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Increased numbers of students taking A level and Further Mathematics

The numbers of students taking A level and Further Mathematics has been increasing since 2003 and this trend is set to continue. The STEM Forum held an event for university admissions tutors on 25 June to bring the data to their attention (the link to the events page can be viewed below). This event brought up a number of interesting themes and we provide the opportunity here for those who attended and for others to continue discussing these.

Click here for full information from the event (opens a new browser window)

The core evidence indicating the rapid changes in mathematics as a subject for university entrance is in the table at the link below. It was drawn from formal UCAS data and analysed by Brian Follett.

Key A level data

Many university mathematics lecturers spoke about the work they and others do with students in ancillary / top-up or remedial mathematics. What are your experiences of this and what are the issues?Comments: 0 | Latest n/a

There was talk of mathematics provision post-16 and the extent to which teaching of A level and other courses develops the mathematics skills valued in employment, for those young people who are not going to university. We would be interested particularly to hear employers’ views on this.Comments: 0 | Latest n/a

What can be done in university admissions to acknowledge and capitalise on the increased numbers taking A level mathematics?Comments: 4 | Latest 26/07/2010

Rises in the numbers taking Further Mathematics (FM) have been even more dramatic than those in the A level. The FM numbers almost doubled between 2003 and 2009 are predicted to go up by another quarter in the next two years. What are the implications for mathematics undergraduate entry?Comments: 1 | Latest 14/07/2010

If you have any topics that you would like to see discussed on the forum then we would be happy to hear them. Please send any suggestions to info@stemforum.org.uk and we will consider them for future discussions.

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