teacher supply strategy that provides a coherent, evidence-led plan for anticipating the teachers Scotland’s education system will need, where they will be needed, and how they will be recruited, supported and retained. This work must be embedded within wider education reform, ensuring that workforce planning is not reactive or fragmented, but forward-looking, strategic, and aligned with the needs of learners, schools and communities.
