Science A-level entries have declined overall, with a drop of 4.9 per cent in entry levels overall since last year.
This year saw 158,976 entries in biology, chemistry and physics, compared to 167,244 in 2019.
But today’s A-level results show that across the UK there continue to be slightly more girls than boys taking a science at A level - a trend continued from last year, the first year where boys did not make up the majority of science entries.
A-level results 2019: Girls tip gender balance in science
A-level results 2020:
In 2019, 50.3 per cent of entries in the three sciences overall were from girls, while 49.7 per cent were from boys. This year, 50.9 per cent of entries came from girls with 49.1 per cent from boys.
In contrast with the decline in entries seen in 2020, last year was also the first time that science entries made up more than a fifth of entries overall, with biology, chemistry and physics accounting for 20.9 per cent of all A-level entries.
All three sciences saw slight increases in the proportion of candidates achieving the top two grades of A or A* - in line with a higher proportion of candidates achieving these grades overall.
In biology, the proportion of entries awarded an A or A* grade was 25.5 per cent, up 1.4 percentage points from 2019, and similar to levels in 2018 when 25.9 per cent of candidates achieved an A grade or better.
In chemistry, 31.2 per cent of entries achieved an A or A* grade, a 2.1 percentage point increase from the previous year. In 2018, 31.1 per cent of entries achieved an A grade or higher.
And in physics, the proportion of entries achieving an A or A* rose to 31 per cent from 27.9 per cent last year.
