A Greek community school in Plymouth, UK, has issued an urgent appeal for teachers amid concerns over staffing shortages that threaten its continued operation after more than 30 years of service.
The Plymouth Greek Community School, which together with its Exeter branch has enrolled more than 60 pupils aged between 2 and 17 this year, was recently informed by the Cyprus Educational Mission (KEA) that no teachers from Cyprus were available due to lack of interest.
The staffing shortage has created operational challenges for the school, highlighting a broader issue affecting Greek diaspora communities across the UK that rely on teachers seconded from Cyprus.
“Unfortunately, it appears the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth has other priorities, leaving local Greek diaspora communities to fend for themselves without teachers”, the school said in a statement. It added that KEA’s suggestion to employ local hourly-paid teachers was not viable, citing difficulties in recruitment and job security concerns.
The school questioned why teachers were not interested despite attractive benefits, including salary, housing allowance, return flights to Cyprus, and an additional allowance exceeding €400. They suggested that “there may be inadequate information provided by the Ministry” about these opportunities.
In their appeal, the school emphasised that “living and working in Britain, experiencing the culture, and teaching particularly in a small community school is a life-changing experience”.
When contacted by Philenews, a ministry source acknowledged that despite incentives, interest from teachers to serve in UK schools has declined in recent years. This was attributed to several factors, including “high living costs in Britain, processes that may have changed due to Brexit”, and the fact that teachers can now pursue postgraduate studies in Cyprus rather than combining UK placements with further education.
The ministry confirmed that community schools currently employ approximately 120 hourly-paid teachers compared to 23 seconded staff members.
