They are to run courses to help people identified as potentially good teachers to gain a deeper knowledge of physics prior to teacher training. Participants will receive a bursary of £150 a week while they are on the six months course, and may be eligible for financial help while they train and in their first years of teaching. They will also receive additional mentoring and subject support in their first years in school.

The physics enhancement courses, being piloted on behalf of the Teacher Training Agency and supported by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, start in January and are aimed at graduates with some element of physics in their degree or in their current job.

Keele is holding its course in conjunction with Wolverhampton University and nine local education authorities. Other members of the consortium headed by St Martin's College are Manchester Metropolitan University and Edge Hill College of Higher Education, Ormskirk.

Mary Doherty, Director of Teacher Supply and Recruitment for the TTA, said:

"We need more physics teachers in our secondary schools to help pupils develop their understanding of physics to prepare them for adult and university life. There are not enough university and college students studying physics to develop into the teachers we need.

"These courses will help people with all the qualities required to become effective teachers to go beyond 'text book physics' and apply their understanding to the world around them. For example, the courses may contain a module on the physics of brewing, or a visit to a theme park. They will be able to teach accurately with added confidence and enthusiasm.

"Keele University and St Martin's College are experienced in offering initial teacher training in science subjects, and I am delighted they are helping us pilot this new approach to recruit people to teach physics."

Chris Shepherd, Teacher Recruitment and Retention Manager at the Institute of Physics, said:

'We believe that we now have an exciting opportunity to radically influence the numbers of trainees going in to Physics teaching. At the Institute we feel confident that in due time this approach could have a decisive influence on the way training and mentoring are conducted, and will reverse the long term decline in the number of physics teachers.'

Notes to editors

Keele University and the consortium led by St Martin's College were chosen for the pilot scheme after submitting bids to the TTA. Each course lasts 26 weeks and is intended for people who have been offered a conditional teacher training place.

All routes to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) are eligible – undergraduate (B.Ed) courses, postgraduate training, or the graduate teacher programme (GTP). Financial support available includes a bursary worth £6,000 for postgraduate training, a golden hello worth £4,000 after one year's teaching. GTP trainees are paid a salary while they train in a school.

The starting pay for Newly Qualified Teachers is at least £18,105, rising to £26,460 and, with performance points, to £33,150. Advanced Skills Teachers are on a scale ranging from £29,098 to £47,469. There are higher pay scales in inner London. In addition, allowances can be paid for management responsibilities (up to £10,572), and recruitment and retention (up to £15,526 over three years).

The TTA was established by the Education Act 1994 to raise standards by attracting able and committed people to teaching, and by improving the quality of teacher training and induction.

Details of the universities, colleges and schools which provide initial teacher training can be found on the TTA's recruitment website.