6th September 2012 9:00
By Blue Tutors
The publication of today’s A’level results has drawn attention to the fact that science and maths are becoming more popular amongst students, with an average of 3% more students taking these subjects compared with last year. The results were most striking for maths, with numbers of the students studying this subject at A’level up 69% since 2003.
In the past, schools have reported problems in recruiting science and maths teachers with the appropriate qualifications. This lead to a series of schemes designed to make teaching these subjects more attractive to graduates, including programmes run by the Institute of Physics which has begun to offer support and resources to Physics teachers.
Commentators have also suggested that the rise in interest in these subjects from students is partly down to the fact that science and maths are now considered to be ‘cool’ again. Several high profile news stories, including the discovery of the Higgs Boson particle, and Nasa’s probe landing successfully on Mars, are thought to have put Science and Maths back on the map for students.