We have a problem with the number of boys taking English at A level.

Of course, anyone who has been involved in teaching English knows this is not a new problem.

However, it is one that appears to be getting worse as the number of boys being entered into English language, English literature and English language and literature for A-level exams decreases notably.

Indeed, as new data provided by the Joint Council for Qualifications reveals, since 2016 there has been a mass shedding of almost 8,000 male students taking an English subject at A level, falling from 22,980 to 15,035, a drop of 34 per cent.

If we break it down by subject from 2016 to 2021, we see the following: 

• English language dropped from 7,354 to 4,025 - a decline of 3,329.
• English literature dropped from 12,186 to 8,967 - a decline of 3,219.
• English language and literature dropped from 3,440 to 2,043 - a decline of 1,397.

Furthermore, as the number of male students taking English drops, we see the gender gap widen, too. 

In 2016, 25 per cent of students taking English literature were male while, in 2021, it was 23 per cent. It’s not a huge drop, percentage point-wise, but follows the clear trend that English is on the decline.

Why are fewer boys taking English A level?

So, why is the number of boys taking English falling? 

It could be tempting to simply blame demographics and assume there are fewer boys in the system. However, data shows that there are actually 24,355 more boys choosing to take A levels now than in 2016.

So it’s clear that it’s no statistical anomaly - there are deeper issues at play.

Perceptions of femininity

Mark Roberts, teacher and author of The Boy Question: how to teach boys to succeed in school, says that perception of the subject is part of the reason why we see a persistently low number of boys opting to study English beyond GCSE. 

“The first issue is the obvious stereotypes around English being a ‘feminine’ subject,” he says. “Reading and writing are often seen by boys as feminine activities, which results in a reluctance to take a subject that relies heavily on reading and writing.

“This is particularly true of English literature, with fewer boys than girls choosing to read fiction for pleasure at home.”

However, Roberts doesn’t point the finger of blame solely at cultural concerns.

He also says part of the reason why he believes young men are skipping over English in preference for other subjects is the tendency for men to be motivated by increasing their job prospects after they leave school.

“When it comes to academic motivation, boys tend to be more likely than girls to be influenced by external factors, such as the prospect of getting a highly paid job, rather than learning a subject for the joy of the knowledge that it offers,” says Roberts. 

“In an era where financial factors are increasingly associated with the purpose of higher education, this is likely to put boys off taking English, when ‘masculine’ subjects, such as Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) seemingly offer a better-paid career path.”

It’s true that many high-profile campaigns have placed a focus on Stem subjects, emphasising to students the financial rewards that finding employment in that sector can bring.

However, it is a myth that studying humanities subjects won’t also lead to lucrative jobs. This myth is something that those in the arts have been keen to challenge.

For example, last year, research from the British Academy found that humanities graduates could often end up being just as well paid as their Stem counterparts: “While starting salaries are lower, over the longer term, AHSS [arts, humanities and social studies] graduates make strong progress up the career ladder into roles attracting higher salaries.”

Its report also shows that humanities graduates are just as employable as scientists and mathematicians, citing data from London Economics that show employment rates between those with degrees in these fields are almost identical.

It’s clear, though, that this message is not landing at present and that, for many boys, studying English just doesn’t seem like a viable option. 

The girl problem?

For years, this situation in English has been somewhat offset by the belief that girls have always flocked to the subject in high numbers. 

However, the data from the Joint Council for Qualifications makes it clear that it is not just the falling number of male students that poses a problem for English departments; girls’ interest in English is also waning.

Since 2016, there has been a drop of 14,770 girls taking English subjects at A level, from 61,730 to 46,960 - a 23 per cent decline, across the following three areas: 

• English language dropped from 16,221 to 10,509, a difference of 5,712.
• English literature dropped from 36,511 to 30,525, a difference of 5,986.
• English language and literature dropped from 8,998 to 5,926, a difference of 3,072.

Demographics may come more into play here as there were 6,748 fewer girls taking A levels between 2016 and 2021, but it’s not enough to explain such a big decline.

Curriculum changes

So, what’s going on? Why are English A levels suffering a decline of male and female students? 

Perhaps it is something deeper than cultural concerns or future earnings issues: perhaps the answer lies in the subject itself. 

That’s certainly a view that the National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE) has previously expressed, with a 2020 report suggesting that students have been put off from the prospect of further study of English owing to their experience at GCSE, which underwent a significant overhaul in 2017.

This change involved the removal of the “spoken language unit”, which gave students a taste of English language A level. The open-book exam was also removed, as well as the element of teacher choice in the controlled assessment questions. 

When, in 2020, NATE conducted a survey into the experiences of English teachers delivering the new GCSE specification, the findings were not great.

The majority of English teachers - 58 per cent - reported that they did not believe their students found the course rewarding, while 52 per cent said they did not find delivering the new content rewarding either.

Given these sort of insights in the summary of the GCSE Language Survey Report, NATE said: “The survey results comprehensively support NATE’s view that key stage 4 curriculum change is urgently needed to attract and challenge students, and retain their interest in future English education. 

“We believe that the current GCSE offer is damaging young people’s perception of the subject as well as adversely affecting students’ subsequent choices at post-16 and beyond.”

A matter of funding

Looking beyond curriculum concerns, another explanation for the falling popularity of English could be found in the changes to the funding of 16-19 students.

As a consequence of this change, many schools and colleges now only require students to take three subjects at A level, rather than four. 

With a narrowing of the number of options available to students, English may be being squeezed out. According to data collected by the Fischer Family Trust (FFT) Education Data Lab, in 2019, English subjects featured only once in the 10 most popular three A-level subject combinations. 

In comparison, the three traditional science subjects appeared 15 times, and maths and further maths were listed eight times. 

What can leaders do?

Overall, it seems a myriad of reasons, from cultural views to being put off at GCSE, could be behind this decline at A level. 

This is not great news for English departments as, with no suggestion that a course specification change will happen any time soon - or the likelihood of a huge cultural shift in how English is perceived - schools and colleges will have to look internally if they want to improve their numbers for English A level for girls and boys. 

However, we spoke to three English departments about how they have attempted to market English to those at KS4 to keep the numbers up.

Cathryn Parkes, acting assistant head of communications (KS5) at West Walsall E-Act Academy 

“One of the biggest factors seems to have been a mixture of taster sessions, along with a focus on careers.

“For example, with journalism we would recommend both language and literature. A career in online content creation would benefit from English language alongside computer science because studying representation in English language will help with writing for a target audience. 

“In the taster sessions, we took the time to explain the differences between language and literature as well as the differences from GCSE. However, we’ve also changed our approach at KS4. We emphasise the need to use their knowledge to express opinions and answer questions. Unsurprisingly, they really like the opportunity to give their opinion.

“In my experience, parents will be more supportive about students studying English at A level if the student can give a tangible reason for how it will help their career prospects. 

“This is especially true if you work in an area with high levels of deprivation.”

Grace Swanborough, head of English at The Piggott School in Wargrave, Berkshire

“Our strategy is a variety of constant drip-feeding of marketing.

“We have high expectations of our students from the moment they arrive at our school, and we always make sure to drop in references to what will be studied at A level, using ‘when’ rather than ‘if’. We want to make the implicit suggestion that A level is possible for all. 

“The Year 12 and 13 stages of the curriculum are on our English curriculum roadmap, rather than stopping at the compulsory end that KS4 will be for some. We timetable our A-level experts with the upper sets in Years 10 and 11.

“We give students a flavour of what is to come by constantly drip-feeding high challenge context into the KS3-4 curriculum to model what A level can do. 

“We also have student-made promo videos, with teachers and students selling the subject, which students can access when starting to make option choices.

“At option evenings, and KS4 assemblies and tutor talks, we use sixth-form prefects and subject ambassadors to promote their love of the subject. It isn’t just about what happens inside the classroom but making sure KS4 students know about the trips and opportunities for KS5 students: conferences, theatre trips, battlefields trips, visiting lecturers. 

“[For boys], we also don’t try to tailor what we say about the subject to traditional ‘boy’ interests; we treat them as mature young people rather than pandering to gender stereotypes. 

“We also talk a lot about how English is a good subject to balance against the Stem routes and the benefits the course gives you, not just academically but also in terms of creating and developing a well-rounded student, who is able to think critically and objectively about the world and the people within it.”

Vickie Nadin, English teacher and reading coordinator at Malbank High School, Cheshire 

“In our A-level English language classes, we are close to a 50:50 split and, in previous years, we have had more boys than girls

“We market English language as ‘the science behind language, how can language be used to manipulate others, why we speak and write the way we do‘. We suspect this makes it appeal to a wider range of students.

“We also emphasise in our marketing materials that English language is completely different to GCSE. The coursework is an investigation with a hypothesis, methodology and you have to use theories to support your ideas.

“Although we have done nothing specifically to try to recruit more boys, we have had consistently high numbers apply. I suspect it is partly down to success building on success - boys see older boys taking English and therefore don’t see it as anything unusual.

“Almost every year since I started eight years ago, the head boy has chosen to study English language, so it is also possible that younger students want to follow in his footsteps.”