Manufacturers welcome upturn in science and maths passes

Responding to the figures, Andrew Smith, EEF Education & Skills Adviser, said:

“The increased uptake of maths and science at A-level may be an indication that the tide of declining numbers of young people studying these topics has turned. They may also reflect an increased focus by students on their future employment prospects given the grounding provided by a background in science and maths.

“However, although these increases are welcome, there is clearly more to be done and efforts must continue to ensure the UK has the qualified workforce it needs to maintain competitiveness. The improvement in participation rates must feed through to sustained increases in the number of people continuing to progress in engineering, maths, and science subjects at higher levels.

ENDS

Notes for editors:

Today’s A Level results show:

· A significant rise (7.5 per cent) in the numbers taking Mathematics A Levels, 64,593 entries compared to 60,093 in 2007

· Further maths was also up by 15.5 per cent to 9,091 (compared to 7,872 in 2007);

• In sciences – biology was up 2.7 per cent, chemistry up 3.5 per cent and physics up 2.3 per cent, with other sciences recording a 0.2 per cent rise;