The number of men training to be primary school teachers in England has increased by more than 50 per cent in the past four years.

Figures from the Teaching Agency (TA), which is responsible for initial teacher training, show the increase among men is five times greater than among women.

Lin Hinnigan, interim chief executive of the TA, said: "Primary teaching is increasingly a career for the most able graduates. It offers the opportunity to earn a good salary and progress quickly."

Darren McCann, who was promoted to deputy head of a primary school in Astley, Greater Manchester, after teaching for seven years, said: "I'd always done well at school and initially thought I'd want to be a doctor or a lawyer.