BBC Education Correspondent Mike Baker: "No problem recruiting teachers in France"

The teacher training college in Douai, northern France, is never short of applicants.

But the training is tough. First the degree, then two or more years training, then a competitive exam in which the pass mark is set to allow through only as many teachers as there are jobs to fill.

If they pass the competitive exam, the students become civil servants and have a job for life.

Teachers' pay in France is not very high - starting salaries are lower than in Britain - but the job and status make teaching attractive.

Alain Natali: "Teachers are top category civil servants"

"It's not really well paid, but at least you are a civil servant, which means you can't be dismissed," said a student at the Douai college.

The director of the Douai teacher training institute, Alain Natali, says there is no problem recruiting enough teachers in France. The working hours and the civil servant status make it an enviable job.

"Civil servants are classified into categories A, B, C, D and so on - and the very top category is the one that includes all types of teachers," said Mr Natali.

While recruiting enough good young graduates for teacher training colleges in France is no problem, this is not the case in England - particularly in key subjects like maths, sciences and foreign languages.

Indeed, the recruitment problem is so severe that it is probably the biggest obstacle in the way of the government's plans to raise standards in schools.

Margaret Alfrey: "If you want status, then you go into medicine or law"

Christ Church College in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the UK's best teacher training colleges - but it has failed to recruit enough people to become science or maths teachers.

There are many reasons - pay, poor status in society and the constant public criticism of teachers.

The dean of education at Christ Church College, Margaret Alfrey, admits that teaching has an image problem.

And one of her students said: "I don't think any of us are doing it out of a sense of trying to get as much money out of the job as possible. We're doing it because we're passionate about our subjects."

But the hard truth is there are not enough of them.

The big question for the government is whether its plans will be enough to persuade new teachers to stay in the profession - and also to encourage more of our best graduates to join them.