Recruiting and retaining teachers is the biggest problem facing the education system, the chief inspector of schools has said.

Mike Tomlinson said the main task over coming years will be in keeping teachers in the classroom.

In an interview with ePolitix.com, Tomlinson, who replaced Chris Woodhead last year, said: "Top of the list would be the whole issue of teacher recruitment and retention. Perhaps of the two, more importantly will be retention over the coming years."

He said that teachers were being forced to quit for a variety of reasons - but admitted that pay was a major factor.

"In talking recently to teachers, for example in London, the problem is that while they can manage upon the starting salaries, they certainly can't contemplate remaining in those schools in the city and becoming house owners," he said. "They simply could not survive, so their choice is either to move out of inner city schools, or schools in high price housing areas, or to seek alternative employment."

He also highlighted "the need to raise standards at Key Stage Three" and "what happens for 14 to 19 year olds" as the other key priorities for the new education and skills secretary, Estelle Morris.

Parents, believes Tomlinson, must also do more to tackle the growing problem of poor discipline in the classroom.

"There has to be a greater willingness on the part of all parents to seek to have a greater code of discipline with their own children. Schools for their part need to discuss with parents their code of discipline and have parents sign up to it," he said.