Congratulations to all the students receiving their Core Maths, A level Mathematics and Further Mathematics results today. We would like to thank all the mathematics teachers and other staff for their hard work teaching and supporting the students to achieve success. These maths qualifications and the skills the students have developed on their courses will help them make a successful transition into employment or higher education.
The big news this year is that over 100,000 students took A level Mathematics in England this summer. This was an increase of 11.3%. A level Physics and A level Computing entries also increased by over 10%, but the largest increase was for A level Further Mathematics, which grew from 14,279 entries to 17,140, an increase of 20%.
Entries for Core Maths increased for the eighth year in a row, up slightly from 12,367 to 12,810.
The proportion of students taking A level Mathematics and Further Mathematics who were female decreased this year. Whilst more girls studied for these qualifications, the increase for boys was higher, hence the gender balance is slightly worse.
The AMSP works with schools and colleges promoting the benefits of studying maths beyond GCSE, providing students with enrichment experiences, tuition support and advice and guidance about careers and higher education. The AMSP also provides professional development for teachers to improve their subject knowledge and pedagogy.
Will Warne, Programme Lead for the AMSP, commented:
It is excellent news that so many young people gained a Level 3 maths qualification. All students should be proud of their achievements this year.
We are very pleased to see the increases in entries for A level Mathematics and Further Mathematics this year. MEI has worked with schools and colleges over many years to improve participation in Level 3 maths, through the FMSP and the AMSP, supported by funding from the DfE. The increasing popularity of maths and other STEM subjects is very encouraging. There is still work to be done to increase the number of female students choosing to study maths and we hope that the increased funding available for schools and colleges to support the teaching of Core Maths will help boost the number of students studying maths post-16 over the next few years.
The AMSP has published a summary of the AS and A level Mathematics and Further Mathematics entries for England on its website, and you can find a summary of Core Maths entries on the MEI website.