Potential trainees can search the information to find a provider to meet their particular interests and needs - obtaining details on courses, the quality of the training and the distance from their home. The site also allows members of the public access to information about the performance of providers.

In addition, providers are being given access to more detailed information to help them benchmark their performance against those of similar providers.

Secretary of State for Education Estelle Morris said:

'In the last year we have introduced a series of new measures to encourage people into teaching, including training bursaries. Potential trainees need access to information on the quality and type of training that is available to choose the best course for their training needs. The TTA's website provides aspiring teachers with detailed information on the quality and type of training that is available.'

TTA Chief Executive Ralph Tabberer said:

'At a time when competition for good quality graduates is greater than ever, it is vital that people get the best possible information to help them choose their courses and careers.

'The Internet is playing an increasing role as a resource for career information, and we are moving towards the recruitment fair on-line. I hope all potential trainee teachers use the profiles to help find the training most suitable for them.'

The site dedicated to providers has been designed to offer them on-line statistics on initial teacher training. Ralph Tabberer added: 'The opportunity to compare best performance and share best practice will be valuable in promoting benchmarking and planning improvements as we work together to improve the standard of initial teacher training.'

The profiles contain:

• background information about each provider, and the nature of the training they offer (including part-time and distance learning);
• the gender, ethnicity and age of the student intake;
• the qualifications trainees have on beginning their training;
• the success rates of providers, including the proportion of final year trainees awarded Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), and going into teaching employment;
• OFSTED inspection grades; and
• TTA quality category.

The new data, when compared to last year's profiles, includes the following points:

• the percentage of primary undergraduate trainees awarded QTS rose from 91 to 92 per cent;
• the percentage of those awarded QTS who were working in teaching within six months of graduation rose from 80 to 83 per cent over the previous year (based on those whose employment status is known);
• the number of primary postgraduate trainees entering training over the three years from 1997/98
• 1999/2000 increased from 4737 to 5355, while the number of undergraduate trainees declined from 6933 to 6197;
• the proportion of secondary postgraduate trainees entering with 2:1 degree or better increased by one percentage point (from 47 to 48 per cent) over the previous year;
• increases of around ten per cent in the number of secondary trainees awarded QTS in geography, ICT and mathematics;
• the number of males entering primary training has remained static at 13 per cent; and
• an increase of one percentage point in the proportion of trainees from an ethnic minority group in both primary and secondary (from six to seven per cent and seven to eight per cent, respectively).

The site includes links to the University Colleges' Admission Service (UCAS), OFSTED reports on training providers, the Graduate Teacher Training Register (GTTR) and providers' own websites.

Notes to Editors

1. Information for potential trainees and the general public is available through the TTA's Website Teach. Additional information for providers is available to them only via a secure site.

2. The data is collected from information for the academic year 1999/2000, the latest year for which data is available. Information on providers and trainees and their performances in the current academic year will be collected shortly.

3. The Teacher Training Agency was established under the Education Act 1994. Its purpose is to raise standards in schools by attracting able and committed people into teaching and by improving the quality of teacher training.

4. The Agency is responsible for a wide range of initiatives to promote recruitment to the teaching profession; for funding initial teacher training, which is linked to the quality of the training provision and identified through OFSTED inspection; for further development of the standards for award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), including currently the new QTS Skills Tests for numeracy, literacy and ICT; and working with the New Opportunities Fund for the provision of training in the use of ICT in subject teaching.