Record entries for A-level maths as arts subjects fall to lowest in 20 years
More than 100,000 students sat maths this year; music, drama and art together drew fewer than 50,000
Mathematics has become the most popular A-level subject by a wider margin than ever, with more than 100,000 entries this year, as arts subjects fell to their lowest level in two decades.
Music, drama and art and design together drew fewer than 50,000 entries. Music alone has lost nearly half its candidates since 2010.
Head teachers blamed funding formulas that make small classes unaffordable, and a decade of government messaging that steered pupils toward science and maths.
“We are not short of children who want to do music,” said one head in Leeds. “We are short of schools that can afford to let them.”
The education department said the figures reflected student choice.
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