A new report from the Scottish Government shows that the number of computing science teachers have grown in the biggest annual increase since records began.

The number of computing science teachers recruited into the profession nearly doubled last year, the report from the government reveals, finally contrasting a continuous downturn in numbers.

Last year, 31 teachers were recruited into computing science, beating out the 16 recruited in the last two academic years.

Recruitment numbers are still, however, below target, with the profession seeing a lower number of teachers than at any time since 2008. 2025 however, was the first year since the public record began in 2016 that has seen such an increase in recruitment numbers. In 2018, numbers recruitment did increase from 41 to 46, the only other year that saw an increase.

The 31 teachers recruited were short of the 52-teacher target set out by the governments Teacher Workforce Planning Advisory Group, but still provides hope for the future as it is a dramatic uptick from the previous year.

The report acknowledged longstanding challenges in recruiting and retaining computing science teachers; the subject faces similar issues to many STEM subjects, but also its own unique difficulties in the need for digital access and devices and the rapid emergence of new technologies.

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Issues about access to software as well as devices are things that often require local authority intervention and approval, which can be more difficult to fix at pace. The report noted that the individual policies of local authorities can affect what software schools use, leading to unequal offerings across districts.

Outside of teacher recruitment, computing science has seen an increased uptake by students, with entries to National 5 Computing Science up by 3.8% between 2019 and 2025, while Highers saw an increase of 22.6%. The subjects have also seen an increase in female entries.

Still, current statistics show that the number of computing science teachers in Scotland is historically low, at just 550. In 2008/09, the number was at 766.