The number of teenagers taking Englishliterature at A-level has continued to slump, but entries for geography have soared, figures show.
Provisional statistics on GCSE and A-level entries in England for 2021 also show a mixed picture on languages, withSpanish going from strength to strength while entries in German have collapsed.
This summer,students will be awarded grades via teacher assessmentinstead of having to sit exams.
However, the entry statistics for different subjectscontinue topaint a picture of which subjects are in rude health andwhich are struggling.
Figures published by the assessment watchdogOfqualon Thursday show thatA-levelentries for Englishliterature fell from38,310 in 2020 to 36,135 in 2021 – a drop of six per cent.
Since 2017 entries for English subjects (including English literature, English language, and English language and literature) have fallen from 74,355 to 57,515– a 23 per cent decrease.
The fall has been attributed toa number offactors, including apushby the Government toemphasisethe importance of subjects related to science, technology, engineering andmaths.
In a blog forConservativeHomeearlier this month, the Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, saidthat an increase in the number of people studying science and engineering at university showedthatstudents were“starting to pivot away from dead-end courses that leave young people with nothing but debt”.
Some teachers have also claimed that curriculum reforms introduced when Michael Gove was Education Secretaryhave turned English literature into a “joyless slog”.
The entry figures show a very different picture for geography, whereA-levelentries have risen from 27,470 in 2020 to 31,810 – a 16 per cent rise.
Alan Kinder, the chief executive of the Geographical Association, told i the increase in the subject’s popularity was partly because ofitsinclusion in the Government’s English Baccalaureate (EBacc)– a group of core academic subjects which schools are encouraged to promote.This has resulted in more students taking the subject at GCSE and then carrying it on to A-level.
However, he also said it was likely to reflect increased concern among young people about climate change and the environment.
“Young people themselves and parents have said that they associate geography most closely as the curriculum subject that deals with those matters,” Mr Kinder said.
Spanish entries rose by 4 per cent for GCSE and3 per cent for A-level. However, entries for Germanfell by 10 per cent at GCSE and 8 per cent for A-level.French was broadly stable at both levels.
