New figures for A-level entries in English and mathematics show a reverse in decline in entry numbers last year, as both subjects bounced back from a 2019 slump.
While the number of mathematics entries fell by 5.9 per cent in 2019 to 91,895 candidates, this year entries rose by 2.5 per cent. Maths remains the most popular single subject at A level.
And in English, overall entries for the subject in English literature, English language and English language and literature rose by 1.8 per cent, from 63,135 entries in 2019.
A-level results 2019: English and maths entries decline
A-level results 2020:
While there was a decline in entries for the combined English qualification, entries to the single literature and language qualifications rose this year.
This may offer some reassurance to those who feared last year that Michael Gove’s reforms to the subject at GCSE when he was education secretary had put off a generation of students from further study.
In maths, the proportion of A* grades was up by 0.5 percentage points since last year, rising to 17 per cent, while the proportion of grades awarded an A or above was up 0.9 pp to 41.9 per cent.
In English language, the proportion of A-A* grades was broadly consistent with the previous year - 11.4 per cent in 2020 compared with 11.3 per cent in 2019.
In literature, the proportion of students gaining an A or A* rose by 1.3 percentage points from 24.1 per cent last year to 25.4 per cent of entries this year.
