A crisis in education in the UK...

Is this related to an emphasis on girls in public schools?

Physics is in danger of dying out in most state schools within a decade because of a shortage of qualified teachers and a perception that the subject is difficult, a study published yesterday found.

Over the past 15 years, the numbers taking physics at A-level had fallen by 38 per cent, chiefly because most of those teaching it did not know enough to instruct, let alone enthuse, their pupils.

"It is one of the most striking and disturbing trends in education," said Prof Alan Smithers and Dr Pamela Robinson of Buckingham University, who carried out the study.

"We may be in danger of sleepwalking into the loss of one of the great branches of knowledge from our schools.