Today students across England, Northern Ireland and Wales are receiving their GCSE exam results. This follows the Scottish National 5s, earlier this month.
Beth Elgood, Director of Communications at EngineeringUK, comments:
“Most of the students receiving their GCSE results today started secondary school in autumn 2020, so much of their early secondary education was disrupted by the covid pandemic. Huge congratulations to all of them on their results.
“GCSEs in Science, Maths, Engineering and Technology (STEM) subjects are a key milestone on the journey towards a career in engineering and technology.
“Science and maths, like English, are core (compulsory) subjects at GCSE. Maths entries are up slightly compared to last year (+1.7%), although we believe this is mostly due to re-sits, while statistics has seen a significant increase in popularity (+9.5%). It’s interesting to see combined science is up slightly (+0.9%), however biology, chemistry and physics are all down (-6%).
“We are concerned to see design and technology (D&T) continue its long-term decline, despite a small uptick last year. In fact, D&T Entries have fallen to below half of what they were in 2016. Computing has also dipped slightly (-4.4%), but this comes after a rise of 5.8% last year. So overall computing entries remain above pre-2024 levels.
“With the engineering and technology sector growing rapidly and offering countless opportunities to make a meaningful impact, there’s never been a better time to pursue a career in this field. It’s important young people studying for GCSEs in STEM subjects can develop a broad range of skills to enable future study and pathways into careers in engineering and technology.
“We encourage students to explore the variety of options available to them for their next steps – from A levels to T Levels and other Vocational and Technical Qualifications. Whether students are passionate about tackling climate change or driving digital innovation, STEM subjects open the door to rewarding and diverse career options.”
EngineeringUK’s full briefing on GCSE exam results will be available to download in their research hub later today.
EngineeringUK’s commentary and analysis on last week’s exam results for A levels and T Levels, plus university acceptances, is available here.
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