The Guardian newspaper, located in the United Kingdo, reported that a school in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshireis employing sixth formers as supply teachers because of a shortage of qualified staff.

The school is paying its 16-, 17- and 18-year-old sixth formers £5 ($12 US) for each 50-minute class they take. The 24 teenagers follow teachers’ lesson plans, instructing 11- to 16-year-olds in subjects they may no longer take themselves. The Guardian reports that there is an older adult with the older student, but the adult may not be a trained teacher and does not teach the lesson. The school is thought to be the only one in the UK to have taken this approach to supply teacher shortages.

According to the General Teaching Council for England, there were 2,140 fewer supply teachers in March 2007 than the year before. It does not have comparable figures for before that.