What makes a good teacher?

A High Court ruling in Edinburgh has over-turned the refusal of the General Teaching Council of Scotland to register science teacher Derek Sturridge. For more than 30 years, entry to teaching in Scotland has been open only to graduates.

Mr Sturridge, who had a successful teaching career in England prior to moving to Scotland, successfully argued in the Court of Session that his Fellowship of the Royal Society of Chemistry was equivalent to a degree. Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the EIS teaching union, said the organisation had “very serious concerns” about lowering the entry requirements to the GTCS register.

There is a real tension between worthy principles and pragmatic common sense in this issue. For many years, indeed, such qualifications, often attained by hard study completed while in employment, were considered to be degree equivalents.