Royal Society calls for A-levels overhaul

The Government needs to undertake "fundamental reform" of A-levels in order to ultimately boost the number of science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates produced in Britain, the Royal Society has said.

In a new report, the body claimed that only a "small proportion" of 16 to 19-year-olds currently study the so-called STEM subjects in further or higher education.

Its research shows that during 2009, only 17 per cent of 16 to 18-year-olds took one or more science A-levels or equivalent qualifications.

That same year, 17 per cent of upper secondary institutions in England, 13 per cent in Wales and 43 per cent in Northern Ireland did not enter a single candidate for A-level physics.

To remedy the situation, the society recommended gradually switching from England's current A-level system to an "A-level based Baccalaureate" that would provide access to a greater breadth of subjects, including science and maths.

Professor Dame Athelne Donald, chair of the Royal Society's education committee, said: "At a time of economic uncertainty, when science and scientists can play a key role in revitalising the UK’s financial outlook, it is deeply worrying to find that numbers of A-level science students are at such low levels.

"It should be a top priority for the Government to reform our education system, reinvigorate science education and inspire the next generation of students to commit to scientific study from school to university."