A-level choices show students deliberately taking subjects most sought after by top universities
Teenagers have tried to recession-proof themselves by shunning so-called soft subjects in favour of science, economics and maths, today's A-level results reveal.
The number of entries for maths, economics and further maths has soared by 6.2%, 9% and 11.5% respectively. This shows teenagers are attempting to sharpen their skills for the jobs market, but are also deliberately taking the subjects most sought after by top universities, exam boards said.
Studies have shown top universities favour traditional A-levels over vocational subjects such as law and accounting. Cambridge University and the London School of Economics publish lists of 'non-preferred' subjects.
More than 300,000 UK students took their exams this summer. A-level pass rates today rose to another record high of 97.6% while an unprecedented 27% of entries achieved an A, in results which will sharpen the intense battle for places at university this year.
Just over 8% of the entries were awarded the A* grade, which was introduced this year and is meant to help the most competitive universities select the best candidates.
General studies continued to fall for the fifth year running and made up just 6% of all A-level entries, reflecting the fact that many universities did not accept the subject as a condition of entry. English remained the most popular A-level with more than one in ten entries – 10.47%. Biology, chemistry and physics continued their rise, with 5.2% more teenagers studying physics than last year. There were 77,001 entries for maths, 11,682 for further maths, 57,854 for biology, 44,051 for chemistry and 30,976 for physics.
Entries for Spanish rose by 4% but other foreign languages continued to fall out of favour. French and German dropped by 3.4% and 3.8% respectively.
There were 7,629 entries for Spanish, compared to 7,334 last year. This compares with 13,850 for French and 5,548 for German. Other foreign languages continued to fall out of favour. French and German dropped by 3.4% and 3.8% respectively.
John Bangs, former head of education at the National Union of Teachers, said the decline in modern foreign languages was a "real concern". He blamed ministers' decision six years ago to make foreign languages optional at the age of 14.
Computing continued to fall, by 13.7% compared to last year, and critical thinking fell by 16.4%. So-called soft subjects, such as sport and communication studies, dropped by 4.9% and 4% respectively.
In some subjects, there was a lower proportion of A grades than last year. In maths, 44.8% of grades were A or A* grades, compared to 45.2% last year. In media studies, 12.5% were A or A* compared to 13.2% last year.
Gender gap narrows
Girls have outperformed boys in the proportion achieving an A grade since 1998, but this year that gap narrowed. The gap between the percentage of boys and girls achieving an A or A* narrowed to 1.8 percentage points. The last time it was so narrow was 2001 when it was just 0.8 percentage points.
Overall, 7.9% of boys' grades were A* compared to 8.3% of girls. However, boys outperformed girls in science and maths subjects at A*.
In maths, the proportion of A* grades was 17.2% – 17.3% for boys and 17% for girls. Some 44.8% of all maths grades were A or A*, while in further maths, 29.9% of grades were A* and 58.8% were A or A*. This compares with 7.4% of all English grades being an A* and 23.1% being an A or A*.
Overall, 7.9% of boys' grades were A* compared to 8.3% of girls. Boys outperformed girls in science and maths subjects at A*.
Diplomas
Some 594 students took diplomas, a qualification introduced under the Labour government. While 138 boys took the engineering diploma, just eight girls did and while 109 girls took the society, health and development diploma, five boys did.
Andrew Hall, director general of the AQA exam board, said there was a "real resurgence" in science, technology and maths – so-called Stem subjects.
"The resurgence of Stem subjects is one of the really interesting things about today's results," he said. "I think this probably reflects the fact that there is pressure on university places. The fall in general studies probably reflects the fact that universities are not accepting this subject."
John Dunford, outgoing general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the increase in science and maths shows "that in difficult economic times, students are choosing their subjects astutely and turning to traditional subjects in the belief that they are passports to the top universities and employment".
Ziggy Liaquat, managing director of Edexcel exam board, said what was driving students' choices of subjects was their careers and the "currency" and "value" of a subject. "Students are thinking about their futures."
This year, examiners inserted more challenging questions into A-levels. Students were encouraged to question the question. This was thought to be better preparation for university study. Some subjects had fewer modules – four rather than six.
The education secretary, Michael Gove, has called for an overhaul of the current system and will be publishing a white paper on the national curriculum this autumn.